Now that I Painted
All these Swiss
What Do I Do with Them?

Battle of Grandson:
March 2 1476

by Tom McMillen
Maps by A. Karasa

Grandson lies in the Jura region of western Switzerland, on a narrow strip of reasonably flat ground between Lake Neuchatel and the impassable wooded heights of Mount Aubert. A few miles north of the town a thickly forested spur of the mountain extends to the shore of the lake, so that even though the two armies involved were virtually on top of each other they were not aware of the others presence.

The Burgundians of Charles the Bold had recently taken Grandson by siege and hanged the garrison, so they know that the Swiss would soon be rushing south to avenge their countrymen. As the Confederates worked their way across the spur, the three divisions of their army became separated and lost contact, the main battle and rearward divisions halting even though sharp skirmishes with Burgundian patrols had occurred at defiles in the woods.

A small advance group of Swiss emerged from the woods and began skirmishing with the Burgundians, who hastily drew up in battle formation.

They placed their artillery, some 200-300 pieces, on a small hill along the Corcelles road, and kept the heavy cavalry with the main body. Before long the entire Swiss Vorhut (forward division), along with elements of the main battle, had arrived in front of the spur and formed a massive square containing about half of their total army. It is important to note that they did not immediately charge headlong into the Burgundian lines, but held their ground and awaited reinforcements.

The Burgundians launched cavalry attacks against the Swiss right flank, but these were hampered by lack of space before the ground sloped too steeply. The charges were not without effect, penetrating the Swiss position to the standards, but the square remained intact. Charles then attempted to break the stalemate by retreating his infantry center, hoping that his opponents would move forward onto open ground where their flanks and rear would be exposed.

Unfortunately, while this maneuver was being carried out, the rest of the Swiss army arrived with horns blowing, drums beating, etc., causing the Burgundian foot to "fail their Reaction Tests" en masse and continue their retreat all the way to Burgundy. Thus the battle never really commenced, and the one bright spot for Charles was that his army had fled so precipitously that is suffered few casualties.

More Swiss

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