Swabian War
With war about to break out, Emperor Laszlo's trip to Bohemia had to be postponed.
Perhaps convening the Imperial Conference after defeating the Swiss would yield better results.
Following the issuance of the war directive, Austria, which had been accumulating strength for several years, began to operate at full capacity.
The Independent Army was the first to transport large quantities of provisions and heavy supplies, setting off for Innsbruck, the capital of Tyrol.
The Austro-Hungarian Army in Venetia received orders to delay slightly; after some preparations, they also began marching towards Innsbruck.
Due to their dispersed garrisons, the Saxon Army would need some time to assemble in Pressburg.
Emperor Laszlo, leading the Guards, waited for their arrival in Vienna, intending to depart for Innsbruck with the Saxon Army.
The Milan Army, as instructed by Emperor Laszlo, prepared to launch an attack on Leventina, a crucial transportation hub connecting the Swiss Confederation's core Three Forest Cantons with Milan.
Considering that the Milan Army's strength might be insufficient to counter the strongest Three Forest Cantons, Emperor Laszlo issued a conscription order to Margrave William of Montferrat.
William quickly began to assemble troops in his territory, actively preparing for battle, and intending to join the Milan Army to attack Switzerland.
The armies on the Northern Italy front did not have a critical mission; they only needed to provide supporting attacks to delay the Swiss Forest Cantons' armies.
The real main event was in the other three directions.
Attacking the Three Leagues, Switzerland's ally, from Innsbruck, to seize the valley connecting Tyrol to Milan.
Attacking St. Gallen, Thurgau, and Zurich on the shores of Lake Constance from Bregenz.
Attacking Aargau, Aargau-Baden (Note: The Margrave of Baden's ruling center is called Baden-Baden), and Schaffhausen from Outer Austria.
As soon as the war began, the vast majority of the Swiss army would be tied down along the long front lines, with no intention of harassing Burgundy to aid the King of France.
The movements of Austria's tens of thousands of troops could not be hidden from the Imperial Princes, especially the members of the Swabian Imperial Circle, who constantly monitored the Emperor.
The princes were filled with dread, unsure which unfortunate soul would become the Emperor's next target.
However, before the Imperial Army entered Tyrol, "Imperial Chancellor" Ulrich von Eyczing had already arrived in Constance and convened a secret meeting with some representatives of the Swabian Parliament.
The Constance Crisis had passed two years ago.
After their request to join Switzerland was mercilessly rejected by the Forest Cantons, the pro-Imperial Constance city councilors, with the Emperor's support, carried out a brutal purge of the traitors who had sided with Switzerland.
That large-scale unrest even scared the Bishop of Constance into fleeing by boat to a small castle across Lake Constance for refuge.
Now, discussing joining the Swiss Confederation in the Constance city council had become taboo, and the city was filled with supporters of the Emperor.
Although the crisis did not worsen due to the Swiss' internal settlement and concessions, it was enough to sound the alarm for the members of the Swabian Imperial Circle.
They once wanted to change the location of the Swabian Permanent Parliament.
After all, Constance did not look like a suitable place to establish an Imperial Circle parliament.
However, Emperor Laszlo rejected the proposal. Perhaps the previous Constance was indeed unsuitable, but now there would definitely be no problems.
After Eyczing arrived in Constance, he first convened representatives of the Imperial noble ranks.
From the representatives of the Margrave of Baden and the two Counts of Württemberg down to renowned Imperial Knights, all were summoned by him for a meeting.
These individuals were undoubtedly the core supporters of the Emperor.
The free cities and religious princes might not have much enthusiasm for supporting the Emperor in his war against Switzerland.
At the meeting, Eyczing strongly emphasized the threat of Swiss expansion to everyone and promised some political rights and economic benefits.
He didn't even need to exaggerate or embellish; in reality, the Swiss' expansionist desires had never been concealed.
Previously, they only expanded their influence south of the Rhine River, which did not cause much panic among the Swabian princes.
However, after the Constance Crisis, the Swiss suddenly realized that they seemed to have a strong influence and appeal in Swabia.
So they began to try to find new "allies" in more distant places beyond the mountains.
Of course, the "allies" the Swiss valued would eventually become part of it.
In the past few years, Switzerland successively signed alliance treaties with free cities such as Rottweil, Basel, and Mulhouse.
Rottweil was an important city in the Freiburg district of Outer Austria and the seat of the Royal Court's branch in Outer Austria.
