Battle of Héricourt

The Battle of Héricourt was fought on 13 November 1474 near Héricourt, Burgundy, as part of the Burgundian Wars. It resulted in victory for the Swiss Confederacy and its allies over the Burgundian State.[3]

Battle of Héricourt
Part of the Burgundian Wars

The battle as depicted in the Zürcher Schilling
Date13-14 November 1474
Location
Héricourt
Result Swiss-allied victory
Belligerents
 Burgundian State  Swiss Confederacy
 Strasbourg
 Basel
Colmar
Sélestat
Commanders and leaders
Jacques of Savoy
Henri of Neuchâtel		 Canton of Bern Niklaus von Scharnachtal
Strength
12,000[1][2] ~18,000[1]
Casualties and losses
~1,600
At least 70 captured[1]		 Light[1]

The battle

The Swiss and their allies (Lower League, Austrian cities of Alsace, Swabian imperial cities) set out on their campaign immediately after war was declared on Charles the Bold. One army entered Alsace via Basel and a second via Porrentruy.[4] On 8 November 1474 they besieged Héricourt, which controlled the road from the Sundgau to Burgundy. They were opposed by 12,000 troops (8,000 mounted fighters and 4,000 foot soldiers) under the command of Henri of Neuchâtel and Jacques of Savoy, Count of Romont.[1]

On the 13th November at noon, the Swiss received a report of the approaching reinforcements. They broke their siege and attacked the Burgundians under the leadership of Niklaus von Scharnachtal from Bern, north of Héricourt. With the help of the Habsburg cavalry, they beat the Burgundian cavalry in two battles with little losses. When the decimated troops withdrew, the main power of the allies followed them through the valley of the Lisaine. At the same time, a smaller corps of men from Bern and Lucerne moved through the forested hills and attacked the enemy troops at Chenebier. A final battle occurred at the height of Frahier. When a defeat threatened here, too, the Burgundians fled in all directions.

Subsequently, on 16 November Héricourt's garrison surrendered and was occupied by Austrian troops.[1] The Burgundians had lost more than three thousand men in these battles, while the Swiss had few losses.[5] The inhabitants of the city were allowed to leave the village and take their belongings with them. The castle was handed over to Duke Sigismund.

The battle was one of the first using hand-held guns.[6]

See also

References
  1. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. 2010. p. 266.
  2. Morgarten War in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  4. Diebold Schilling: Amtliche Berner Chronik. Band 3, S. 276 (e-codices.unifr.ch).
  5. Rudolf Wackernagel: Der Kampf mit Burgund. In: Geschichte der Stadt Basel. Band 2, Teil 1, 6. Buch, Verlag von Helbing & Lichtenhahn, Basel 1911, S. 77–78 (Volltext [Wikisource]).
  6. The Artillery of the Dukes of Burgundy, 1363-1477 Robert Douglas Smith, Kelly DeVries; Boydell Press, 2005 page 36, ISBN 978-1843831624

47°35′N 6°46′E

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