What was the purpose of the Germanic Emperors' expeditions to Italy?

The expedition of the Germanic feudal lords to Italy refers to the aggressive expeditions undertaken by the Germanic emperors from the 10th to the 15th centuries to conquer Italy, gain the title of emperor, and seize wealth.

From the second half of the 10th century, Italy, economically rich and militarily weakened by the internal strife of the feudal lords, became the target of the Germanic feudal lords' aggression. The expedition of Otto I was the earliest expedition against Italy. In 951-952 AD, Otto I invaded northern Italy and was given the title of King of Lombardy. In the second expedition, Otto I took advantage of the weakening of the Pope's power due to the struggle with the feudal nobility to enter Rome, where he held the coronation of the "Holy Roman Emperor". From then on, the Germanic emperors made frequent expeditions to Italy with the aim of obtaining a coronation and maintaining their rule.

The expeditions to Italy were particularly frequent between 1075 and 1122. At that time, there was a dispute between the Roman Empire and the Holy See over ordination (the power to preside over the appointment and approval of ecclesiastical offices and titles).

Most significant in the history of military scholarship are the five expeditions of the German feudal lords under the command of Frederick I of Barbarossa of the Stauffen dynasty, who in 1174 crossed the Alps with an army of 8,000 men, destroyed the city of Suzza, and laid siege to Alessandria. The cities of northern Italy formed an alliance and stubbornly resisted the invaders. The Lombard League army directly threatened the Germanic army's connection with its base at Pavia. Barbarossa was forced to sign an armistice in 1175, and in the winter of 1176 he resumed the war, but was unable to make a determined attack because the kings of Saxony and Thuringia, his most powerful vassals, refused to continue the campaign.

Meanwhile, the armies of the Lombard League were active, and in 1176 the allied armies heavily defeated Frederick I's Knights in an engagement near Liano. Frederick I attacked the main body of the allied army with 30,000 to 35,000 knights. The Milanese knights were forced to flee under the onslaught of superior forces, but infantry armed with shields and spears prevented the Germanic knights from breaking through to the fortified camp. Taking advantage of the Germanic Knights' dismay, the Briccian Knights surprised them by launching a flank assault, which was matched by a frontal onslaught by the infantry. This decided the end of the war. The Germanic Emperor's army was crushed and Barbarossa surrendered.

But again, the Pope's wall-mounted stance prevented the northern Italian city from consolidating its victory. The Lombard League soon disintegrated, and the Germanic feudal lords not only retained their territory in northern Italy, but by Henry VI had established themselves in southern Italy. The Germanic emperor Frederick II of the Hohenstaufen dynasty turned the Kingdom of Sicily into a pillar of his power. However, the power of the feudal lords in northern Italy was again weakened because the cities in northern Italy once again organized the Lombard League and also restored their covenant with the Pope. The Staufen Dynasty suffered great losses in the long battle against the Lombard League and their dynasty fell. 1265-1268 Southern Italy was occupied by King Charles of Anjou, the brother of King Louis IX of France. 1254-1273 saw the temporary suspension of expeditions to Italy. 1310 saw Henry VII of Luxembourg's expedition to Rome in an unsuccessful attempt to establish his own dominion in Italy. was unsuccessful. His successor, Louis IV of Bavaria, organized another expedition against Rome in 1327-1329 and gained the title of Emperor, but the invaders aroused extreme discontent among the local inhabitants and had no choice but to withdraw from Italy again. Charles IV invaded Italy on two separate occasions, the last of which was the invasion of Ruprechtuski in 1401-1402. The invasion of Falz was the last expedition to Italy. From the end of the 15th century, Italy became a battleground for wars of aggression between France and the Habsburgs.

The purpose and results of the expedition to Italy were limited by the fact that the feudal state was politically fragmented. The armies of the Germanic feudal lords usually fought without infantry. The cities of Italy, however, had a capable and powerful infantry centered on militia regiments of artisanal workers. This infantry was the backbone of the battle formation and was able to use dense formations to successfully resist the attacks of German knights. The Lombard League's cavalry of knights was able to work in concert with the infantry, combining offense and defense quite effectively.