Battle of Benevento The Battle of Benevento was fought near Benevento , in present - day Southern Italy , on 26 February 1266 , between the troops of Charles of Anjou and Manfred of Sicily . Manfred ' s defeat and death resulted in the capture of the Kingdom of Sicily by Charles . Background . The Papacy had long been in conflict with the Imperial house of Hohenstaufen over their rule in Italy . At the time of the battle , the Hohenstaufen ruler in the Kingdom of Sicily ( which included Sicily and southern Italy ) was Manfred , illegitimate son of Frederick II , Holy Roman Emperor . While the rightful heir to the kingdom was Frederick ' s legitimate grandson Conradin , he was young and safely across the Alps in Bavaria . Taking advantage of a false rumor of Conradin ' s death , Manfred had usurped the throne in 1258 . Pope Urban IV determined to wrench the Kingdom from him , and in 1263 , concluded a secret treaty with Charles of Anjou , giving him the Sicilian throne . Prelude . Charles reached Rome in 1265 , but was temporarily halted by financial embarrassments . Manfred , however , did not take the field against him until January 1266 , when Charles ' main army had crossed the Alps . Alarmed by desertions among his followers and fearing further treachery , Manfred sought to bring Charles to battle as swiftly as possible . Charles attempted to turn Manfred ' s position at Capua by a perilous crossing of the Apennines which wrecked his supply line ; but Manfred had intelligence of his move and lay in a strong position across the River Calore , crossed only by one bridge . Charles had divided his cavalry into three " battles " . The infantry and the first battle , consisting of 900 Provençals were at the front , commanded by Hugh of Mirepoix and Philip of Montfort , Lord of Castres . Behind them were the second battle , which consisted of 400 Italians and 1 , 000 men of Languedoc and central France . Charles would command the second battle in person . Behind them , the third battle consisted of about 700 men from the county of Flanders under Gilles II de Trasignies , Constable of France , and Robert III of Flanders . Manfred had adopted similar dispositions . His Saracen archers were in the fore . Behind them was the first battle , 1 , 200 German mercenaries armed in coats of plates ( a novelty at the time ) , commanded by his cousin Giordano d ' Anglano and Galvano of Anglona . The second battle consisted of the Italian mercenaries , about 1 , 000 , and 300 Saracen light horse , commanded by his uncle Galvano Lancia . The third battle , numbering 1 , 400 , were the feudatories of the Kingdom , under Manfred ' s personal command . Battle . The battle began in the morning , when Manfred advanced his Saracens ( archers and a few light cavalry ) across the bridge to skirmish . They drove off Charles ' infantry , but were put to flight by his first battle . Rashly ( whether on their own initiative or by Manfred ' s order is not known ) , Manfred ' s first battle crossed the bridge and counter - charged . At first , the German mercenaries seemed unstoppable ; all blows rebounded from their armor plates , and Charles was forced to commit his second battle . The Germans continued to advance , but then the French discovered that the new plate armor did not protect the armpits when the arm was lifted to strike . The Germans were swiftly broken . The tide of battle now rapidly turned against Manfred . His troops were forced to defile across the single bridge over the Calore to reach the field . By the time his second battle had crossed the bridge , Charles had ordered his third battle to charge them on both flanks and they were swiftly destroyed . Upon the defeat of the Italians , most of the nobles in Manfred ' s third battle deserted him , leaving only the king and a few faithful followers . After exchanging the royal surcoat with his friend Tebaldo Annibaldi , Manfred and his followers charged into the fray and were slain . Aftermath . The destruction of Manfred ' s army marked the collapse of Hohenstaufen rule in Italy . The remainder of the Kingdom of Sicily was conquered almost without resistance . Settled in his new kingdom , Charles could await the coming of Conradin , the last hope of the Hohenstaufen , in 1268 , and meet him at the Battle of Tagliacozzo .