Battle of Arbedo
1422 CE.
Shown on the map at 46.210°, 9.040°.
The Battle of Arbedo was fought on 30 June 1422 between the Duchy of Milan and the Swiss Confederation, and ended with a Milanese victory. In 1419, the Swiss cantons of Uri and Unterwalden bought the fortified town of Bellinzona from the House of Sax but were unable to defend it adequately. When they rejected a Milanese proposal to purchase Bellinzona in 1422, a Milanese force under the command of the condottiero Francesco Bussone da Carmagnola attacked and defeated the Swiss garrison and occupied the town. A Swiss attempt to recapture Bellinzona with the support of other cantons including Lucerne and Zug led to the battle at the village of Arbedo, 3 km (1.9 mi) north of the town. The Swiss were mainly equipped with halberds and were initially successful in repelling two Milanese cavalry charges. Carmagnola then brought up his crossbowmen on the Swiss flanks and ordered his men-at-arms to dismount and fight on foot with their lances, which outreached the halberds. The Milanese forced the Swiss back onto a nearby hill, but the appearance of a band of foragers, whom the Milanese mistakenly thought were reinforcements, saved the Swiss from total defeat.
Text from the Wikipedia article Battle of Arbedo, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.