The Florentine Campaign (1493 - 1495)

The Florentine Campaign (1493 - 1495) was one of the many wars which came to make up the Visconti Conquest of Italy. The Florentine Campaign has been considered one of the most important and prestigious conquests by House Visconti during the unification era. The war was instigated by the ambition of Gian III Visconti, Duke of Milan, to continue the Visconti work of unifying the Italian Peninsula.

In the aftermath of the conquest, House Medici became Dukes owing fealty to House Visconti and upon the formation of the Kingdom of Milan, they were granted the style of Grand Duke of Tuscany, with the Serene Highness honorific as reward for their peaceful surrender of Florence to House Visconti. The campaign is remembered with pride and honour by House Visconti, though the bitter defeat is remembered sourly by the Florentine people.

Visconti Expansionism
Since the days of Duke Filippo I Visconti, the Visconti Dukes of Milan north of Florence had a tremendous surge in ambition. House Visconti had been a rival power to the Medici in Italy, with both houses controlling powerful and rich territories. For some years, the Visconti made small conquests further north than Florence, as the Dukes still feared to go against the wealth of Florence. Nonetheless, each Duke that passed over time cast envious eyes on the lands of the Republic. The expansionism and newfound power of House Visconti unnerved the Medici, who attempted to bolster their northern defences in the event of an unexpected attack.

Upon the ascension of Duke Gian III Visconti in 1487, it was clear to many that the Duke would want to go against Florence. There was little reason why he wouldn't, the incompetent administration of Cardinal Lorenzo Piero de' Medici, Lord of Florence, had left the Republic in a relative state of disarray. In comparison, Gian III maintained a strong grip over the politics of Milan, keeping his vassals in line and ruling with a strong fist. He was also a famed military commander and before his accession he had won fame in Italy as a condottieri commander.

Leadup to War
Relations had been strained between the Duchy of Milan and the Republic of Florence for some time now and so representatives of the Florentine Government had attempted to seek support from Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, though by this point any Imperial Influence in Italy had all but evaporated, thus Frederick saw no reason to get involved. They struck up a bargain with the English King Henry VII, however, for some naval support in the case of an attack by Milan. In return, they would pay a monstrous sum of money (a debated figure among scholars).

Duke Gian, meanwhile, had been preparing his forces for war for months. While the Florentine politicians bickered on how to handle the threat, Gian III had been silently preparing for war. The warlike and crafty Duke had been sure to rally and drill his troops extensively before his planned campaign and remained in consultation with some of his generals and advisors, including his brothers Leonello and Giovanni, as well as his close friend Enzo d'Este, a distant cousin of the Duke of Ferrara. The Duke was an patient man and was determined to wait until the perfect moment and not to run into any hasty decision which could jeopardise his camapign.

Cardinal Medici, meanwhile, continued attempting to bolster his defences. It was little use, however, as some factions in Florence debated merely yielding to the Milanese when they came. Most would never accept this, however, demanding that noble Florence defend herself against the upstart Duke of Milan attempting to forge himself a crown out of the feuding states of Italy, which many at the time had thought to be a preposterous idea.

Gian III Visconti, Duke of Milan and of Parma
Duke Gian III Visconti was by no means a man new to war, despite his lack of inheritance for most of his life. He came into the Duchy almost by chance, with the death of his childless second cousin Duchess Isabella I. Gian had won fame and fortune as a condottieri commander, leading a band of men for hire by warring states. He had once even served the Republic of Florence as a condottieri, making his later conquest of them ironic. By the time of ascension, he was thirty-eight years old and already a hardened battle commander. Upon coming into inheritance of the Duchy of Milan and later absorbing Parma into his control, Gian III was setting his sights upon the wealth and power of the Florentine Republic. The vast treasures of Florence were something that the Dukes of Milan had cast envious eyes on for years, and Gian was no different. Yet Gian intended to do something about his envy, he intended to take those treasures. Many of his vassals were worried about the Duke's plans, though he would go on to prevail. Some remember him as Gian the Conqueror. He would later die aged 53 in 1502, after 15 years of strong and consolidated rule. He is remembered mostly today for the conquest, however.

Lorenzo Piero de' Medici, Cardinal-Lord of Florence
Lorenzo Piero de' Medici was Lord of Florence by election and also a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was by no means a paragon of virtue, however, infamous for his numerous acknowledged illegitimate children by many different women, most unfitting a cardinal. He was also a famously incompetent administrator and for much of his rule, disliked and unpopular by the people and politicians of Florence. He was hardly a diligent or shrewd power-holder, with his extraordinarily wasteful expenses on his lovers being well-known. His weakness and incompetence was later exploited by his opponent, Gian III, while taking Florence toward the end of the campaign. He was, however, known for his determination and steely desire to win the war after the Visconti led to the deaths of two of his children. Eventually, House Medici would surrender to House Visconti and swear them fealty. Gian III ensured them their titles, creating the Medicis as Duke of Tuscany, which would later be promoted by his successor to Grand Dukes of Tuscany. Lorenzo Piero would die in 1512, aged 59. He is remembered as the one who yielded Florence to the conqueror.

Early Campaign (August 1493 - February 1494)
The Duchy of Milan formally declared war upon the Republic of Florence on August 27th 1493, beginning the campaign in earnest. The politicians of Florence immediately fractured and divided on how to deal with the issue, but Visconti forces unified under Duke Gian had moved quickly and were making assaults on the northern Florentine border. The Battle and Siege of Pontremoli (3rd September 1493 - 2nd October 1493) was one of the first Milanese assaults into Florentine territory and was a decisive victory for Visconti forces. Cardinal Medici's own young illegitimate son, Giovanni de' Medici, was killed when Gian III breached and stormed the walls of Pontremoli. Gian had intended to take the boy prisoner and used for ransom against his father, though the chaotic fighting which ensued after the wall-breach led to the boy's death. This eventually led Cardinal Medici to refuse surrender until the very last moment, as he wished for vengeance for his son.

