Battle of Bruderholz

Battle of Bruderholz
Part of Swabian War

Swiss forces (right) attack the Swabians (left, with the saltire) at the Bruderholz. In the background the city of Basel, which was neutral in the Swabian War.
Date22 March 1499
Location
Near Basel, Switzerland
47°30′27″N 7°35′41″E / 47.50750°N 7.59472°E / 47.50750; 7.59472
Result Swiss victory
Belligerents
Old Swiss Confederacy Old Swiss Confederacy Swabian League
Strength
800[1] 2,000[1]
Casualties and losses
1[1] 80[1]
Battle of Bruderholz is located in Switzerland
Battle of Bruderholz
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Location within Switzerland
Battle of Bruderholz is located in Canton of Basel-Land
Battle of Bruderholz
Battle of Bruderholz (Canton of Basel-Land)

The Battle of Bruderholz took place on 22 March 1499[2] in the Swabian War between Swabian troops and forces of the Old Swiss Confederacy. The Swabians had raided several Swiss villages and were on their way back when they met troops from Lucerne, Solothurn, and Bern, who also came back from a raid in the Alsace.[3] Anticipating the likely route of the Swabian troops, the Swiss soldiers concealed themselves in the woods at Bruderholz hill, near Basel.[1] When the three times more numerous[4] Swabians passed the woods, the Swiss attacked. The Swabian infantry quickly broke and fled the battlefield. The cavalry fought a delaying action allowing the infantry to escape before retreating also. Some of the fleeing soldiers ran approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) to the Rhine river before swimming across to continue their retreat. Others fled to Basel but were refused entry. The Confederation lost only a single soldier while the Swabians lost about 80 men.[1] The leader of the Confederacy's troops was from the House of Bubenberg.[5]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Winkler, Albert (2020). "The Swiss in the Swabian War of 1499: An Analysis of the Swiss Military at the End of the Fifteenth Century," Swiss American Historical Society Review, vol. 56 (2020), no. 3, pp. 55-141.
  2. ^ Tucker, Spencer C. (2009-12-23). A Global Chronology of Conflict [6 volumes]: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1-85109-667-1.
  3. ^ Forum 1499: "Wie sich ein züg samlet am Bruderholz und wie dieselben veriagt wurdend und ettlich erstochen" Archived 2007-07-16 at the Wayback Machine; URL last accessed 2006-09-12.
  4. ^ Scheck, P.: Der Schwabenkrieg 1499 Archived 2012-02-04 at the Wayback Machine; Municipal Archives of Schaffhausen, 1999. In German. URL last accessed 2006-09-12.
  5. ^ Naylor, Francis Hare (1809). The History of the Helvetic Republics. J. Mawman. pp. 447–448.