The Siege of Zurich

On the road from Winterthur to Zurich, the plains gave way to mountainous terrain, with hills rising one after another, making the path ahead increasingly winding.

Laszlo frequently had to lead his troops through valleys, and Switzerland's forests were exceptionally dense.

The Imperial Army advanced for only one day, yet they passed through three forests.

However, after confirming that there were no more enemy defenses in the Zurich area, Laszlo unhesitatingly led his army towards Zurich at the fastest possible speed.

"Your Majesty, after we pass through the mountain pass ahead, we will very quickly reach the outskirts of Zurich."

In the evening camp, Laszlo was holding a military council, and Gunter, the commander of the vanguard, was reporting to the Emperor.

His scouts had already approached the outskirts of Zurich, even startling the Swiss within the city.

Clearly, the residents of Zurich had not expected the Emperor's grand army to arrive so quickly.

Laszlo nodded slightly, still feeling a touch of worry in his heart.

"Charles's troops are lagging behind; the Hussite War Wagons and artillery are now a hindrance. I fear he won't arrive until we have completed the encirclement of Zurich."

"Damn Swiss! I hate these mountains and endless forests, and those arrogant mountain barbarians."

"Bear with it for now. Our objective is only Zurich; there's no need to push deeper into the Swiss mountains.

By the way, did the scouts I sent towards Aargau gather any intelligence?"

Gunter pondered for a moment before replying, "The fastest of the scouts have nearly reached the Aare River and have not detected any movements from other Swiss armies.

Your Majesty, the intelligence we interrogated from the defeated Swiss is likely true; the main Swiss army is stationed near Basel."

"This proves my strategy was successful. The Swiss mistakenly believe that Aargau is my primary target.

Before they react, we must quickly take Zurich and secure the victory."

A faint smile played on Laszlo's lips. These Swiss might be simple-minded, or perhaps they harbor ulterior motives, but their decisions could very well lead to Zurich's downfall.

However, he was not entirely at ease with the situation on the western front.

After all, although the Western Allied Army, with 20,000 men against 12,000 Swiss, held a significant numerical advantage, Laszlo had little hope for the combat effectiveness of the Swabian army.

If those Swabians were routed and massacred by the Swiss army, he hoped the Austrian army could preserve its strength as much as possible.

Viewed this way, he and his allies were equally suspicious of each other, no better than the Swiss.

Being able to bring in the Swabians to bolster his forces was already an unexpected pleasant surprise; his original plan was to deploy only 10,000 troops in Outer Austria.

Now with so many Swabians, even if they were 10,000 pigs, the Swiss couldn't kill them all in a day.

As long as Matthias and Werner maintained sufficient caution, it would be very difficult for the Swiss to completely defeat the Western Allied Army.

The only thing that bothered him was how the complex Swiss mountainous terrain severely disrupted communication between the various armies.

Even with messengers familiar with the Swiss topography and roads, Laszlo remained largely in the dark.

Not only about the Swiss, but he was also completely unaware of the situation of the Western Allied Army, let alone the Milanese front south of the Alps.

Besides the war with the Swiss, he was also following the confrontation between the Public Weal League and the King of France, but there had been little news recently.

The last time he received news from Dijon was Anthony's letter informing him that Charles was about to lead the 30,000 strong Public Weal League army from Dijon to march on Paris.

Laszlo was very curious about the current state of affairs in France.

Upon entering the Swiss mountains, Laszlo felt as if he was cut off from the world.

To minimize the fog of war around him as much as possible, Laszlo chose to dispatch a large number of scouts to reconnoiter the terrain and enemy situation.

His staff would also analyze the acquired intelligence to identify potential dangers.

After the great victory at Niederwyl, his move to attack Switzerland would no longer be seen as a military adventure; now the Imperial Army's morale was high.

The situation was extremely favorable to him, so it was actually the Swiss who should be anxious.

Having understood this, Laszlo's slight worry quickly dissipated.

"Tell me about the situation in Zurich. I want to know the possibility of taking this city in a short time."

"Zurich is situated on both banks of the Limmat River, with the southern urban area close to Lake Zurich. The central urban area is surrounded by walls reputed to be the strongest in all of Switzerland.

During the Zurich War, Zurich suffered a great plague, losing a quarter of its population, and then lost most of its army in battles with the Swiss Confederation.

Subsequently, the Swiss Confederation dispatched two large armies to besiege Zurich.

