Conflict: Old Zurich War
Combatants: Burgundians vs. Swiss
Location: Switzerland
Outcome: Swiss victory
In a move to drive the Swiss from Burgundy, Charles the Bold lay siege to Morat with 20,000 soldiers. The Burgundians, however, were caught unawares by an advancing Swiss army supported by Austrian and German cavalry. Many Burgundian soldiers were trapped with a lake at their back and as many as 10,000 were killed. Swiss casualties were light.
Point of Interest:
The Swiss allied with the Germans and the Habsburgs and were subsidized by Louis XI of France in resisting the territorial ambitions of Charles the Bold.
Charles the Bold would be killed at the Battle of Nancy six months after Morat.
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Sources:
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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