He was at the Battle of Lepanto.
This is not the most surprising fact about Cervantes--not by a long shot! And yet, this is a good place to start thinking about the man, since he was so very proud of his service at this greatest of Christian battles. Having gotten into some trouble back in Spain for drawing a sword at court (something for which he could have lost his right arm over), he had had to flee his native country. Or so the story goes. Italy (largely under Spanish domination) was the obvious choice for a Spaniard fleeing abroad and so in late 1569, Cervantes turned up in Rome and gained employment in the household of Cardinal Giulio Acquaviva. But he didn't stay long in Acquaviva's service, as he decided to sign up with the Spanish regiment going to war against the Ottoman empire.
Often the battles between Christian Europe and the Ottoman Empire that took place around this time are viewed as a kind of clash of civilizations--of two great monolithic civilizations butting up against each other. But in fact, Christendom itself was deeply conflicted with Catholics against Protestants and the reformed church itself divided between Lutherans and stricter Calvinistic churches. Further, there was very bad blood between Latin Christians and the Eastern church. In comparison, the Ottoman side was much less prone to division (the Ottoman empire was a big tent and could accommodate all kinds of people). So, the period saw Christian countries sometimes making deals with the Ottomans to spite their enemies within Christendom. And hence the Ottoman empire continued to expand westward and across northern Africa.
Another major issue was piracy. Poor Cervantes would actually become a captive of Barbery pirates after Lepanto and spend four years in captivity in Algiers. Piracy was rampant and extremely destructive and it happened on both sides.
In order to check Ottoman expansion and do something about piracy, Pope Pius V created the Holy League in 1571. Members of the Holy League (namely Papal, Spanish and Venetian) agreed to come together and fight piracy and be prepared to attack the Ottomans in the Eastern Mediterranean. The league was put under the leadership of Hapsburg Spain (and Spain paid half) with Don Juan of Austria (bastard son of Charles V) being selected to lead the battalions.
The Turks, under Ali Pasha, were waiting for them at Lepanto.
The two sides were evenly matched. The Holy league consisting of 206 galleys and 6 galleasses (which were like floating artillery platforms) were under the command of Agostino Barbarigo (Venice) on the left wing; Giovanni Andrea Doria (Italian) on the right; with Don Juan leading the Spanish ships in the center. As you can see from the picture, the galleasses were supposed to come forward and fire relentlessly on the approaching Ottoman ships. The Spanish command also had reserve ships behind and Cervantes was apparently on the reserve galley under the command of Don Álvaro de Bazán.
When the fighting began Cervantes was very sick and the captain insisted he should stay below. He refused saying that he had been a good soldier till then and that it would be better to fight in the service of God than keep under cover below with a fever.
By all accounts he was very heroic. Getting hit three times by harquebus fire: he got it twice in the chest and once in the left hand. Luckily, his armor deflected the chest wounds but his left hand was permanently damaged during the battle. His maimed hand earned him the nickname, "El Manco de Lepanto." His heroic service that day got him several letters of commendation; one being from Don Juan himself. Unfortunately, these letters were on his person when he was captured by the pirates and taken to Algiers. His new master, believing him to be a man of great value because of these letters, set his ransom to an amount of money, thereby ensuring he stayed a captive for many years!
Describing this wounding in later life, he would say that despite how ugly it looks, to him his maimed hand was beautiful, since he had collected it in the greatest and most memorable event these past centuries have seen...fighting beneath the victorious banners of the son of that glorious warrior, Charles V...
Must read (both around here somewhere): Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World (Roger Crowley) and The Battle of Lepanto (Nanami Shiono)
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