Austro-Swiss Wars
The Austro-Swiss Wars refer to a series of conflicts that occurred between the Swiss Confederation and the Habsburg dynasty from the late 13th century to the late 15th century. Initially, Switzerland was nominally under the Holy Roman Empire's control, but local cantons sought independence from Habsburg influence, leading to the formation of the Swiss Confederation in 1291. The conflict escalated after the Swiss defeated Duke Leopold II at the Battle of Morgarten in 1315, establishing their military prowess and autonomy.
Subsequent battles, including the notable encounters at Sempach in 1386 and Näfels in 1388, further solidified Swiss resistance against Habsburg forces, characterized by effective infantry tactics. Although a truce was established in 1389, hostilities persisted, notably during the Swiss civil war and the later conflicts involving the Holy Roman Emperor, including the significant Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs in 1444.
The wars culminated in the late 15th century, when Emperor Maximilian I sought to reassert Habsburg authority but faced defeat at the Battle of Dornach in 1499. This led to the Treaty of Basel, which effectively eliminated Habsburg claims to power over Switzerland, marking a significant step towards Swiss independence and the establishment of their sovereign identity.
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Austro-Swiss Wars
At issue: Swiss autonomy from Austrian rule
Date: 1385–1499
Location: Switzerland
Combatants: Swiss vs. Austrians and French
Principal commanders:Austrian, Leopold III (1351–1385), Frederick III (1415–1493)
Principal battles: Sempach, Näfels, St. Jakob an der Birs, Ragaz, Dornach
Result: Swiss victory secured the de facto independence of Switzerland
Background
During the Middle Ages, Switzerland was under the nominal control of the Holy Roman emperor, but his rule on the Swiss was lightly felt. The first Habsburg emperor, Rudolf I, used his position, however, to establish his family as the dukes of Austria in 1282. He thereby claimed lands in eastern Switzerland in addition to those claimed by his family in northern Switzerland, causing conflict with the Swiss. In order to prevent Austrian domination, the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalded created the original Swiss Confederation in 1291. The Swiss victory over Duke Leopold II in 1315 established both the confederation’s autonomy from feudal control and the reputation of the Swiss for defeating knightly cavalry. The Confederation’s success persuaded Lucerne and Bern in northern Switzerland, longtime Habsburg dependencies, to join the confederation and brought the Austro-Swiss conflict into that region. In 1385, Lucerne occupied the nearby town of Sempach, a Habsburg fief, igniting more than a century of off-and-on warfare between the Swiss and Habsburgs.
Action
Austrian duke Leopold III brought an army of mostly cavalry to Sempach (July 9, 1386) to retake it. The Swiss defeated the Austrians in a battle that saw the final formulation of the Swiss style of fighting as infantrymen with pikes and halberds. Leopold’s death at Sempach did not keep his brother and successor Albrecht III from returning to Switzerland in force. Advancing into the canton of Glarus, Albert confronted a Swiss force at Näfels (April 17, 1388) and also suffered a bloody defeat. Bern took advantage of his defeat to occupy nearby Habsburg fiefs. The Swiss accepted an eight-year truce in 1389 that was later extended and lasted until 1415.
Swiss aggression toward Habsburg dependencies did not cease entirely during the truce, and the Swiss seized the opportunity offered by the disputed Habsburg inheritance when Duke Frederick died in 1415 to occupy the Aargau. Austrian efforts to oust them were easily beaten back. For the next three decades, little Austro-Swiss warfare occurred. The Swiss were occupied with war with Milan to the south and a civil war between Zurich on one side and the rest of the confederation on the other (1430–1446). In 1444, Holy Roman emperor Frederick III took advantage of the civil war by allying with both Zurich and France, securing a French cavalry force to aid Zurich. It advanced to the vicinity of Basel, where a small Swiss force engaged it at St. Jakob an der Birs (August 24, 1444). The Swiss fought to the last man while taking at least twice as many of the enemy with them. The battle persuaded the French to withdraw while filling them with admiration for the quality of Swiss fighting men, beginning a close relationship between France and Switzerland that lasted for the next 150 years. Frederick then took matters into his own hands, dispatching an Austrian army into the eastern cantons. It met defeat at Ragaz (March 6, 1446), when a force of about 1,000 Swiss overwhelmed four times as many Austrians. A truce ended the Swiss civil war and the fighting with Austria.
Twenty years later, the Swiss renewed their efforts to gain control of Habsburg fiefs in northwestern Switzerland. Duke Sigismund of Austria passed his rights over them to Charles the Bold of Burgundy for gold. This led to the Franco-Burgundian Wars that resulted in Charles’s death in 1477. The Habsburgs failed to take advantage of that conflict, and Emperor Maximilian I found himself at war with the Swiss in 1499. In alliance with the south German Swabian League, he invaded the region around Basel. In a series of sharp fights, culminating at Dornach (July 22, 1499), he was defeated.
Aftermath
Maximilian was forced to accept the Treaty of Basel (1499) that ended any pretense of Habsburg rule over Switzerland.
Bibliography
Bonjour, Edgar, et al. A Short History of Switzerland. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1955.
Sablonier, Roger. “The Swiss Confederation.” In The New Cambridge Medieval History, edited by Christopher Allmand. Vol. 7. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1999.