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	800-1000 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

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

This page was last edited on 25 May 2023, at 13:17