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The Battle of Morat (also known as the Battle of Murten) was a battle in the Burgundian Wars (1474–77) that was fought on June 22, 1476, between Charles I, Duke of Burgundy and a Swiss Confederate army at Morat, about 30 kilometres from Berne. ==Background== Stung by his defeat by the Swiss Confederation at Grandson in March 1476, Charles, Duke of Burgundy reorganised his tangled but otherwise mainly intact army at Lausanne. By the end of May he once again felt ready to march against the Confederates to recover his territories and fortifications in the Pays de Vaud then march on and attack the city of Berne, his greatest enemy among the Swiss cantons. His first objective was the strategic lakeside town of Morat, set on the eastern shore of Lake Morat. On June 11, 1476, the Burgundians commenced the siege of the well-prepared town, whose forces were commanded by the Bernese general Adrian von Bubenberg.〔Vaughn pg. 389〕 An initial assault was repulsed by a heavy barrage of fire from light guns mounted on the walls, but two great bombards used by the Burgundians were slowly reducing the walls to rubble. By June 19 the Confederate muster was near complete at their camp behind the Sarine (Saane) River. Only a contingent of some 4,000 men from Zürich had yet to arrive and these were not expected until June 22. Charles in the meantime had been kept reasonably well informed of the approach of the Confederate army, though he did nothing to hinder their approach. This is not to say that he was unprepared for the arrival of the Swiss; indeed in typical fashion Charles had prepared an elaborate plan to meet the enemy on ground of his choosing where he thought they would approach from some from Morat. The terrain around the town is quite hilly and he had chosen to rest his left flank artillery on a steeply sloped gorge cut by the Burggraben stream. In the centre, behind an elaborate ditch and palisade entrenchment known as the Grunhag, stood the bulk of Charles’ infantry and artillery not engaged in besieging Murten itself. These were to fight the Confederation pike and halberd blocks to a halt while on the right the massed Gendarmes would then flank the frontally engaged Swiss, thus creating a killing ground from which there was no escape. On June 21, 1476, Charles expected the Confederation forces to attack. He arraigned his armies and prepared for the coming assault. However, the Swiss commanders decided to wait an additional day for the troops from Zürich. After about six hours of waiting Charles ordered his troops to stand down and return to camp. 〔Vaughan pg. 392〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Morat」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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