Even such a city, deeply influenced by the Habsburg Family, signed a treaty with Switzerland.
Basel, as one of the most famous free cities in the Empire, was now also leaning towards Switzerland.
Basel and Schaffhausen held equally important strategic positions; both cities were important buffer zones between Outer Austria and Switzerland.
Once the Swiss controlled Basel and Schaffhausen, they would have the ability to directly threaten Freiburg, the capital of Outer Austria, as well as Mulhouse, the leader of the Alsace "Ten Cities League," which also showed a yearning for "Free Switzerland."
One might have thought the Emperor's rule in Alsace was already crumbling.
Although Outer Austria was almost synonymous with a place of exile in the eyes of the Austrians, other princes in the Swabian region coveted this land immensely.
One must know that Outer Austria controlled important trade routes at the mouth of the Rhine River, collecting customs duties hand over fist.
Moreover, the Habsburg Family implemented flexible rule in Outer Austria.
On the one hand, the Emperor recognized and guaranteed the autonomy of a series of Imperial free cities such as Mulhouse, Basel, and Strasbourg.
On the other hand, he governed the direct fiefs of the nobility according to feudal customary law.
Thus, the free cities in Alsace paid tribute to the Emperor annually as usual, and the fief-holding nobles, ruled by feudal legal principles, possessed strong military power to ensure the security of the border territories.
Emperor Laszlo was exceptionally lenient towards the Outer Austria border regions, even subsidizing Outer Austria with a sum of money each year to strengthen its defenses.
The local nobles also did not exempt themselves from military obligations to the Emperor by paying military service taxes, unlike most Austrian native nobles now.
They maintained the ancient military traditions of the nobility, and the private soldiers raised by these nobles were also a force not to be underestimated, which could be used to resist Swiss invasions at critical moments.
For the Swabian princes, from every perspective, Outer Austria was a rich and prosperous Imperial border region with strong military power.
At the same time, Outer Austria was also the stabilizing force of the Swabian Imperial Circle, reminding the princes that the Emperor's power was right before their eyes. However, the Swiss stubbornly refused to believe this, constantly inciting the free cities of Outer Austria to resist the Emperor and join the Confederation.
After all, the entire Swiss Confederation originated from Outer Austria, so it was not surprising that they wanted to completely annex the territory of their former overlord.
Habsburg had been burned by the Swiss, and Austria and Switzerland had long been sworn enemies.
People believed that it was precisely such unscrupulous poaching by Switzerland that finally enraged the Emperor.
Now, the Imperial Army was about to launch an expedition against Switzerland.
This war, after all, involved fighting the Swiss, and most noble representatives could not give an immediate answer, but many expressed support for the Emperor.
For the princes of the Swabian region, the existence of Switzerland was always a major threat.
Moreover, being able to follow the Emperor in battle meant having the opportunity to achieve a higher position within the Empire.
The Imperial Knights, whose status was neither high nor low, liked such opportunities the most.
In 1386, Archduke of Austria Leopold III gathered hundreds of fully armed knights in Swabia, intending to wipe out the Swiss Confederation in one fell swoop.
At that time, the Swabian nobles and knights very actively responded to the call of the Archduke of Austria, hoping to achieve great deeds on the battlefield.
Unfortunately, the old farmers of Switzerland's core Three Forest Cantons were too powerful, breaking through Leopold III's knight phalanx and beheading the Archduke.
The Swabian nobles also suffered heavy losses, and the Habsburg Family's influence in Swabia further declined.
Two years later, Glarus, instigated by the Swiss Confederation, declared independence from Habsburg rule.
As a result, over five thousand Austrian rebel suppression troops were again defeated by a surprise attack from over four hundred Swiss guerrillas amidst thick fog.
Due to the collapse of a bridge during their chaotic retreat across the river, Austria suffered nearly a thousand casualties.
The Swiss, on the other hand, lost only about fifty people.
Since then, the Swabian nobles recognized the Habsburg Family's weakness and were unwilling to get involved in the war between Austria and Switzerland again.
The subsequent Aargau Dispute and Zurich War further confirmed their suspicions.
However, times had changed. Compared to the former Habsburg Family rulers, Emperor Laszlo's strength had visibly increased many times over.
This undoubtedly stirred some thoughts among the hesitant Swabian princes.
No matter how one looked at it, following the Emperor this time was fighting an advantageous battle, and there should be no problems.
