Battle of Morgarten

47°05′24″N 8°37′59″E / 47.090°N 8.633°E / 47.090; 8.633

Battle of Morgarten
Part of the growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy

Illustration from the Tschachtlanchronik, 1470
Date15 November 1315
Location
Result Swiss victory
Belligerents

Forest Cantons (Swiss Confederacy):

Duchy of Austria
Commanders and leaders
Werner Stauffacher Leopold I, Duke of Austria
Strength
~1,000 (Schwyz)[1][2] ~2,000–3,000[1]
Casualties and losses
Minimal[1][2] Hundreds[1][2]

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.[1][2] The Swiss victory consolidated the League of the Three Forest Cantons, which formed the core of the Old Swiss Confederacy.

  1. ^ a b c d e The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. 2010. p. 31.
  2. ^ a b c d Morgarten War in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.