The Swiss troops from Uri again meet…
February 1499 CE
The Swiss troops from Uri again meet a Habsburg army, which they defeat in the Battle of Hard on the shores of Lake Constance near the estuary of the Rhine on February 20..
The Swabians are unable to mount a fighting withdrawal, and as a result, many fleeing troops are massacred by the Swiss, as is their custom.
The Swabian soldiers are aware of this custom, and a panic ensues.
Some Imperial troops flee to Bregenz, others attempt to board three nearby ships, which overturn in the chaos and ink, drowning many of the fleeing infantry and knights.
Others seek hiding places where they can, and, ill-equipped to overnight in the prevailing terrible cold, die of exposure.
Although the victorious Swiss perform at best a sloppy pursuit, focusing more on pillaging than on a systematic pursuit (another of their customs), by the end of the battle several thousand Swabian corpses nonetheless litter the battlefield, and are eventually buried in a mass grave outside the Chapel of Hard.