The tragic conclusion of the Azores expedition and the ruthlessness of Álvaro de Bazán
Filippo Strozzi (Filippo Strozzi di Firenze), lord of Épernay and Bressuire, was the son of Piero Strozzi. He held the rank of Marshal of France (Maréchal de France) and was a Knight of the Order of the Holy Spirit (Chevalier du Saint-Esprit).
1541 – 1582 (July)
| Year, Month | State, Comp. ventura | Opponent | Command | Area of Activity | Actions Undertaken and Other Salient Facts |
| 1548 | France | His father Piero takes him to France. He is one of the pages of the Dauphin, the future King Francis II. | |||
| 1557 | France | Piedmont | At sixteen years old, he flees from home with a horse and an arquebus; he steals some silverware from his mother and goes to Piedmont where he fights for the French against the Imperials. He is noticed by the Duke of Guise: he is appointed captain. He returns to France with the Guisa. | ||
| 1558 | |||||
| ………… | France | England | France | He distinguishes himself at the sieges of Calais and Guines. | |
| ………….. | France | Upon his father’s death, he has all his belongings transported to Lyon, including a famous library. He is forced to sell everything off because his father Piero left him only 20,000 scudi as an inheritance out of the 500,000 that originally constituted the family patrimony. | |||
| 1560 | |||||
| ………… | Great Britain | He fights the English in Scotland. In March, the king enfeoffs him with Epernay, formerly his father’s fiefdom. | |||
| 1562 | France | Huguenots | France | At the end of November, he joins the Duke of Guise in the defense of Paris, which is attacked by the troops of the Prince of Condé. He exits the city walls with 1200 infantry when the adversaries, after putting 600 light cavalry to flight, attack the suburb of San Vittore. Forced to retreat in turn, he reinforces his position with his men under the semi-ruined walls of a windmill. The Huguenots are ultimately repelled. | |
| 1563 | He is appointed colonel of the guard. He carries out his duty in an innovative way; he equips the soldiers with a new type of arquebus manufactured in Milan. | ||||
| 1564 | Empire | Ottoman Empire | Hungary | He fights the Turks on behalf of Emperor Maximilian of Austria. | |
| 1565 | Malta | Ottoman Empire | Malta | He goes to Malta with Brissac to aid the Order of Saint John (gerosolomitano) following threats from the Ottomans. | |
| 1566 | |||||
| Jul. | Church | Ottoman Empire | Lazio and Marche | With the arrival in Malta of papal troops commanded by Paolo Giordano Orsini, he leaves the island with Brissac, disembarks at Terracina, and goes to Rome to pay homage to the Pope. He moves on to the defense of Ancona. | |
| ………… | Empire | Ottoman Empire | Austria | With the cessation of the Turkish threat in the Adriatic, he transfers to Austria to confront the Ottomans in Transylvania. | |
| 1567 | |||||
| ………….. | France | Huguenots | Master of the camp | France | He is appointed master of the camp (Maestro di campo) of the guard regiment. He is sent towards the Picardy frontier to prevent the Huguenots from joining with the Flemish Calvinists, who are themselves being attacked by the Duke of Alba. Filippo Strozzi is in Pontoise: here he learns that the English under Montgomery are marching on the location and that Audelot has positioned himself near Poissy to ambush his regiment. Strozzi leaves half of his forces in Pontoise, overcomes every trap, and retreats to Paris in search of reinforcements. For his merits, he is given the command of half-colonel of the French infantry; the other half serves under the orders of Brissac. |
| Nov. | France | He clashes with the adversaries at Saint-Denis. He fights there protecting the artillery. | |||
| 1569 | |||||
| ………… | France | Upon the death of Brissac, he is appointed colonel-general of the French infantry. | |||
| Jul. Oct. | Captain Gen. infantry | France | He continues to oppose the Huguenots; he is stationed near Limoges; in July, at the head of 1200 arquebusiers, he attacks a squadron of 6000 veteran soldiers at La Roche-L’Abeille. He launches 3 attacks which are all repelled; the Italian cavalry of Mario Sforza intervenes in his aid, allowing him to resume the clash; surrounded, he is attacked by the reserve troops of Mouy. His men run out of ammunition and find themselves fighting only with swords and bayonets; finally assaulted by the enemy cavalry, he is taken prisoner. Among his men, 800 soldiers and 11 captains die that day; the Swiss infantry in French service are slaughtered. The Huguenots try in vain to win Strozzi over to their side; he is freed shortly after through a prisoner exchange with La Noue. He returns to face the adversaries; in October, under the command of Henry, Duke of Anjou (Enrico duca d’Angiò) and Marshal of Tavannes, he defeats Gaspard de Coligny at Moncontour. On this occasion, the Swiss mercenaries avenge the previous battle by massacring the wounded and prisoners. | ||
