Battle of Crevola
| Battle of Crevola | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Transalpine campaigns | |||||||
 The battle of Crevola in the Luzerner Schilling | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
.svg){kind=small} Duchy of Milan[1] |
Old Swiss Confederacy:[2] Valais Lucerne | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Renato Trivulzio Giberto Borromeo Giampietro Bergamino [5][6] |
Jost von Silenen Albin von Silenen (POW) [4][7][8] | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
1,200 Cavalry [9][10] 2,000 Infantry [9][10] total of 3,500 troops [11] |
6,000 Infantry [9][11] 1,000 Swiss joined from the Saluzzo Campaign | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown |
800-1000 killed [2][9][10][12] | ||||||
The Battle of Crevola was fought in the spring of 1487, between a marauding Swiss army from the Valais and Lucerne[1][12] and troops from the Duchy of Milan,[1] for the supremacy of the Val d'Ossola (Eschental) .
Prelude
[edit]In the year 1487, for unknown but petty reasons, Bishop Jost von Silenen entered into dispute with the Count of Arona,[2] whose seignory was the Duke of Milan.[13] The Knight Albin von Silenen, brother of Bishop Jost von Silenen, was appointed the leader of this military expedition.[8] As soon as the Simplon pass was passable, the Swiss crossed into the Val d'Ossola; here they were joined by another 1,000 Swiss, who were returning from Savoy.[9]
Battle
[edit]The Swiss besieged Domo, occupied the castle of Mattarella, and terribly ravaged the impoverished valleys.[1] The Duke of Milan, however, ordered the Ossolani to keep the Swiss inactive with false peace negotiations, until the duchy could dispatch a sufficient army.[13] Once the troops were assembled, they were split into three separate corps under the command of Renato Trivulzio, Count Borromeo, and Gio. Pietro Bergamino.[5] The Swiss were once again marauding in the villages of the Valle Vigezzo, when they were assaulted by the Milanese troops from three sides.[13] The Swiss formed a square and a murderous combat ensued, in which the Swiss lost 800-1000 men and all their baggage.[9][5] The rest of the Swiss troops were allowed to flee into the impassable mountain range.[12] The corpses of the dead Swiss were desecrated by the local peasants: the heads and fingers were cut off, the heads put on pikes and the fingers used as hat decorations.[9]
Aftermath
[edit]Further bloodshed was however prevented, when a legation of the Old Swiss Confederacy negotiated a peace treaty with the Duchy of Milan on July 23, 1487.[1][12] At ponte di Crevola, the Ossolani dedicated an Oratory to Martyr Saint Vitalis in honour and remembrance of this victorious battle.[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Iselin, Jacob Cristof (1742). Neu-vermehrtes historisch- und geographisches allgemeines Lexicon, Volume 3. Basel.
- ^ a b c d Vögelin, Johann Konrad (1855). Geschichte der Schwizerischen Eidsgenossenschaft: Vol I-II. Zürich.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Historischer Verein der fünf Orte Luzern, Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden & Zug (1838). Der Geschichtsfreund: 16.Band/Vol.14-15. Einsiedeln.
- ^ a b Historischer Verein des Kantons Bern (1926). Archiv des Historischen Vereins des Kantons Bern. Bern.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c d Bianchini, Francesco (1828). Le cose rimarchevoli della città di Novara: precedute da compendio storico. Novara.
- ^ Ehrenzeller, Wilhelm (1913). Die Feldzüge der Walliser und Eidgenossen ins Eschental und der Wallishandel, 1484-1494. Zürich.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Fink, Urban (2006). Hirtenstab und Hellebarde. Zürich.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b Büchi, Albert (1923). Kardinal Matthäus Schiner als Staatsmann und Kirchenfürst: Vol.1. Zürich.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c d e f g Furrer, Sigismund (1850). Geschichte von Wallis. Sitten.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c Rudolf, J. M. (1847). Die Kriegsgeschichte der Schweizer. Baden.
- ^ a b Società storica lombarda (1889). Archivio storico lombardo: Giornale della Società storica lombarda, Volume 16. Milan.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c d Fäsi, Johann Conrad (1768). Staats- Und Erd-Beschreibung, Vierter Band. Zürich.
- ^ a b c Pfyffer, Kasimir (1850). Geschichte der stadt und des kantons Luzern, Part 1. Zürich.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)