Fernando d'Ávalos
Fernando d'Ávalos | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Fernando Francesco D'Ávalos, 1515–1520 | |
| Born | 11 November 1489 Kingdom of Naples |
| Died | 3 December 1525 Duchy of Milan |
| Allegiance | Kingdom of Naples Spanish Empire Holy Roman Empire |
| Branch | Army |
| Years of service | 1512–1525 |
| Rank | General |
| Battles / wars | |
Fernando Francesco d'Ávalos d'Aquino, 5th Marquess of Pescara (in Italian Ferrante Francesco d'Ávalos), (11 November 1489 – 3 December 1525), was an Italian (Neapolitan) military leader and nobleman of Spanish (Aragonese) origin. He was an important captain in the service of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire during the Italian Wars.
In the Battle of Ravenna in 1512, he was taken prisoner by the French but was released at the conclusion of the War of the League of Cambrai, after which he became a chief commander of the Habsburg armies of Charles V in Italy during the Habsburg-Valois Wars. He was instrumental to the victories over the French at Bicocca and Pavia thanks to his ordered usage of arquebusiers. He is proposed as an early innovator of volley fire in early modern warfare, setting the base for the European reforms of the 16th century.