page_title: Battle of Grandson
section_title: Battle of Grandson
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Grandson / Battle of Grandson
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Die Schlacht bei Grandson in der Luzerner Chronik des Diebold Schilling am 2. März 1476. Im Hintergrund links nähert sich die eidgenössische Hauptmacht von Vaumarcus her mit den Bannern von Solothurn, Uri, Luzern, Entlebuch, Freiburg, Bern und Schwyz. Dazwischen die Harsthörner von Uri und Luzern. Im Vordergrund links ist die Schlacht im Gang, die burgundischen Bogenschützen richten während der ersten Phase der Schlacht ihre Pfeile auf die Eidgenossen. Im Hintergrund rechts das burgundische Lager bei Grandson mit dem berühmten hölzernen Zelthaus Philipp des Guten und den burgundischen Geschützen. Davor greift die Kavalliere aus den österreichischen Vorlanden die burgundische Kavallerie an. Im Vordergrund rechts greifen die Eidgenossen zusammen mit ihren Verbündeten aus Strassburg, Basel und St. Gallen die sich bereits zurückziehende burgundische Infanterie an. Gut erkennbar Langspiesse und Hellebarden der EidgenossenEnglish: Battle of Grandson, 2.3.1476
context_page_description: The Battle of Grandson, which took place on 2 March 1476, was part of the Burgundian Wars, and resulted in a major defeat for Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, at the hands of the Swiss.
context_section_description: The Swiss had no news of the fate of the garrison and assembled their forces in the hope of lifting the siege. This army numbered a little over 20,000 men without artillery and probably slightly outnumbered the Burgundians. On 2 March 1476 the Swiss army approached the forces of Charles near the town of Concise. The Swiss advanced in three heavy columns, echeloned to the left rear, moving directly into combat without deploying, in typical Swiss fashion.
  Poor reconnaissance left Charles uninformed as to the size and deployment of the Swiss, and he believed that the Swiss vanguard was the entire force sent against him. The vanguard, consisting mainly of men from Schwyz, Bern, and Solothurn, realized they would soon be in battle and knelt to pray. When they said three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys, some of the Burgundian army reportedly mistook their actions as a sign of submission. In their zeal, they rode forward shouting, "You will get no mercy; you must all die."
  The Burgundian knights soon surrounded the Swiss vanguard, but then Charles made a serious mistake. After brief skirmishing, Charles ordered his cavalry to pull back so the artillery could reduce the Swiss forces before the attacks were renewed. At this time, the main body of the Swiss emerged from a forest which had hitherto obscured their approach. The Burgundian army, already pulling back, soon became confused when the second, and larger, body of Swiss troops appeared. The speed of the Swiss advance did not give the Burgundians time to make much use of their artillery and missile units. Charles attempted a double envelopment of the leading Swiss column before the other two arrived, but as his troops were caught shifting to make this attack, they caught sight of the other Swiss columns and retreated in panic. The withdrawal soon turned into a rout when the Burgundian army broke ranks and ran. For a time, Charles rode among them shouting orders for them to stop and hitting fleeing soldiers with the flat of his sword. But once started the rout was unstoppable, and Charles was forced to flee as well.
  Few casualties were suffered on either side: the Swiss did not have the cavalry necessary to chase the Burgundians far. At insignificant cost to themselves, the Swiss had humiliated the greatest duke in Europe, defeated one of the most feared armies, and taken a most impressive amount of treasure. Charles had the habit of travelling to battles with an array of priceless artifacts as talismans, from carpets belonging to Alexander the Great, to the 55-carat Sancy diamond, and the Three Brothers jewel. All these were looted from his tent by the confederate army, together with his silver bath and ducal seal. The Swiss initially had little idea of the value of their loot. A small surviving part of this fantastic booty is on display in various Swiss museums today, while a few remaining artillery pieces can be seen in the museum of La Neuveville, near Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
caption: Illustration of the Battle of Grandson by Diebold Schilling the Younger (1513)
exif: {}