Battle of Morat
Swiss victory in the Burgundian Wars, 22 June 1476
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Battle of Morat ((French: Bataille de Morat; German: Schlacht bei Murten) took place during the Burgundian Wars (1474–1477) that was fought on 22 June 1476 between Charles the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy, and a Swiss Confederation army at Morat (Murten), about 30 kilometres from Bern. It was the second major engagement of the Burgundian Wars, and ended in a crippling defeat for Charles the Bold. The severity of the losses permanently crippled the Burgundian army and their military efforts.
| Battle of Morat | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Burgundian Wars | |||||||
Illustration from the Zürcher Schilling (1480/1484) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
Duchy of Burgundy Duchy of Savoy |
Old Swiss Confederacy Duchy of Lorraine Upper Alsace[1] | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Charles the Bold Jacques of Savoy John of Luxembourg † |
Hans von Hallwyl Hans Waldmann Adrian von Bubenberg René II, Duke of Lorraine | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| c. 12,000[2]–c. 20,000[3] | c. 25,000[4] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 6,000–10,000 | 410 | ||||||
  Location within Switzerland | |||||||
Background
The Burgundian Wars (1474–1477) were a product of the expansionist ambitions of Charles the Bold, who had been crowned Duke of Burgundy in 1467.