Having beaten the English in the Hundred Years War, France emerged as Europe's most powerful nation. It was a position France was to hold until 1870. In 1495, Charles VIII decided to advance his claim on the Throne of Naples by marching his modern army down the boot of Italy. Having seized Naples, the Italian states rallied to form the League of Venice and block Charles' return to France. A race began to stop Charles before he returned to France and the battle of Fornovo is the bloody climax of that retreat.

Five hundred years have passed since the Battle of Fornovo and it is inherently difficult to explain the ecomomic and military issues of that era. Unfortunately, David Nicolle is not up to this difficult task. He gets too wrapped up in the minor details and does not have the gift to make the complicated simple.

The other weakness of the book is the graphics. This book was originally published in 1996 and in the ten years that have passed, a revolution has taken place in book publishing. This book looks very tired with its washed out, black and white photos and mediocre illustrations by Richard Hook.

The Fornovo campaign is compelling and with all its weaknesses, this book will deliver for the person truly interested in the period. For someone with a more casual interest in the era, I would recommend Osprey's much better book on the battle of Pavia, 1525.