37:
397:
favorable ground. During the delicate maneuver, the bulk of the Swiss army arrived, and the
Burgundian army, already pulling back, soon became confused when the second and larger body of Swiss troops appeared. The speed of the Swiss advance did not give the Burgundians time to make much use of their artillery. The withdrawal soon turned into a rout when the Burgundian troops panicked and fled. For a time, Charles rode among them shouting orders, but once started, the rout was unstoppable, and he was forced to flee as well.
409:
401:
344:
424:
Few casualties were suffered on either side since the Swiss did not have the cavalry necessary to chase the
Burgundians far. At little cost to themselves, the Swiss had defeated one of the most feared armies in Europe and taken an impressive amount of treasure. Charles had the habit of travelling to
384:
to the
Bernese operations of 1475 in Vaud made the Confederate reinforcements arrive too late to retake Grandson. The Swiss had no news of the fate of the Grandson garrison and assembled their forces in the hope of lifting the siege. Their army, consisting of 18,000 troops from the eight cantons and
363:
or hanging. Swiss sources are unanimous in stating that the men gave up only when
Charles assured them that they would be spared. The historian Panigarola, who was with Charles, claimed that the garrison had thrown themselves on the mercy of the duke, and it was up to his discretion what to do with
457:
There were found sadly the honorable men still freshly hanging on the trees in front of the castle whom the tyrant had hanged. It was a wretched, pitiable sight. There were hung ten or twenty men on one bough. The trees were bent down and were completely full. ere hanged a father and a son next to
396:
Advancing on two routes, the Swiss had halted near the forest and awaited their main army to arrive when they encountered
Charles's forces near Concise. In the ensuing skirmish, the Burgundian cavalry was unable to hold the enemy vanguard, and Charles ordered his troops to pull back to a more
364:
them. He ordered all 412 men of the garrison to be executed. In a scene
Panigarola described as "shocking and horrible" and sure to fill the Swiss with dread, all the victims were led past Charles' tent and hanged from trees or drowned in the lake in an execution that lasted four hours.
458:
each other, there two brothers or other friends. And there came the honorable men who knew them; who were their friends, cousins and brothers, who found them miserably hanging. There was first anger and distress in crying and bewailing.
441:. The Swiss initially had little idea of the value of their loot. A small surviving part of this fantastic booty is on display in various Swiss museums today, and a few remaining artillery pieces can be seen in the museum of
462:
Charles had attempted to break the will of the Swiss by killing any of their countrymen whom he could apprehend. Instead, he united them as never before. When the
Burgundians met the Swiss at the
683:, The Swiss and War: the Impact of Society on the Swiss Military in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries, unpublished PhD dissertation, Brigham Young University, 1982, pp. 73–76.
123:
143:
453:
After the battle, the Swiss troops came upon the bodies of their countrymen still hanging from trees in
Grandson. An eyewitness, Peterman Etterlin, described the scene:
205:
655:
637:
661:
649:
372:
After taking
Grandson, Charles set up his camp north of the town and protected it by establishing two garrisons nearby. The first occupied
703:
198:
747:
128:
752:
597:
555:
475:
191:
570:
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on 1 March and attacked
Vaumarcus Castle. With about 20,000 men, Charles began to establish himself near the town of
308:
404:
Pillage of the Burgundian camp after the Battle of Grandson, illustration by Diebold Schilling the Elder (1483)
148:
417:
36:
437:. All of them were looted from his tent by the Confederate army, together with his silver bath and ducal
48:
695:
Die Burgunderbeute: Inventar der BeutestĂĽcke aus den Schlachten von Grandson, Murten und Nancy 1476/1477
757:
41:
The Swiss army (left) and the Burgundian army (right) at the Battle of Grandson. Illustration from the
589:
The Sancy Blood Diamond: Power, Greed, and the Cursed History of One of the World's Most Coveted Gems
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235:
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296:
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107:
73:
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8:
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667:"Panigarola and den Herzog (Galeazzo Maria Sforza) von Orbe," 4 March 1476 as cited in
671:
ed. Quellenbuch zur Schweizergeschichte, (Zurich: Schulthess, 1901), pp. 232–234.
319:. After negotiations for the restitution of Vaud failed in January 1476, Charles left
674:
646:, Memoirs: the Reign of Louis XI, (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1972), pp. 280–282.
603:
593:
425:
battles with an array of priceless artifacts as talismans, from carpets belonging to
658:, Kronika von der loblichen Eidgnoschaft, (Basel: Eckenstien, 1752), pp. 89–91.
640:, Schweizerchronik, (Basel: Basler Buch- und Antiquariatshandlung, 1910) 2: 244–249.
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with the bulk of his army, consisting of about 12,000 men, and advanced through the
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280:
276:
134:
119:
102:
664:, Chronik aus den Zeiten des Burgunderkriegs, (Basel: Bahnmaier, 1851) 2: 357–360.
