Battle of Wolfhalden
Overview map of the Old Zurich War
| date | June 11, 1445 |
|---|---|
| place | Wolfhalden , Canton of Appenzell (today Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden ) |
| output | Appenzell victory |
| consequences | Conquest of the Rhine Valley |
| Peace treaty | Armistice June 12, 1446 |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
|
|
| Troop strength | |
| unknown | unknown |
| losses | |
|
170–177 dead, |
unknown |
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 of Wolfhalden , sometimes referred to as the Battle of Wolfshalde , was a military conflict between Appenzell and Habsburg Austria and was fought on June 11, 1445 in the course of the Old Zurich War in the Appenzell Vorderland.
The opponents were on the one hand the federally facing place Appenzell and on the other hand troops of the Austrian Duke Albrecht VI. of Austria .
prehistory
The Old Zurich War , which broke out in 1439 and had raged since 1443, increasingly shifted from the Zurich area to what is now eastern Switzerland from 1444 onwards . The town of Appenzell, since 1411 as a result of Appenzell Wars one facing location of the eight ancient cantons of the Confederation , both warring parties agreed to, despite the insistence to enter the war as the Abbey of St. Gall and the city initially neutral. On the federal side, Schwyz and Baron Petermann von Raron in particular had an interest in Appenzell's entry into the war; The latter had inherited the county of Toggenburg and after Heinrich von Werdenberg-Sargan's transfer to the opposite side on November 30, 1444, he was the only nobleman left in the war on the federal side, which made Toggenburg's already exposed location even stronger. In the spring of 1444, the Appenzeller decided on the federal side and on April 30, 1444 sent a declaration of war to the city of Zurich and the Austrian government. This brought relief to Toggenburg, but the state of Appenzell itself was now in an exposed position, which is why the Appenzell people were initially reluctant to take military action outside their country.
At the end of January 1445, the Appenzell people joined a campaign by the Schwyz, Glarnern and other allies to devastate the Rhine valley on the left bank of the Rhine and the region on the right bank of the Rhine in Vorarlberg from Feldkirch to Fußach on February 3, and then proceed against the Sarganserland . (→ Battle near Koblach and Siege of Sargans )
course
On June 11, 1445, two advances by the opposing side took place. A contingent of several hundred men moved from Winterthur against the lower Toggenburg, which was rejected by the troops of Petermann von Raron in the battle near Kirchberg . On the same day an army moved out of Rheineck to advance via Thal against the Letzi near Wolfhalden and to attack Appenzell directly. This was manned by a guard of about 70 men. In the meantime, the leadership of the Appenzell main contingent was warned by scouts of the danger of an impending invasion, so that the main army, including newcomers from Toggenburg, immediately moved to reinforce Wolfhalden. It arrived on the spot when the Austrian troops broke through the dam. The tactics of the Appenzeller concentrated for the time being on the horses of the mounted, which shied away and the position of the Austrians got into some disorder. It then dissolved and they fled towards the Rhine Valley , where they were pursued from the Appenzellern down to the Rhine. According to Hans Fründ , a total of 170 (according to other sources 177) men fell on the Austrian side, and another 22 were taken prisoner.
consequences
The direct consequence of this encounter was the conquest of most of the Rhine Valley by Appenzell. In mid-June, 600 people from Appenzell moved into the Rhine Valley and occupied the area around Altstätten , which on June 24th had to swear allegiance to the people of Appenzell. In December 1445, the town of Rheineck fell to Appenzell, which in future served as the bailiff's seat of the subordinate area , which was designated as the bailiwick of the Rhine Valley from 1445–1490 and administered by Appenzell . As a result of the St. Gallen War , the area then fell in 1490 to the four umbrella locations of the Prince Abbey of St. Gallen, Zurich , Lucerne , Schwyz and Glarus, who administered it as a common rule . In 1491 the four towns of Uri , Unterwalden and Zug became part of the rulership of the Rheintal Bailiwick, then Appenzell again in 1500 and, as a result of the Second Villmerger War, the city republic of Bern in 1712 .
After the liquidation of the Old Zurich War in 1450, on November 15, 1452, due to Appenzell's partisanship in the war, the alliance with the Confederation of VII. Old Places (excluding Bern) was renewed, which meant a slight improvement for Appenzell. As a fully authorized place it was only on December 17, 1513 in the Confederation of the XIII. Old places recorded.
See also
Web links
- Martin Illi: Old Zurich War. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Thomas Fuchs: Wolfhalden. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Peter Niederhäuser, Christian Sieber: A «fratricidal war» makes history (2006)
- ^ Johannes Dierauer : The meeting at Wolfhalden
- ↑ Gabriel Rüsch : Historical-geographical representation of the canton of Appenzell, with special consideration of its health resorts, alpine regions and industry (1844)
- ↑ Hans Fründ : Chronicle of the Old Zurich War