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Battle of Sempach | |||||||
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Part of the expansion of the Swiss Confederation | |||||||
The battle scene in the fresco in the battle chapel at Sempach. 1886 restoration of a 17th-century painting, which was in turn based on a 16th-century work. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Duchy of Austria | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Petermann von Gundoldingen † |
Leopold III, Duke of Austria † Johann von Ochsenstein † Johann von Waldburg † | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
c. 1,000 – 1,500 | c. 4,000, including 1,500 knights | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
c. 200-600 | c. 1,500, among them c. 400 noblemen[1] |
The Battle of Sempach was fought on 9 July 1386, between Leopold III, Duke of Austria and the Old Swiss Confederacy. The battle was a decisive Swiss victory in which Duke Leopold and numerous Austrian nobles died. The victory helped turn the loosely allied Swiss Confederation into a more unified nation and is seen as a turning point in the growth of Switzerland.