February 24 1525

Imperial Forces Defeat French in Battle of Pavia

The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521-26. A Spanish-Imperial army under the command of Charles De Lannoy (and working in conjunction with the garrison of Pavia, commanded by Antonio De Leyva) attacked the French army under the personal command of Francis I in the great hunting preserve of Mirabello outside the city walls. In the four-hour battle, the French army was split and defeated in detail. The French suffered massive casualties, including many of the chief nobles of France; Francis himself, captured by the Spanish troops, was imprisoned by his captor. The outcome of the battle cemented Spanish Habsburg ascendancy in Italy.

February 9th 1744

Battle at Toulon

The naval battle of Toulon or Battle of Cape Sicie took place on 9 February 1744 in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Toulon, France. A combined Franco-Spanish fleet fought off Britain's Mediterranean fleet. The French fleet, officially at peace with Great Britain, only joined the fighting late, when it was clear that the greatly outnumbered Spanish fleet had gained the advantage over its foe. with the French intervention, the British fleet was forced to withdraw.

In Britain the battle was regarded as a national disgrace; the Franco-Spanish fleet successfully ended the British blockade and inflicted considerably more damage to the British then they received, causing the British to withdraw to Minorca in a need of heavy repairs. The retreat of Admiral Mathews' fleet left the Mediterranean Sea temporarily under Spanish control, allowing the opposite navy to deliver troops and supplies to the Spanish army in Italy, decisively swinging the war there in their favor.