Editing Siege of Pavia (773–774) (section)

==Siege==
[[Image:Susatal.jpg|thumb|250px|The pass at [[Susa Valley]]]]

Charles' army had 10,000–40,000 troops;{{sfn|Bachrach|2013|p=325}}{{sfn|Bachrach|2013|p=332}} he divided it in half, giving command of one half to his uncle, [[Bernard, son of Charles Martel]], and led it through the [[Alps|Alpine passes]]; he through that of the [[Susatal|Dora Susa]] near [[Mont Cenis]], and Bernard through the [[Great St Bernard Pass]]. At the foot of the mountains, Charles' army met the fortifications of Desiderius, but scouting forces found an alternate route. A cavalcade was sent to attack the defenders from the flank and, with Bernard's forces approaching from the east, the Lombards fled to fortified Pavia. The Frankish troops then marched on to begin the siege of Pavia by September.

The entire Frankish army was capable of wholly surrounding the Lombard capital, however they had brought no siege engines. The Lombards too had failed in their preparations: the city was poorly stocked with food and the surrounding countryside was now in the hands of the Franks. Desiderius remained in Pavia, but [[Adalgis|Adelchis]], his son, had left to stronger [[Verona]] to guard over the family of Carloman. Charles led a small force to besiege Verona. Adelchis fled in fear to Constantinople, and the city and Carloman's family were taken.

Charles then began to subdue the whole region around Pavia in the early months of 774. Charles even visited the pope in Rome at Easter. No other Lombard dukes or counts made any attempt at relief and Desiderius made no strong counterattack. In the tenth month of the siege, famine was hitting Pavia hard and Desiderius, realising that he was left on his own, opened the gates to Charles and surrendered on some Tuesday in June.<ref name=sieges/>