Under such extremely harsh conditions, Zurich held out for three whole years.

It was only when the Austrian relief forces were defeated and the Swiss blockaded the Lake Zurich shipping lanes, with supplies exhausted, that Zurich finally opened its gates and surrendered."

Gunter's words made Laszlo's expression serious.

It seemed that compelling the people of Zurich to surrender through intimidation was unlikely.

The citizens of Zurich probably could never forget the pain caused by the Austrians' retreat at a crucial moment.

Although all of this was largely done by Laszlo's uncle, Frederick, it had little to do with him as Emperor.

Laszlo was well-versed in the history of the Zurich War.

The city's last fall was in 1446, but fighting resumed thereafter, until Zurich surrendered again in 1450.

That brutal Swiss civil war caused Zurich, the largest city in Switzerland and the only one with a population over 10,000, to see its number of residents halved.

Only a little over a decade had passed since that war ended, and now Zurich's population level was probably comparable to Bern, with only six to eight thousand inhabitants.

Furthermore, with the heavy casualties suffered by the people of Zurich at Niederwyl, Laszlo estimated that the city's defensive strength would not be very strong.

As for why the Swiss Confederation spent three years besieging Zurich back then, the main reason was probably the Swiss's lack of heavy siege weapons.

Even if Zurich's city walls were sturdy, they were still just ordinary medieval walls and could not withstand concentrated artillery bombardment.

Moreover, the Swiss could completely blockade Zurich and cut off the city's supplies, but Laszlo could not.

He couldn't conjure a fleet out of thin air on Lake Zurich.

Faced with this situation, let alone three years, he might not be able to besiege Zurich for even ten years.

If it really dragged on that long, he might as well cut his losses and retreat to Vienna to preserve his strength.

Since the Imperial Army had a clear technological advantage in siege warfare and could not fully blockade Zurich, the only path left for him was a direct assault.

"We don't have three years, not even three months.

Gunter, can you capture Zurich within three weeks? Do you have that confidence?"

Upon hearing this, Gunter was initially hesitant, but facing the Emperor's expectant gaze, he firmly nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I will certainly have your banner flying over the walls of Zurich!"

Laszlo was satisfied with this, but he had considered more.

After a moment of deliberation, Laszlo still announced his decision to Gunter: "I know you are a general who seeks glory and is loyal, and that is good.

However, the soldiers have just endured brutal combat, and it is not easy to make them rally their spirits and assault the city with full force in a short time."

"How do you plan to motivate them?"

Gunter looked at the Emperor with some curiosity.

"Issue my command: after the city falls, the entire army is permitted to freely plunder Zurich for three days," Laszlo said calmly, "I would rather have a ruin; the Swiss who betrayed the Empire are not worthy of pity.

I want all subjects of the Empire to clearly see the consequences of betraying the Emperor, and you and your army can freely take Zurich's wealth."

"Your Majesty, is this… is this true?"

Gunter asked excitedly, barely concealing the greed in his eyes. Zurich was, after all, the richest city in Switzerland.

This was truly unbelievable.

The Emperor was committed to building a disciplined army, and therefore had strict restrictions on looting and the destruction of villages and towns.

Only when logistics were insufficient, or in certain special circumstances, was the forced requisition of supplies permitted.

Many of his old comrades had chosen to leave due to dissatisfaction with the Emperor's strict military regulations, seeking opportunities elsewhere.

Those who remained in the army were loyal warriors who accepted the 'Vienna Ordinances' established by the Emperor and Marshal Adolf.

When they joined the army, they collectively declared allegiance to the Emperor himself and pledged to abide by military regulations.

In this war, the Emperor's magnanimity and benevolence continued to play a role, sparing them many battles that would otherwise have been arduous.

It was just unexpected that the Emperor's attitude towards Zurich was completely different from that towards the previous cities.

"Of course it's true. My mercy is only bestowed upon the people of Austria.

Frauenfeld, Winterthur—these were once Austrian lands. We are here to reclaim lost territory and liberate the Austrian people oppressed by the Swiss.

But Zurich is different. This city was a significant factor in the expansion of the Swiss Confederation, the other being Bern.

Their greed is disgusting.

Constance, Schaffhausen, and even Rottweil—these Imperial Free Cities were all enticed by the people of Zurich and intended to join this wicked, illegal organization.

