Battle of Héricourt
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Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy (1433–1477), around 1460
| date | November 13, 1474 |
|---|---|
| place | Héricourt , near Belfort |
| output | Federal victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
Henri de Neuchâtel-Blamont |
Wilhelm Herter (Lower Association), Niklaus II. Von Scharnachthal (Bern), Willi Techtermann (Freiburg) |
| Troop strength | |
| 12,000 men (6,800 mercenaries and 5,000 Italians of the Count of Romont) | 18,000 men (including approx. 10,000 Austrians, Alsatians, Lower Association) |
| losses | |
|
approx. 3,000 dead |
around 400 dead |
The Battle of Héricourt was the first military conflict in the Burgundian Wars . It took place on November 13, 1474 near Héricourt in what is now the French department of Haute-Saône .
prehistory
Emperor Friedrich III. was at war with Charles the Bold of Burgundy because Charles pursued an expansionist policy. Friedrich feared for the Habsburg cities in Alsace , which Siegmund von Habsburg had previously pledged to Karl. The likewise expansionist federal city of Bern was allied with Charles' archenemy, the French King Louis XI. For whom a war between the Confederates against Burgundy came in very handy. Since Karl did not intend to return the pledged areas under the administration of Peter von Hagenbach , Friedrich III succeeded. with the help of the French king a rapprochement with the confederates, and he urged them to take part in the imperial war against Charles the Bold.
On October 12, the Confederates concluded the Eternal Direction with Siegmund von Habsburg , which ended the long hostility with the Habsburgs and paved the way for the war against Burgundy. At the same time, the Confederates joined the Lower Association (the Upper Rhine cities of Basel , Kolmar , Strasbourg and Schlettstadt ), which also suffered from Karl's attacks.
On October 25, Berne declared war on Charles the Bold without the knowledge of the rest of the Confederation. Only on the following day, without knowledge of the declaration of war on Karl, did the Diet sign the contract with Louis XI. and gave Bern the power of attorney for further action. In order to do justice to the contractual partners and to please the French king, the Bernese sent 3,000 men to Alsace. On November 13, Siegmund and the Lower Association of Karl also declared war.
course
Immediately after the federal declaration of war, 18,000 Confederates and allies (Lower Association, cities of Alsace, Swabian imperial cities) set out on a campaign against Charles the Bold. Two armies invaded Alsace, one via Pruntrut , the other via Basel. To separate the Sundgau from Burgundy, they besieged Héricourt on November 8th, who controlled the road from Sundgau to Burgundy. The Burgundians responded with a relief army of 12,000 men, which marched to Héricourt under the leadership of Count Heinrich von Neuenburg-Blamont .
When the Confederates noticed the relief army on November 13th, they interrupted the siege and attacked the Burgundians under the leadership of Bernese Nicholas II of Scharnachthal north of Héricourt. With the help of the Habsburg cavalry, they defeated the Burgundian cavalry in two skirmishes with minor losses . The Héricourt garrison surrendered and fell into Habsburg hands.
consequences
The Battle of Héricourt, the least known battle of the Burgundian Wars , was followed by the occupation of Lorraine by Charles. Various trains of federal freelancers to Pontarlier , Vaud (conquest of Grandson , Orbe and Jougne ) and again to the free county ( L'Isle , Blamont , Grammont ) and Vaud (capture of Yverdon , Lausanne , Morges ), repeatedly condemned by the Diet , Les Clées , and forty-three castles) followed. These moves were mostly tolerated or even supported by Bern, but they put the Confederates in an even more delicate position. In 1476 Karl undertook a campaign against the Confederates, which ended devastating for him in the battles of Grandson and the siege of Murten .
See also
Web link
- Dimitry Queloz: Héricourt, Battle of. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .