Italian War of 1499-1504 (may 1, 1499 – feb 9, 1504)

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In April 1498, Charles VIII of France died and was succeeded by his cousin Louis of Orléans as Louis XIII, who in February 1499 secretly allied with Venice to partition Milan. Louis hired a strong force of Swiss mercenaries which overran the Duchy of Milan in October 1499, while Ludovico took refuge in Germany with Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian. With the help of Emperor Maximilian, Ludovico recruited a mercenary army and retook Milan in February 1500, before moving north to capture Novara from the French. However, his inability to pay his troops made his success short lived, and in April 1500 at the Battle of Novara, Ludovico's army was annihilated. Ludovico attempted to disguise himself to evade imprisonment, but he was betrayed by his men, turned over to the French, and sent to French dungeons where he would remain until his death. The French regained possession of Milan, which would be a base from which they could intervene directly in Italy.

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