.jpg)
Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Battle of Morgarten
47°05′24″N 8°37′59″E / 47.090°N 8.633°E
The Battle of Morgarten took place on 15 November 1315, when troops of Schwyz, supported by their allies of Uri and Unterwalden, ambushed an Austrian army under the command of Leopold I, Duke of Austria on the shores of Lake Ägeri, in the territory of Schwyz.
After a brief close-quarters battle, the Austrian army was routed, with numerous slain or drowned. The Swiss victory consolidated the League of the Three Forest Cantons, which formed the core of the Old Swiss Confederacy.
Toward the end of the 13th century the House of Habsburg coveted the area around the Gotthard Pass, as it offered the shortest passage to Italy. However, the Confederates of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden, which had formalized the Swiss Confederacy in 1291, held imperial freedom letters from former Habsburg emperors granting them local autonomy within the empire. In 1314 tensions between the Habsburgs and Confederates heightened when Duke Louis IV of Bavaria (who would become Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor) and Frederick the Handsome, a Habsburg prince, each claimed the crown of the Holy Roman Emperor.[citation needed]
The Confederates supported Louis IV because they feared the Habsburgs would annex their lands (which they had tried to do in the late 13th century). War broke out after the Confederates of Schwyz raided the Habsburg-protected Einsiedeln Abbey. The conflict with Einsiedeln had begun when settlers moved from Schwyz into unused parts of the territories claimed by Einsiedeln. The settlers cleared the primal forest and established farms or pastures. The abbot of Einsiedeln carried his complaint to the bishop of Constance, who moved to excommunicate Schwyz. As revenge, men of Schwyz under the leadership of Werner Stauffacher raided Einsiedeln abbey on the night of 6 January 1314. They plundered the monastery, desecrated the church, and took several monks as hostages. The abbot managed to escape to Pfäffikon, from where he alerted the bishop. The bishop reacted by including Uri and Unterwalden in the excommunication.
Frederick's brother, Habsburg duke Leopold of Austria, led a large army to crush the rebellious Confederates. Johannes von Winterthur's chronicle of the battle puts the Habsburg forces at 20,000, although that number is likely an exaggeration. A 19th century account by Rudolf Hanhart states that there were 9,000 men in the Habsburg army. Historian Hans Delbrück estimated in 1907 that the Habsburg army consisted of only 2,000–3,000 men, but that these were mainly well-trained and -equipped knights. Delbrück's view is shared by Kelly DeVries.
The Confederates of Schwyz were supported by the Confederates of Uri and Unterwalden. The size of the Confederate force is unknown, with estimates ranging from 1,500 to around 3,000-4,000. Regardless of numerical considerations, the main contrast between the two forces was that a well-equipped and trained medieval army was meeting an improvised militia of farmers and herdsmen.[citation needed]
According to the 15th-century Swiss chronicles, Leopold upon reaching Ägeri debated with his nobles how to best invade Schwyz, with several possible routes under consideration. After the decision was taken to take the direct approach, marching to Sattel from the north, Leopold is said to have asked his court jester, one Cuoni von Stocken, for his opinion. The fool expressed misgivings, quipping that "you have all deliberated on how to reach that land, but none of you deliberated how you will get out again".[citation needed]
Hub AI
Battle of Morgarten AI simulator
(@Battle of Morgarten_simulator)
Battle of Morgarten
47°05′24″N 8°37′59″E / 47.090°N 8.633°E
The Battle of Morgarten took place on 15 November 1315, when troops of Schwyz, supported by their allies of Uri and Unterwalden, ambushed an Austrian army under the command of Leopold I, Duke of Austria on the shores of Lake Ägeri, in the territory of Schwyz.
After a brief close-quarters battle, the Austrian army was routed, with numerous slain or drowned. The Swiss victory consolidated the League of the Three Forest Cantons, which formed the core of the Old Swiss Confederacy.
Toward the end of the 13th century the House of Habsburg coveted the area around the Gotthard Pass, as it offered the shortest passage to Italy. However, the Confederates of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden, which had formalized the Swiss Confederacy in 1291, held imperial freedom letters from former Habsburg emperors granting them local autonomy within the empire. In 1314 tensions between the Habsburgs and Confederates heightened when Duke Louis IV of Bavaria (who would become Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor) and Frederick the Handsome, a Habsburg prince, each claimed the crown of the Holy Roman Emperor.[citation needed]
The Confederates supported Louis IV because they feared the Habsburgs would annex their lands (which they had tried to do in the late 13th century). War broke out after the Confederates of Schwyz raided the Habsburg-protected Einsiedeln Abbey. The conflict with Einsiedeln had begun when settlers moved from Schwyz into unused parts of the territories claimed by Einsiedeln. The settlers cleared the primal forest and established farms or pastures. The abbot of Einsiedeln carried his complaint to the bishop of Constance, who moved to excommunicate Schwyz. As revenge, men of Schwyz under the leadership of Werner Stauffacher raided Einsiedeln abbey on the night of 6 January 1314. They plundered the monastery, desecrated the church, and took several monks as hostages. The abbot managed to escape to Pfäffikon, from where he alerted the bishop. The bishop reacted by including Uri and Unterwalden in the excommunication.
Frederick's brother, Habsburg duke Leopold of Austria, led a large army to crush the rebellious Confederates. Johannes von Winterthur's chronicle of the battle puts the Habsburg forces at 20,000, although that number is likely an exaggeration. A 19th century account by Rudolf Hanhart states that there were 9,000 men in the Habsburg army. Historian Hans Delbrück estimated in 1907 that the Habsburg army consisted of only 2,000–3,000 men, but that these were mainly well-trained and -equipped knights. Delbrück's view is shared by Kelly DeVries.
The Confederates of Schwyz were supported by the Confederates of Uri and Unterwalden. The size of the Confederate force is unknown, with estimates ranging from 1,500 to around 3,000-4,000. Regardless of numerical considerations, the main contrast between the two forces was that a well-equipped and trained medieval army was meeting an improvised militia of farmers and herdsmen.[citation needed]
According to the 15th-century Swiss chronicles, Leopold upon reaching Ägeri debated with his nobles how to best invade Schwyz, with several possible routes under consideration. After the decision was taken to take the direct approach, marching to Sattel from the north, Leopold is said to have asked his court jester, one Cuoni von Stocken, for his opinion. The fool expressed misgivings, quipping that "you have all deliberated on how to reach that land, but none of you deliberated how you will get out again".[citation needed]