Battle of Näfels

Battle of Näfels
Part of the expansion of the Swiss Confederation
A commemorative plaque at the Battle of Näfels memorial near Näfels
Date 9 April 1388 Location Näfels Result Decisive Swiss victory
Belligerents
Old Swiss Confederacy Canton of Glarus Canton of Uri Canton of Schwyz	Archduchy of Austria
Commanders and leaders
	Donat von Toggenburg Hans von Werdenberg-Sargans
Strength
400+ men	6,500 men
Casualties and losses
54 dead	ca. 1,700 dead

 Old Swiss Confederacy

Donat von Toggenburg

The Battle of Näfels was fought on 9 April 1388 between Glarus with its allies, the Old Swiss Confederation, and the Habsburgs. It was a decisive Glarner victory despite being outnumbered sixteen to one.

The Battle of Näfels was the last battle of the Swiss-Austrian conflicts that stretched through most of the 14th Century. A few weeks after the Battle of Sempach on 9 July 1386, the Old Swiss Confederation attacked and besieged the Habsburg village of Weesen on the Walensee. The following year, Glarus rose up against the Habsburgs and destroyed Burg Windegg. Then, on 11 March 1387, the town council declared itself free of Habsburg control.

In response, on the night of 21–22 February 1388, an Austrian army attacked the village of Weesen and drove off the Swiss forces. In the beginning of April, two Austrian armies marched out to cut off Glarus from the rest of the Confederation. The main army, with about 5,000 men, marched toward Näfels under the command of the Graf Donat von Toggenburg and the Knight Peter von Thorberg. A second column, with about 1,500 men under the command of Graf Hans von Werdenberg-Sargans, marched over the Kerenzerberg Pass.

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Wikipedia