While Eyczing awaited the replies of the Swabian secular nobles, he convened a full meeting of Swabia to discuss assisting the Emperor in attacking Switzerland.
The religious princes were not concerned about this; the Emperor and the Swiss fighting to the death had little impact on them.
Commercial cities represented by Augsburg and Ulm were not optimistic about this war.
Representatives of these free cities originally wanted to ask the Emperor to first mediate peacefully.
They worried that the war would disrupt regional economic order and harm their interests.
But Eyczing, representing the Emperor, expressed a firm stance: there could be no reconciliation between Austria and Switzerland.
About half a month later, replies from Margrave Karl I of Baden, the Governor of Swabia, and Count Ulrich of Württemberg-Stuttgart, the Deputy Governor, were sent to Constance.
They agreed to assist the Emperor in fighting the Swiss.
In a subsequent vote in the full Swabian Parliament, the Imperial ranks supporting the Emperor accounted for more than half, and the resolution passed smoothly.
However, the Swabian army, even at full strength, was only about seven hundred troops, not even enough to fill the Swiss' teeth.
Fortunately, the Margrave of Baden and the Count of Württemberg had already begun to gather their own armies.
With them as examples, the nobles of the Swabian region began to assemble their troops.
Next, they were going to follow the Emperor to Switzerland to plunder and teach a lesson to those uncivilized barbarians of the mountains who disregarded Imperial law.
If they performed well, they might even gain the Emperor's favor and rise rapidly in status.
Unlike the lower-ranking knights, Emperor Laszlo specifically instructed Eyczing to use more appealing language with the Margrave of Baden and the Count of Württemberg.
For example, raising their titles to Imperial Duke.
As expected, Margrave Karl and Count Ulrich could not resist the temptation of this grand promise and quickly decided to support the Emperor.
Because this war broke out in the Swabian region, and most members of the Swabian Imperial Circle participated in it, later generations generally referred to this Austria-Switzerland war as the Swabian War.
The Austrians called this war the War of Reconquest.
Having completed his mission, Eyczing quickly set off on his return journey and sent someone to report the good news to the Emperor.
When Emperor Laszlo received the news, he had already led an army of over ten thousand through Graz and was currently on his way to Innsbruck.
While the Swabian Imperial Circle was discussing whether to assist the Emperor, the Saxon Army arrived in Vienna from Hungary.
Emperor Laszlo immediately led the Saxon Army and the Guards south.
The large army rendezvoused in Graz with over a thousand light infantry sent by Governor of Croatia Mihailo and proceeded together deeper into the Alps.
The Saxon Army would safely reach Outer Austria via Swabia, where they would await the start of the war.
The army of Outer Austria was also close to completing its assembly, totaling four thousand troops, mainly conscripts.
According to Emperor Laszlo's estimation, the combat effectiveness of the Outer Austria army should be cannon fodder level, suitable for creating a strong presence and fighting in advantageous situations.
As soon as the Swabian allied forces arrived, they would launch a large-scale offensive from Outer Austria into the Aargau region.
This route was likely to have the most troops, but it lacked truly elite units.
The Saxon Army's recruitment had only recently been completed, but their excellent equipment and core mercenaries ensured that this army's combat effectiveness would not be too weak.
As for the Swabian army and the noble armies of Outer Austria, to Emperor Laszlo, they were essentially cost-free consumables, excellent tools for tying down Swiss forces.
Austria's true elites would all gather in Tyrol, launching offensives against Switzerland and the Three Leagues from multiple directions.
Fearing excessive losses in this war, Emperor Laszlo also instructed Marshal Adolf, who remained in Vienna, to accelerate the recruitment and training of reserve personnel in Lower Austria.
The arsenals in Graz and Milan still had enough stock to equip an army of several thousand.
Emperor Laszlo dared not underestimate Switzerland at all, so he made full preparations.
Finally, in early July 1464, the Emperor issued an edict in Innsbruck.
It listed multiple charges against the Swiss Confederation, primarily conspiring with the King of France to attack the Emperor.
In this edict, the Emperor declared an Imperial ban on Switzerland, demanding that Switzerland dissolve its illegal confederation and return the territories formerly belonging to the Habsburg Family.
This last demand was almost equivalent to reincorporating the entire Swiss Confederation into Austria, which the Swiss could not accept.
Subsequently, the Emperor officially declared war on Switzerland, and the momentous Swabian War thus erupted.