Swiss Mercenaries in the Papal States

Timeline

1. 1512Rome · RomeTo counter French expansion in Italy, Pope Julius II recruited large numbers of mercenaries through the Swiss cantons, paying handsomely for the military service of Swiss pike squares.
2. 1512Romagna and Tuscany · ItalySwiss mercenaries, cooperating with Spanish forces, participated in military operations against French troops and the Florentine republicans around the Battle of Ravenna and on Tuscan battlefields, with their pike squares demonstrating formidable combat power.
3. 1512Switzerland · SwitzerlandThe service of Swiss mercenaries in the Papal States in 1512 earned enormous commissions, strengthening the Swiss cantons' dependence on the Italian mercenary trade and foreshadowing the later shift in Switzerland's role in the Italian Wars.