Many officers who might normally command national fleets served only as formation commanders inside the Holy League. Their collective experience promised exceptional tactical leadership, but it also created the risk of arguments over responsibility and blame. Don John of Austria was acceptable because his relationship to Philip II gave him status and trust without making him a dynastic threat. The agreement extended beyond the fleet to a planned annual army of 50,000 infantry, 4,500 cavalry, and artillery. That political bargain had to exist before the allied ships could even assemble.
Chapter · 9:24-13:42
The Holy League's crowded political bargain
The coalition combined papal, Spanish, Venetian, Genoese, Maltese, Tuscan, Savoyard, and other forces under an unusually top-heavy command.