The Neapolitan troops, led by Queen Joan's second husband Louis of Taranto, were in the fortified town of Capua. Most of King Louis 's troops were Italian and Germanmercenaries and English longbowmen, considered unreliable; his more loyal Hungarianknights were unsuitable for the siege of fortresses. Therefore, King Louis avoided Capua and headed for Benevento with his troops. To cover this manoeuvre he ordered Niccolò Gaetano, Count of Fondi, to attack the bridgehead of river Volturno with the Hungarian and German cavalry and Lombardinfantry.
Count Gaetano did not make a frontal attack against the bridgehead: he sent part of his force along the river Volturno, towards Orticella, where they crossed the river and launched a surprise attack on the right wing and rear of the Neapolitan army. The attacking troops consisted mainly of cavalry and some infantry.
Around 3 PM the Hungarian light cavalry got tired of the initial skirmishes which had ensued, and released a devastating flight of arrows on the Neapolitan cavalry; most of the latter lost their horses and had to fight on foot. Louis of Taranto ordered a countermarch but these turned suddenly in rout.
A smaller part of the Neapolitan army fled toward Teano, followed by Gaetano's cavalry. Most of them were killed or captured. The larger part of the Neapolitan army retreated in poor conditions to Naples under Louis of Taranto.
After the collapse the Neapolitan mercenaries started to escape from Capua, forcing the commander of Capua to capitulate. Some days later Queen Joan sailed to Provence, followed by her husband; subsequently the Kingdom of Naples fell to King Louis.
Bánlaky, József (1929). "2. Az első nápolyi hadjárat 1347–1348-ban" [2. The First Naples Campaign in 1947-1948]. A magyar nemzet hadtörténelme [Military history of the Hungarian nation] (in Hungarian). Budapest, Hungary: Grill Károly Könyvkiadó vállalata. ISBN963-86118-7-1. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
References
Bellér, Béla (1986). Magyarok Nápolyban. Budapest: Móra Ferenc Könyvkiadó. pp. 96–98.
battle, capua, 1348, battle, capua, fought, between, january, 1348, between, troops, louis, hungary, those, kingdom, naples, course, former, invasion, naples, battle, capuapart, neapolitan, campaigns, louis, greatcapua, fortressdate11, january, 1348, locationc. The Battle of Capua was fought between 11 15 January 1348 between the troops of Louis I of Hungary and those of the Kingdom of Naples in the course of the former s invasion of Naples Battle of CapuaPart of Neapolitan campaigns of Louis the GreatCapua FortressDate11 15 January 1348 1 LocationCapua Kingdom of NaplesResultHungarian victory Occupation of the kingdom 1 BelligerentsKingdom of HungaryKingdom of NaplesCommanders and leadersNiccolo Gaetano 1 Louis of TarantoCharles of DurazzoStrengthCuman horse archersheavy cavalryFew GermansFew CatalansNeapolitan irregulars 3000 overall 1 Casualties and lossesunknownVery heavy 1 The Neapolitan troops led by Queen Joan s second husband Louis of Taranto were in the fortified town of Capua Most of King Louis s troops were Italian and German mercenaries and English longbowmen considered unreliable his more loyal Hungarian knights were unsuitable for the siege of fortresses Therefore King Louis avoided Capua and headed for Benevento with his troops To cover this manoeuvre he ordered Niccolo Gaetano Count of Fondi to attack the bridgehead of river Volturno with the Hungarian and German cavalry and Lombard infantry Count Gaetano did not make a frontal attack against the bridgehead he sent part of his force along the river Volturno towards Orticella where they crossed the river and launched a surprise attack on the right wing and rear of the Neapolitan army The attacking troops consisted mainly of cavalry and some infantry Around 3 PM the Hungarian light cavalry got tired of the initial skirmishes which had ensued and released a devastating flight of arrows on the Neapolitan cavalry most of the latter lost their horses and had to fight on foot Louis of Taranto ordered a countermarch but these turned suddenly in rout A smaller part of the Neapolitan army fled toward Teano followed by Gaetano s cavalry Most of them were killed or captured The larger part of the Neapolitan army retreated in poor conditions to Naples under Louis of Taranto After the collapse the Neapolitan mercenaries started to escape from Capua forcing the commander of Capua to capitulate Some days later Queen Joan sailed to Provence followed by her husband subsequently the Kingdom of Naples fell to King Louis Contents 1 Louis Italian army 2 Footnotes 3 Works cited 3 1 Books 4 ReferencesLouis Italian army EditLouis Italian army contained German mercenary infantry Hungarian heavy knights and light cavalry from Hungary and remarkable English longbowmen Footnotes Edit a b c d e Banlaky 1929 Works cited EditBooks Edit Banlaky Jozsef 1929 2 Az elso napolyi hadjarat 1347 1348 ban 2 The First Naples Campaign in 1947 1948 A magyar nemzet hadtortenelme Military history of the Hungarian nation in Hungarian Budapest Hungary Grill Karoly Konyvkiado vallalata ISBN 963 86118 7 1 Retrieved 27 June 2011 References EditBeller Bela 1986 Magyarok Napolyban Budapest Mora Ferenc Konyvkiado pp 96 98 Coordinates 41 06 22 N 14 12 30 E 41 10611 N 14 20833 E 41 10611 14 20833 This article about a battle is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Battle of Capua 1348 amp oldid 1124650410, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
