Battle of St. Quentin (1557)
The
Spanish won a significant victory over the
French in the
Battle of San Quentin (
1557) during the
Franco-Habsburg War (
1551-
1559), which
Philip II of Spain resumed having gained
English support with
Queen Mary as an ally.
The
battle took place on the Feast Day of St. Lawrence (
August 10th).At the Battle of St. Quentin the French forces under
Marshal de Montmorency were overwhelmed and Montmorency was captured by the Spanish forces under the command of the Duke
Emmanuel Philibert of
Savoy in an alliance with English troops, and the French were defeated.
After the victory over the French at St. Quentin, 'the sight of the battlefield gave him (Philip) a permanent distaste for war', he declined to pursue his advantage, withdrawing to the
Netherlands. The
Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis ended the war.
The year
1557 began disastrously for the
Catholic 'Bloody' Queen Mary and her husband Phillip of Spain who had brought England into his father's war against France, disregarding his marriage treaty by which England was meant to remain neutral even if Philip's other dominions were at war.
The English army under the
Earl of Pembroke did not arrive in time for the battle, but played a significant role in the capture of the city that followed.
Pembroke was Mary's most effective commander at the battle of St Quentin, when he led the English contingent to victory that included among the officers such former reformists as
Lord Bray,
Sir Peter Carew,
Sir Nicholas Throckmorton and the surviving sons of the
duke of Northumberland;
Ambrose and
Lord Robert Dudley.
John Dudley, the son of Northumberland, had died not long after he left the Tower and his three surviving brothers were pardoned for their recorded treasons in January,
1555 and so duly served the Queen and King Philip on the St Quentin expedition, where
Henry Dudley was killed and his remaining brothers won the restoration of their honour and titles.
The greatest impact of this battle, however, was not on France, England or Spain, but on the Italy. Duke
Emmanuel Philibert of
Savoy, having won the victory, had also secured a place at the conference table when the terms of peace were deliberated. The duke was able to secure the independence of the Duchy of
Savoy, which had been occupied by the French a generation earlier. As part of the peace terms,
Emmanuel Philibert married
Marguerite d'Angoulême, younger sister of King
Henry II of France, in
1559. The Duke moved the capital across the
Alps to
Turin two years later, making
Savoy an Italian state, and refounding the dynasty of the
House of Savoy, which would become the royal house of a United Italy in
1860.
