Overview

In this book we will see how an army of Swiss militiamen, vastly inferior in numbers and weaponry, defeated the army of Archduke Leopold Ill, one of the most skilled military leaders of his time, a man willing to have his knights fight on foot with lances rather than recklessly charge into a wall of arrows, and how he suffered one of the most complete defeats in Swiss history. The Battle of Sempach in 1389 was the decisive battle in the war between the Swiss Confederation and the Duchy of Austria (Habsburg). This episode is remembered as the culmination of the Confederates' long struggle for liberation from Habsburg feudal rule. The overwhelming Swiss victory marked an epoch-making turning point: on the one hand, it consolidated the unity and power of the young Confederation, and on the other, it brought about the definitive collapse of Habsburg power in the region. The victory also gave cities such as Lucerne, Bern and Solothurn the opportunity to expand their territories. The battle is also immortalised by the famous heroic deed of Arnold von Winkelried, a legendary figure who, according to tradition, sacrificed his life to break through enemy lines, a founding myth that has fuelled Swiss national identity for centuries.

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