Battle of Crevola

Battle of Crevola
Part of the Transalpine campaigns
The battle of Crevola in the Luzerner Schilling
Date April 28, 1487[3] Location Crevoladossola, Piedmont Result Milanese victory [1][2][4]
Belligerents
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	800–1,000 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

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

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

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

• Battles of the Old Swiss Confederacy

References

1. Iselin, Jacob Cristof (1742). Neu-vermehrtes historisch- und geographisches allgemeines Lexicon, Volume 3. Basel.
2. Vögelin, Johann Konrad (1855). Geschichte der Schwizerischen Eidsgenossenschaft: Vol I-II. Zürich.
3. Historischer Verein der fünf Orte Luzern, Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden & Zug (1838). Der Geschichtsfreund: 16.Band/Vol.14-15. Einsiedeln.
4. Historischer Verein des Kantons Bern (1926). Archiv des Historischen Vereins des Kantons Bern. Bern.
5. Bianchini, Francesco (1828). Le cose rimarchevoli della città di Novara: precedute da compendio storico. Novara.
6. Ehrenzeller, Wilhelm (1913). Die Feldzüge der Walliser und Eidgenossen ins Eschental und der Wallishandel, 1484-1494. Zürich.
7. Fink, Urban (2006). Hirtenstab und Hellebarde. Zürich.
8. Büchi, Albert (1923). Kardinal Matthäus Schiner als Staatsmann und Kirchenfürst: Vol.1. Zürich.
9. Furrer, Sigismund (1850). Geschichte von Wallis. Sitten.
10. Rudolf, J. M. (1847). Die Kriegsgeschichte der Schweizer. Baden.
11. Società storica lombarda (1889). Archivio storico lombardo: Giornale della Società storica lombarda, Volume 16. Milan.
12. Fäsi, Johann Conrad (1768). Staats- Und Erd-Beschreibung, Vierter Band. Zürich.
13. Pfyffer, Kasimir (1850). Geschichte der stadt und des kantons Luzern, Part 1. Zürich.