Battle near Koblach
Overview map of the Old Zurich War
| date | January 30, 1445 |
|---|---|
| place | Koblach , Vorarlberg , Austria |
| output | Victory of the Confederates |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Troop strength | |
| about 4000 men | unknown |
| losses | |
|
75 dead |
4 dead |
Etzel · Pfäffikon · Grüningen I · Freienbach · Blickensdorf · Hirzel · Bremgarten · Regensberg · Grüningen II · St. Jakob an der Sihl · Greifensee · St. Jakob an der Birs · Erlenbach I · Koblach · Sargans · Wil · Kirchberg · Wolfhalden · Obertoggenburg · Wigoltingen · Erlenbach II · Männedorf · Wollerau · Ragaz
The battle near Koblach was a military conflict that took place on January 30, 1445 (according to other sources January 28, 29 or 31) in the course of the Old Zurich War in what is now Vorarlberg . The opponents were on the one hand troops of the federal places and the surrounding area Appenzell , on the other hand troops of the Habsburgs and their allies.
prehistory
When Appenzell entered the war on April 30, 1444 and the fighting in the Sarganserland and the St. Gallen Rhine Valley , the warfare increasingly shifted from the Zurich area to what is now Eastern Switzerland. In May and September 1444, the Swiss led two campaigns against the rebellious Sarganserländer by where they the reigns Nidberg and Freudenberg , under the protection of the since 30 January 1437 Schwyz and Glarus standing in a country right Count Henry II. Of Werdenberg-Sargans († approx. 1447) and Feldkircher Vogt Wolfhart V. von Brandis stood, took possession and asked the country folk to swear allegiance to them. In addition, they demanded that Count Heinrich, as their compatriot, keep the castle and city of Sargans open for the war against the Habsburgs and Glarus raised claims to the castles of Nidberg and Freudenberg. Count Heinrich then changed sides, probably also due to the distress from the country folk in his own territory - together with Wolfhart von Brandis - and declared the two places on November 30, 1444 "as a count des richs" , i.e. in the name of the king, the imperial war . He accused her of having robbed his people and invaded "our land of Sangans" without cancellation . Immediately afterwards, a well-planned major military action under the leadership of the Werdenbergers and the barons of Brandis took place when, on December 1st, an army of allegedly 6000 men advanced through the Seeztal from the east and occupied Walenstadt , where Heinrich's eldest son, Wilhelm von Werdenberg – Sargans, took over command.
On January 28, 1445, a contingent consisting of teams from Winterthur , Frauenfeld and Zurich appeared under the command of Hans von Rechberg and lay down in front of Wil ; the surrounding villages were set on fire, the cattle in the area were taken away and the way back via Zuckenriet started. After the storm had sounded, citizens of Wiler and Schwyz, as well as Toggenburgers who had moved in from the nearby villages, gathered and pursued the opponents as far as Hittingen , where they were ambushed and had to flee. Two people from Schwyz named Kaspar Turner and Werner Güpfer were killed.
The federal side then decided to take revenge against the Vorarlberg area, which was directed against the Austrians and in particular against Count Heinrich von Werdenberg-Sargans , who were perceived as faithless, and against Baron Wolfhart V. von Brandis , who had both changed sides at the end of November 1444. The Toggenburg ruled by Petermann von Raron and the city of Wil should also be relieved of the constant harassment.
On January 29, 1445, 300 men from Schwyz with 200 men each from the city of Bern and Glarus as well as other teams from Zug and Nidwalden gathered and moved to Uznach over the Rickenpass to Lichtensteig and from there to the meeting place Appenzell , where more 300 men from Wil and Toggenburg moved in. There they were reinforced by the able-bodied men there under the Appenzell banner , so the entire army grew to a total of around 4,000 men, half of which consisted of 2,000 Appenzell residents and 2,000 other Swiss Confederates.
course
On Saturday, January 30th, 1445 the army marched east over the Stoss via Altstätten to Montlingen and crossed the Rhine to Koblach . The defenders, who had been stationed for months, were pushed towards the Neuburg by the far superior attackers , where they made themselves available for defense due to the castle's advantageous location and bravely resisted. In the ensuing battle, however, they had to give way to the superior forces and left 75 dead on the Walstatt , the castle was stormed. Only four men of the confederates are said to have died. These are known by name, namely Ulrich Suter, Konrad Schübel, Ulrich Schübel and Werner Büri from Schwyz.
Immediately afterwards they devastated and pillaged the entire right-hand Vorarlberg Alpine Rhine Valley . First, the confederates turned against Altenstadt (Feldkirch) and Rankweil , both of which went up in smoke, the latter place including the Liebfrauenbergkirche . Then they turned down the Rhine towards Lake Constance , where the castle and the village of Fussach were set on fire and the market town of Dornbirn was sacked for 3,000 guilders; In Bregenz , too , the suburbs and the wood stores were burned down.
consequences
The conquest was continued and both banks of the Rhine were devastated. It first led again to the left bank of the Rhine against the county of Werdenberg , then a division was eliminated that crossed the river again to take action against the barons of Brandis ; in the process, Gutenberg Castle and the associated town of Balzers ( County of Vaduz in what is now Liechtenstein ) were sacked. The army then moved across the Schollberg in front of the Letzinen near Mels , whereupon they lay down in front of Sargans in order to besiege this town from February 5th .
Web links
- Martin Illi: Old Zurich War. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gabriel Rüsch : Historical-geographical representation of the canton of Appenzell, with special consideration of its sanatoriums, alpine regions and industry (1844), p. 20
- ^ Johannes Wieland: History of the war events in Helvetia and Rhaetia, Volume 1 1827, pp. 194–195
- ^ Karl Wegelin: History of the Toggenburg Landscape 1830, pp. 256-257
- ↑ Rankweil parish: History - Rankweil and its basilica.
- ^ Alois Niederstätter : History of Vorarlberg , p. 137
- ^ Topic Vorarlberg: The Neuburg - one of the oldest castles in the country and Habsburg's first base in Vorarlberg.
- ↑ Thomas Fassbind: History of the Canton Schwyz, Volume 2 1833, pp. 362-364