Conflict: Old Zurich War
Combatants: French vs. Swiss
Location: Switzerland
Outcome: French Pyrrhic victory
In the summer of 1444, the French dauphin Charles VII (later King Louis XI) invaded Switzerland with 15,000-30,000 mercenaries. Upon the French approach, 1,000-1,500 Swiss soldiers with pikes and halberds marched onto to confront the invaders. On or about August 24th (or August 26th) of 1444, this small contingent of Swiss infantry attacked the far superior force of French mercenaries. The Swiss were killed, apparently to a man, but inflicted 3,000 casualties on the French invaders. This kill ratio was so severe that Charles abandoned the invasion of the Swiss cantons.
Point of Interest:
After the losses at St. Jakob, Charles VII instead turned his ambitions on Alsace.
The defiance and performance of the men at St. Jakob long solidified the reputation of the Swiss as the best soldiers in Europe.
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Sources:
Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).
Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.
Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
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