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463:
332:
272:
255:
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28:
548:
542:
536:
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The siege of Grandson and the execution of the Swiss garrison, illustration by
324:
316:
230:
43:
380:, and the second entrenched itself further north. The opposition of the other
183:
736:
718:
705:
607:
442:
438:
381:
355:
After the surrender of Grandson Castle, Charles had its garrison executed by
408:
331:, his army on 21 February captured the town of Grandson and laid siege to
377:
400:
343:
587:
373:
320:
466:(Murten in German) in June 1476, the Swiss annihilated his army.
413:
328:
386:
430:
300:
77:
338:
549:
543:
537:
688:
Charles the Bold: The Last Valois Duke of Burgundy.
652:, Chronik, (Zurich: Meyer, 1847), pp. 150–151.
572:Charles the Bold, last Duke of Burgundy, 1433–1477
631:
734:
677:, Die Berner-Chronik, (Bern: Wyss,) 1: 373–375.
213:
585:
199:
376:Castle and blocked the main axis leading to
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206:
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592:. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 36–38.
697:, Verlag Stämpfli & Cie, Bern 1963.
412:The booty of Grandson put on display in
407:
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393:on 2 March in an unfavourable position.
342:
385:numerous allies, established itself at
271:was fought on 2 March 1476, during the
735:
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51:(1483), who was present at the battle.
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339:Execution of Grandson Castle garrison
275:, and resulted in a major defeat for
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556:Historical Dictionary of Switzerland
476:Battles of the Old Swiss Confederacy
335:, which surrendered on 28 February.
13:
690:London, Longman Group Ltd., 1973.
488:
16:Part of the Burgundian Wars (1476)
14:
769:
311:, had been brutally taken by the
35:
445:, near Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
748:Battles of the Burgundian Wars
632:References and further reading
614:
579:
562:
1:
753:Battles involving Switzerland
418:Diebold Schilling the Younger
290:
448:
327:towards Vaud. After seizing
124:Louis de Chalon-Châtel-Guyon
7:
469:
144:Wilhelm Herter von Hertneck
49:Diebold Schilling the Elder
10:
774:
531: Dimitry Queloz:
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226:
169:
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113:
96:
55:
34:
26:
21:
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586:Ronald, Susan (2004).
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421:
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283:, at the hands of the
114:Commanders and leaders
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411:
403:
346:
313:Old Swiss Confederacy
295:In 1475, the town of
285:Old Swiss Confederacy
170:Casualties and losses
108:Old Swiss Confederacy
644:Philippe de Commynes
569:Ruth Putnam (1908).
435:Three Brothers jewel
303:, which belonged to
715: /
427:Alexander the Great
719:46.8169°N 6.6331°E
693:Florens Deuchler,
656:Petterlin Etterlin
638:Heinrich Brennwald
622:Die Burgunderbeute
620:Florens Deuchler,
533:Battle of Grandson
422:
416:, illustration by
406:
353:
269:Battle of Grandson
22:Battle of Grandson
758:Conflicts in 1476
686:Richard Vaughan,
675:Diebold Schilling
599:978-0-471-43651-5
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433:diamond and the
429:to the 55-carat
309:Jacques of Savoy
305:Charles the Bold
277:Charles the Bold
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120:Charles the Bold
103:Burgundian State
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681:Alberto Winkler
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464:Battle of Morat
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333:Grandson Castle
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273:Burgundian Wars
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217:Burgundian Wars
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29:Burgundian Wars
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743:1476 in Europe
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361:Lake Neuchâtel
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325:Jura Mountains
317:Canton of Bern
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44:Berner Chronik
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443:La Neuveville
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349:Johann Stumpf
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88:Swiss victory
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97:Belligerents
63:2 March 1476
42:
722: /
220:(1474–1477)
147: [
127: [
737:Categories
707:46°49′01″N
291:Background
279:, Duke of
710:6°37′59″E
608:942897524
449:Aftermath
378:Neuchâtel
374:Vaumarcus
236:HĂ©ricourt
470:See also
357:drowning
321:Lorraine
307:'s ally
297:Grandson
281:Burgundy
246:Grandson
157:Strength
74:Grandson
68:Location
27:Part of
550:Italian
414:Lucerne
391:Concise
329:Yverdon
178:Minimal
175:Minimal
165:~18,000
162:~20,000
137:†
624:, q.v.
606:
596:
544:French
538:German
420:(1513)
387:Bevaix
368:Battle
351:(1548)
241:Planta
133:
85:Result
482:Notes
431:Sancy
256:Nancy
251:Morat
231:Neuss
151:]
131:]
72:Near
604:OCLC
594:ISBN
547:and
535:in
439:seal
301:Vaud
267:The
78:Vaud
60:Date
359:in
299:in
47:by
739::
602:.
541:,
490:^
287:.
149:de
129:fr
76:,
610:.
575:.
559:.
207:e
200:t
193:v
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