Background
In 1236 Emperor Frederick was in Germany to quench the rebellion of his son Henry. In the autumn of that year he decided to return to Italy to suppress the Lombard communes which, backed by Pope Gregory IX, were contesting his authority. He arrived at Valeggio, near Verona, and, with the help of Ezzelino III da Romano and other Ghibelline leaders, sacked the city of Vicenza. Satisfied with this first outcome, he came back to Germany to deal with another German princes rebellion, leaving Hermann von Salza, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, in Italy to monitor the situation.
In the August 1237 the emperor returned again to Italy, this time aiming to definitely crush the Second Lombard League. He crossed the Alps to Verona and here his 2,000 knights were joined by Ezzelino III da Romano's troops, including soldiers from Treviso, Padua, Vicenza and Verona itself, as well as by Tuscan men led by Gaboard of Arnstein. Later 6,000 infantry and horsemen from the Kingdom of Sicily came, including Apulian Muslim archers. The rest of the army was formed by Ghibellines from Cremona, Pavia, Modena, Parma and Reggio, for a total of 12,000 - 15,000 men
The imperial army marched first against Mantua, which decided to surrender instead of being sacked and then to Bergamo, whose council of nobles took the same decision in exchange for no formal submission. Frederick then invaded Brescia's territory, capturing Goito and Montichiari among the others, although the latter's resistance gave time to most of the Lombard League troops to reach Brescia. The 2,000-knights and 6,000-infantry strong army, led by Pietro Tiepolo, son of the doge of Venice and current podestà of Milan, occupied a favorable position at Manerbio (November 1237). The two armies remained fifteen days facing each other without battling, separated by a marsh that thwarted the knights' effectiveness. Frederick, whose army was becoming short of supply, left his camp in search of a most advantageous position, and on 24 November 1237 crossed the Oglio river, marching northwards to wait for the enemy's moves at Soncino.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Cortenuova
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