In 1492, he followed his father in the campaign of the
Hohenzollern margrave
Frederick I of Brandenburg-Ansbach, authorized to execute the
Imperial ban against Duke
Albert IV of Bavaria. As Albert gave in, the expedition was cancelled. Frundsberg fought for the Habsburg emperor Maximilian I against the
Swiss Confederacy in the
Swabian War of 1499, where he had to realize that the era of the heavy armoured
knights was well and truly over. In the same year he was among the
Imperial troops sent to the aid of
Ludovico Sforza, who had been deposed as
Duke of Milan by King
Louis XII of France. When Maximilian appointed him Tyrolean military captain, he recruited a powerful army of
pike square infantry formations following the Swiss example. and the Czech
Utraquists in 1504 Still serving Maximilian, he took part in the 1504
War of the Succession of Landshut, fighting against Count
Ruprecht of the Palatinate and his father Elector Palatine
Philip. Frundsberg distinguished himself leading a Landsknecht regiment into the decisive Battle of
Wenzenbach, whereafter Maximilian I personally bestowed knighthood on him: armed with muskets and culverines, the Frundsberg regiment broke a breach into the
wagon-wall of the
Bohemian mercenaries (composed 300+ wagons), which were then routed. Convinced of the necessity of a native body of trained infantry, Frundsberg assisted Maximilian in the organization of the Landsknecht troops. One year later, he became the commander of the Landsknechts in the
Habsburg Netherlands. Thereafter, Frundsberg lived an uninterrupted life of war, campaigning for the Empire and the Habsburgs. In 1509, he was appointed "Highest Field Captain" of the Landsknecht Regiment (occupation force) and participated in the
War of the League of Cambrai against the
Republic of Venice, achieving a reputation for himself and his men when defending
Verona against many attacks. In 1512 he was, together with Jakob von Ems, leading the Imperial contingent sent to aid
Gaston de Foix to retake
Brescia. After a short visit to
Germany, he returned to the Italian peninsula, where he gained fresh laurels by his enterprises against the Venetians and the French. He was heading the Landsknechts at the side of the
Spanish commander
Fernando d'Avalos at the 1513
Battle of La Motta, routing the vastly outnumbering Venetian troops according to Frundsberg's motto ''Viel Feind', viel Ehr' '' ("Many foes, much honor"). Peace being made, he returned to Germany, and at the head of the infantry of the
Swabian League assisted in driving
Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg, from his duchy in 1519. At the
Diet of Worms in 1521, he allegedly spoke words of encouragement to the "little monk"
Martin Luther, and during the
Italian War of 1521–26, Frundsberg helped lead the Imperial Army into
Picardy. When King
Francis I of France appeared on the battlefield with a force of approximately 40,000 men, the clever withdrawal of Emperor
Charles V's army saved its existence. Frundsberg considered the withdrawal on
Valenciennes as "the greatest luck and most appropriate measure during war." After the French campaign in 1522 ended and Frundsberg resigned from the leadership of the Landsknechts, he returned to lead the march of 6,000 men on upper Italy. A difficult alpine crossing through deep snow led to the
Battle of Bicocca near
Milan in April. Swiss nationals on foot fought alongside Frundsberg, who led and fought from the front. The emperor's victory at Bicocca allowed the return of the previous rulers of the oligarchic
Republic of Genoa and the
Duchy of Milan and brought the greater part of
Lombardy under the influence of Charles V. '' by
Bernard van Orley, between 1528 and 1531) In 1525, after a brief stop in
Mindelheim as the "Highest Field Captain" of the entire German Nation (with a force consisting of 12,000 men and twenty-nine flag bearers), Frundsberg moved again towards upper Italy to relieve Pavia and to save the Empire's
Duchy of Milan. Despite an additional 6,000 men, of whom some were Spanish, in battle against an enemy that was strongest, Frundsberg won his most famous
victory at Pavia, with the capture of the French king. Only one year later, when the war in Italy was renewed in 1526, Frundsberg received a call for help from the Emperor's Army in Lombardy, to help decide the war. Albeit an insufficient amount, he obtained 36,000 German
Thaler to organize the new army. During his occupation of Mindelheim, Frundsberg borrowed money and sold off his silver table settings and his wife's jewelry, in order to acquire the remaining funds to raise the army. In less than three weeks, Frundsberg organized over 12,000 men and crossed the Alps during the middle of November. He joined the
Constable de Bourbon near
Piacenza and marched towards
Rome. However, order and discipline broke down near
Modena on 13 March 1527, when no decisive battle developed after months of campaigning in Italy. Payment for the mercenaries remained overdue and, in the end, even Frundsberg was unable to rally the Landsknechts and restore order. The matter shook the old commander to such an extent that he suffered a stroke. Unable to regain his physical strength, Frundsberg was moved to Germany after a long struggle in Italian hospitals. Tormented by great anxiety over the situation with his mercenaries or "beloved sons", the loss of his personal estate and death of one of his sons, Frundsberg died in his castle in Mindelheim. Though there is no evidence that he ever left the Catholic Church, and in spite of his constant loyalty to the Catholic Emperor, Frundsberg was quite receptive to the message of Martin Luther and according to some stories, before the campaign of 1527, he gathered soldiers willing to pillage and hang a pope. ==Legacy==