Gian III continued his push into Florentine territory, though he was pushed back and issued a defeat at Carrara. The Duke's brother, Leonello, was killed in the fighting. The hardened Duke, however, returned north to Pontremoli and regrouped his forces. By the time he made the next advance south, the Florentine forces were engaged at the Battle of Massa (4th January 1494 - 7th January 1494), where Duke Gian himself led the charge against Florentine forces. He famously used deception tactics, feigning a retreat to lure the Florentine forces into his trap, he encircled the Florentine contingent and was about to move in on them. However, the extremely hot and dry weather had led to a wildfire starting nearby, which was rapidly spreading toward the battlefield. Before Gian knew what was happening, his vanguard was burning. The screaming of the men on the field of Massa is said by locals to still happen today and the more superstitious of them refuse to go to the field, believing it cursed. Florentine forces laughed for a time at the karma which had come to the Milanese, yet before they knew it they were also burning. Gian managed to retreat from the field with most of his army intact, though the devastation of that day hit both nation's morale hard.

Battle of Pisa (June 1494 - September 1494)
The Battle of Pisa was one of the longest and most drawn-out engagements in the whole campaign, with many days and months of fighting and sieging. It was, in the end, one of the most decisive and strategically stunning victories for Milan in the campaign, as their encircled navy managed to decimate the Florentine fleet and send the English support scampering away from the waters near Pisa.

The battle began when the main contingent of the Milanese navy, commanded by Admiral Filippo Alfonsi, made an assault against the coastal city of Pisa. Admiral Alfonsi, however, did not expect to find himself cornered by the Florentine fleet with support from the English navy. Alfonsi, however, was a strategic and decisive man, who managed to pull his fleet out of their predicament with limited losses. He managed to push through a gap in the Florentine line and bring around his ships to encircle their fleet. Cannonfire between the ships roared for days on end, with little hope of victory for either side. However, when the Florentine flagship Cosimo il Vecchio, was sank by the Milanese galley, Filippo Maria, morale for the Florentine navy began to plummet. Some Florentine ships tried to make a retreat, though they were sank by Milanese ships. The English navy had been determined not to take many losses, and when they saw the Florentine fleet retreating and being sank, they escaped from the battle. Some English ships, however, were gridlocked in the chaos of the battle and ended up sank. The English were leaving, the Florentine ships were sinking and retreating and thus the Naval Battle was an unlikely and astounding victory for Milan. In celebration of the battle, the galley Filippo Maria has been kept ever since, maintained in port in Genoa for almost 268 years, though it is never sailed due to its age and bad condition.

In the aftermath of the naval battle, a siege of Pisa began. The walls of Pisa were kept strong and secure. The city was provisioned enough to last for an extremely long siege, even with a blockade by water. Cardinal Medici's daughter, Lucrezia de' Medici, was in the city at the time and ordered the gates barred and the walls defended. For Gian, this became a waiting game. He sat around with his army outside the walls of Pisa, while Admiral Alfonsi maintained the naval blockade. The lack of entering munitions for the population of Pisa, however, began to devastate the city over time. Around this time, Cardinal Medici's old rival for the papacy, the now Pope Alexander VI, sanctioned Gian's invasion. Eventually, Lucrezia de' Medici was given orders to surrender the city, which proved to be a disastrous decision. When Gian entered the city after the gates were opened, he had the city sacked of all its wealth and the city leaders arrested, including Lucrezia. The Cardinal's daughter was executed along with the other city leaders, their heads mounted upon spikes on the walls. With the wealth of Pisa in tow, Gian departed the devastated city in October 1494.

Later Campaign (October 1494 - August 1495)
By October 1494, the Republic of Florence was being pushed back on all sides. They had lost much of their territory and most of their provinces, as well as many strategically important port cities lost. Many Florentine politicians pushed for peace-talks, though Cardinal Medici refused peace after the deaths of two of his children. He blamed Gian III for the deaths of Giovanni and Lucrezia de' Medici, the latter of which he did have a personal hand in killing, and for a long time refused to negotiate with such a man. Gian, ever patient, bided his time and continued seizing towns and strongholds in Tuscany. Even the people of the Republic demanded negotiations, as they saw the devastation that was coming of the war. Most of the Florentine army had been obliterated by this point, and what remained was a disorganised mess of troops scattered across the region. The situation did not look good for Florence, though the ever stubborn Cardinal refused to surrender.

Gian would go on to seize Volterra, San Gimignano, Marittima and even the large town of Siena. Admiral Alfonsi would take a small contingent and seized the island of Elba. Later, Gian would take Montepulciano, Pienza, Cortono and Arezzo with little resistance. They met a small band of Florentine troops outside Greve, which were easily crushed due to their lack of organisation and strength. Admiral Alfonsi and Gian's good friend, Enzo d'Este, seized the southern towns of Monte Argentario and Pitigliano. Gian's ultimate goal was clear, however: Firenze, the capital seat and heart of the Republic. If he had the capital, he had the war decisively. He knew, however, that he would need to capture these strategically important strongholds to ensure the garrison at Firenze would not be able to resupply easily and would quickly lose munitions and morale.

[WIP]