If we can destroy Zurich, I believe those wavering cities will clearly understand which side they should stand on.

And allowing you to plunder Zurich is my reward to loyal warriors, to ignite their fighting spirit.

Go, convey my decision to every soldier.

I hope they will demonstrate even greater courage and strength in the battles to come."

"Your Majesty, you will not be disappointed."

Gunter thumped his chest, assuring the Emperor. He knew very well how much allure wealth held for those soldiers.

He had already planned to have some trusted aides spread rumors in the camp, exaggerating Zurich's wealth, so that the soldiers would gain more "courage." The next morning, the Imperial Army swiftly traversed the road between Uetliberg and Zürichberg, and soon began constructing a siege camp outside the walls of Zurich on the east bank of the Limmat River.

Laszlo quickly saw Zurich's city walls; both their scale and sturdiness were rather ordinary, not even ranking high within the Empire.

However, considering that in a poor, remote place like Switzerland, having walls of this standard was indeed quite difficult.

Zurich's city walls, built in the 12th century, enclosed an old town measuring 38 hectares.

In the past, Zurich's walls had repelled countless enemy attacks, but now medieval walls were rapidly becoming obsolete.

The accompanying artillery engineers confidently assured Laszlo that concentrated artillery fire could certainly breach this ancient wall.

Laszlo quickly felt relieved. Accompanied by Gunter and a retinue of attendants, he inspected the Independent Army's siege camp.

The bustling construction scene here startled Laszlo. On the edge of the forest northwest of Zurich, soldiers were harvesting materials on site, beginning a large-scale felling of trees.

Some soldiers expertly wielded axes to cut down trees, and immediately others carried the logs to the accompanying engineers.

Some of these logs would be used to construct defensive fortifications for the siege camp, while others were used to make siege weapons such as scaling ladders and siege towers.

Passing soldiers enthusiastically saluted the Emperor, showing that their morale had been fully roused.

"Charles will arrive with the artillery in two days. That will be our time to launch a full assault."

Laszlo gazed at Zurich's city walls, his tone resolute, as if Zurich was already his for the taking.

His confidence also infected those around him. Gunter laughed, "Then it will be our time to serve Your Majesty.

The Swiss, with 8,000 troops, suffered a crushing defeat at our hands; how much more so now that only cowardly deserters and the old, weak, and sick remain in the city?"

Laszlo reminded him, "While preparing for the siege is important, intelligence gathering must not be neglected."

"Your Majesty, my scouts have already reached Brugge; any Swiss coming from the Aargau direction will absolutely not escape our notice."

Brugge, that place name made Laszlo pause slightly.

The Limmat River flows into Lake Zurich at Zurich, and the other end of this river, near Brugge, flows into the Aare River.

Just west of Brugge, on a small hill, there was an abandoned ancient castle called Habsburg.

Traveling along the Limmat River from Zurich, it would only take about a day to reach Habsburg.

Had they unknowingly advanced this far already?

Laszlo felt a slight sense of unreality. It seemed his troops had indeed made rapid progress, reaching this position in just one month.

"Hmm, keep a close watch on the Aargau direction. If we can capture Zurich before the Swiss turn back, this war will be our victory."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The inspection concluded, and the Imperial Army continued its siege preparations.

All of this was observed by the Zurich defenders on the city walls, and the situation filled them with dread.

A large portion of them were those who had narrowly escaped from Niederwyl.

According to federal regulations, these individuals should have faced punishment, but with Zurich's defenses currently depleted, they escaped retribution and continued to serve as the main force defending the city.

However, this group of routed soldiers was inherently terrified of the Imperial Army and could not be relied upon to contribute much to the fighting.

Zurich's situation was becoming increasingly precarious.

Meanwhile, on the Aargau battlefield, following the tactics proposed by Matthias, Werner utilized the limited Hussite War Wagons and trench digging to set up artillery positions in the valley.

The Austrian-Swabian allied forces used the river in the valley to construct defenses, repelling numerous Swiss assaults.

The Swiss attempted a surprise attack on the Imperial Army's rear via a small path, and the morale of the defending Swabian army faltered, almost collapsing, until Matthias arrived with reinforcements just in time to repel the enemy.

The helpless Swiss returned empty-handed the next day as well, and both sides entered a standoff, which was precisely what Matthias had hoped for.

On the third day of the Battle of Lausen, however, the situation suddenly changed.