Swabian War of 1499 - A Contest Between Two Early Tactical Infantries

In 1499 a ferocious war was waged between the Swiss states and the German Empire. It was costly conflict and an estimated two hundred villages were destroyed and over twenty thousand combat troops were killed, not to mention uncounted thousands of non-combatants. The Swiss had developed into one of the first truly tactical infantries, capable of complex maneuvers in both offensive and defensive roles. But in the Swabian War, the Swiss faced another truly tactical infantry, the German Landsknechts, who based their military on the Swiss model. In an number of campaigns and battles, the two forces met in closely fought contests, leaving the impression that Swiss dominance as an infantry had met its match. AUTHOR: Albert Winkler has three masters' degrees and a Ph.D. in Medieval Warfare, and his dissertation dealt with the Swiss military in the Middle Ages. He has published nearly sixty books and articles almost all dealing with military history, and he has been given two prestigious awards for the best article of the year in the Utah Historical Quarterly. He is currently a history instructor at Utah Valley University, and over six hundred students at that institution voted him teacher of the year on 2010. 35 b/w illustrations, 2 colour figures, 8pp colour plates, 5 colour maps