The Battle of Morgarten, 1315
On November 15, 1315, a group of some 1,000 Swiss farmers defeated a trained Austrian army numbering at least 3,000. Relatively little is known from historical records about the battle. It is believed that the conflict was triggered by a dispute over the border between lands controlled by Duke Leopold I of Austria and the nearby Swiss, possibly involving a raid on a Benedictine monastery located along the border. Duke Leopold formed an army with the intention of subduing the Swiss peasants.
Aware the Austrian forces were coming, the Swiss created a bottleneck to limit the fighting abilities of the Austrians, relying upon a narrow road along Lake Ageri. The Swiss had built a wall to stop the Austrian troops, and waited on a narrow wooded ridge. The Swiss pelted the Austrian troops with rocks from the ridge, while Swiss foot soldiers attacked with halberds, a type of staff weapon with an axe-like head. The Swiss killed approximately 1,500 Austrian soldiers, while sustaining few losses on their own.
The Battle of Morgarten was one of the key moments in the formation of the Swiss state. Their success rallied other small democratic rural communities to work together to form a confederacy of these states. The Swiss success at the Battle of Morgarten helped to create the remarkable reputation of the Swiss halberdiers that continued for several centuries.