THE FINAL STAGES OF THE BATTLE

The Final Phases of the Battle

Battle Map Key

Sensing victory, Lannoy ordered Frundsberg to leave massacring the defeated Swiss to his captains and bring one of his pike squares to reinforce the imperial infantry fighting the French knights. Frundsberg arrived in time to cut off the French knights' retreat, King Francis was now surrounded by imperial infantry and he had no choice but to surrender.

With their king a prisoner, the rest of the French army collapsed. The Gascon levies guarding the French rear fled until only the mercenaries of the Black Band remained as a coherent fighting force. As Germans fighting for France, the renegade landsknechts could expect no mercy from their compatriots and they were massacred to a man.

To the south of the main battle, de Leyva and his men enjoyed similar success. Pavia's garrison broke through the weakened French defences at the Five Abbeys in time to complete the annihilation of the French and Swiss in the deer park. By mid morning, the battle was over and Lannoy could scarcely believe his good fortune. In trying to engineer an ignominious withdrawal, he had somehow won a great victory.

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