| 1570 | France | He again confronts the Huguenots at Jasseneuil; with the Italian cavalry, he forces Moneins to surrender after a battle lasting seven hours. | |||
| 1572 | France | He has command of the garrison of La Rochelle with four companies of soldiers. The inhabitants rebel. Strozzi is taken prisoner again. | |||
| 1573 | |||||
| …………. | France | At the siege of La Rochelle | |||
| …………. | France | Spain | Holland | He supports the action of the Prince of Orange in Holland against the Spanish. | |
| 1579 | France | He is granted the collar of the Order of the Holy Spirit. | |||
| 1581 | France | He is replaced by King Henry III (Enrico III) in the post of colonel-general of the French infantry by the Duke of Épernon. He is given permission to purchase Bressuire in Poitou. | |||
| 1582 | |||||
| Jul. | France | Spain | Captain Gen. | France and Portugal | Under pressure from Queen Catherine de’ Medici (Caterina dei Medici), he is appointed Viceroy of Brazil. He has command of the army intended to restore Don António, Prior of Crato (don Antonio priore di Crato) to the throne of Portugal. He sets sail from Brouage and at the end of the month occupies the island of São Miguel in the Azores. He conquers Vila Franca and Borgo with the killing of 60 Spaniards and 12 French; he also seizes 4 ships monitoring the island. He unloads 22 artillery pieces to batter the fort; while he is engaged in this operation, the Spanish fleet approaches. Strozzi re-embarks the artillery and decides to face the adversaries off the island of Terceira. Poorly supported by the master of the camp (maestro di campo) de Sainte-Soulière who commands the right wing, he fights bravely. He is seriously wounded in the thigh during the naval battle; after five hours, he falls into the hands of the Spanish from the galleon “San Martin”. The French lose 8 ships, and more than 2,000 men are killed in their ranks; the Spanish, however, report the loss of 200 men and 500 wounded. Strozzi is transferred to the quarters of Admiral Álvaro de Bazán, Marquis of Santa Cruz (Alvaro di Bazan, marchese di Santa Cruz). The Spaniard has him stabbed to death. His body is thrown into the ocean from the sterncastle of the galleon “San Martin”. The Marquis of Santa Cruz later arrives in Vila Franca and sentences 800 Frenchmen taken prisoner in the incident to death as pirates, some by hanging, some by beheading. In Paris, the funeral of Filippo Strozzi is celebrated in the church of the friars of Sant’Agostino in the presence of the King and all the knights of the Order of the Holy Spirit, thus paying homage to one of the most skilled soldiers who served the French court. Engraving by Thomas de Lau: it is located in London in Buckingham Palace (Windsor Castle) where it is part of the Royal Collection Trust, the art collection of the British royal family. A friend of Pierre de Bourdeille (Brantome), who also participated in the unfortunate expedition to the Azores. The poet Gabriel Michel writes a eulogy for him, Torsay his biography. |
Sources
-“Non pensa alle cose d’Italia, né favorisce questa nazione (Venezia).” ALBERI
-“Era lo Strozzi pieno di valore e di splendido ingegno, ma non aveva tutte le qualità di gran capitano, perché amico come il padre de’ pericoli, la temerità e l’imprudenza non si disgiungevano mai da lui. Liberale d’animo, leale, distinto per onore e per fede, pregi ch’erano anche della sua professione. Brantome aveva servito 25 anni con lui, lo loda molto, ma gli rimprovera freddezza nell’amicizia.” LITTA
-“Giovane bellicoso e arrisicato troppo..Savio capitano e ..valoroso soldato.” ROSEO
-“Capitano do celebre grido.” LETI
-“Fu probo, generoso, prode e sebbene dotato di grande sangue freddo, qualche volta mancò di prudenza. Contribuì molto al miglioramento della disciplina nella infanteria, cui fece dare archibugi di maggior calibro.” PAOLINI
-“Anch’egli celebre capitano.” BOSI
-“Il étoit extremement vigoureux, et avoit una grande habileté d’esprit pour la guerre, et comme personne n’y réussissait mieux que lui, personne aussi ne l’aimoit davantage. Il avoit apporté de Florence où il étoit né, l’humeur froide, sérieuse, abstraicte et taciturne, qui dominoit en lui, mais ce tempérament ne l’empechoit pas d’avoir la plupart des inclinations Françoises, et sur tout l’emportement de courage.” VARILLAS
-“Tanto si distinse nella fanteria di quella nazione (la Francia).” CANESTRINI
-“Di molto valore ma di poca facultà.” ALBIZZI
-“Valoroso capitano del Re di Francia.” DAVILA
-Nel 1650 è stampata a Parigi un’incisione con il suo ritratto, nella quale è riportata la seguente iscrizione “Philippes conte de Strozzi chevalier des ordres du roy, conseiller en ses conseilles, Capitaine de cinquante homme d’armes de ses ordonnances, marechal de France, colonel general de infanterie Françoise.”
SPECIFI BIOGRAPHIES
-A. Bardi. Filippo Strozzi.
Featured image: wikipedia
