Battle of Legnano - The Battle

The Battle

After Frederick's setback at Alessandria, the failed agreement of Montebello, and the refusal of his cousin Henry the Lion to help him, Frederick finally received some good news and reinforcements from Germany. The German reinforcements crossed Lukmanier Pass into the Lake Como region in April 1176. Frederick I Barbarossa, Philip I of Heinsberg, and Archbishop Wichmann of Magdeburg rode secretly from Pavia along the Ticino River to meet the reinforcements and to lead them to a joint operation with his main forces. Frederick received 1,000 knights and 1,000 foot soldiers from 16 different German rulers. At Como, Lombard imperial allies increased the reinforcements to about 3,000 knights and foot soldiers. However, the Imperial army was largely a cavalry force of German knights.

The Milanese were informed about Frederick's plan and prepared for battle. A Carroccio, or a sacred war wagon drawn by oxen, was built and was decorated with the city standard and an altar upon which the cross of Archbishop Aribert of Milan was erected. In 1038, Archbishop Aribert led the victorious defence of Milan against the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II, and therefore his cross was a symbol of victory against the Empire. According to Sire Raoul, a chronicler from Milan, 900 knights came from Milan and around 550 knights from three other towns, the rest of the League's forces were foot soldiers. The "Company of Death" was a foot soldier unit, that, according to later chronicles, was led by the in fact fictional Alberto da Giussano, and formed the core of the Lombard infantry.

While Frederick and his reinforcements were on their way back to Pavia to join the main imperial force, the Lombard League placed about 3,500 men near the west bank of the Olona. The infantry with the Milanese war cart, the carroccio, stood in a hastily fortified position at Borsano. The Lombards knew that Frederick was about to skirt through their area, but did not realize how close Frederick already was. At dawn on May 29, the Lombard League sent a reconnaissance unit of 700 horsemen to the Seprio landscape. At the same time, the emperor had crossed the Olona and was marching south from Cairate, five miles northeast of Busto Arsizio.

Here, the battle commenced. The Lombard reconnaissance and the 300 Imperial vanguard clashed. The clash was brief and bloody and with Frederick already on the horizon, the Lombard reconnaissance broke off and fled beyond Borsano. Now, Frederick and his imperial German army launched a rampant and brutal attack on the Lombard League forces near Borsano – Legnano. The Lombard cavalry was largely routed but managed to escape the skirmish, leaving the infantry and carroccio on its own. Frederick advanced to the carroccio and assaulted the infantry and the Company of Death with his cavalry.

M.B. Synge wrote this about the Company of Death: "Nine hundred desperate patriots forming the Company of Death defended the sacred car. Seeing the Germans were gaining ground, fearful for the safety of their treasure, they suddenly knelt down and renewed their vow to God that they would perish for their country".

The infantry positioned itself in a phalanx-like line. The fight around the carroccio was a long and bloody fight in which the Lombard League infantry brought the Imperial army to a stalemate. Finally, the Lombard League forces received help from their regrouped cavalry and from a Brescian cavalry that was called to aid by the fleeing reconnaissance troops. The regrouped reconnaissance troops and the Brescian cavalry jointly attacked Frederick's army from the rear. The decisive assault was made by the Brescians, who managed to break through the lines and attack Frederick directly. In this attack, his guards and standard-bearer were killed, and Frederick was thrown off his horse and believed to be dead. Upon this, the imperial troops panicked and fled, pursued to the Ticino by the League's cavalry. The generals tried to rally the men in vain. The booty and prisoners taken by the League were immense.