King of German Mercenaries

The town of Meers at the confluence of the Tamina Gorge and the Rhine Valley in Switzerland is the intersection of the Graubünden region, the Principality of Liechtenstein and the canton of St. Gallen, belonging to the St. Gallen region.

At this time, in the St. Gallen area, St. Gallen State had not yet been established, and the political forces were more complicated. Some regions have joined the Swiss Alliance, while others are still neutral. St. Gallen is strictly a bishopric. However, the Appenzell and Toggenburg and other forces within the jurisdiction are not under the control of the church. These forces are all leaning towards the Swiss Alliance, but have yet to sign up to join. After all, the Swiss have not completely defeated the emperor yet, and the three major forces decided to wait and see.

But in the battle of the Swiss attack on Graubünden, the forces of St. Gallen acquiesced in the passage of the Swiss army. Because, entering the canton of Graubünden from the north, the Rhine Gorge is only accessible from the Tamina Gorge in the southeast of the St. Gallen region. Then, head up the Rhine Gorge to the Graubünden area.

When he learned that the Swiss army was about to kill, the emperor sent troops and horses to cross the fast-flowing upper Rhine river (in this area, the gorge on the east of the Rhine River belongs to Graubünden, and the narrow area on the west side belongs to St. Gallen), Meers was occupied and strong fortifications were built against the Swiss attack.

Because of the narrow valley, the Swiss could not use it, so they had to mobilize artillery to bombard the defense line and try to break through the Tamina Canyon. At the same time, the Swiss will send people to forcibly climb the city wall ordered by Maximilian I during the bombardment, trying to forcibly capture Myers and open the way.

The Swiss themselves had no artillery, but King Louis XII of France supported the Swiss to take Graubünden. Because, Louis XII wanted the Swiss to capture Graubünden and cut off Maximilian I's way of interfering with Italy - the Mistyr Valley. Therefore, the French sent a lot of artillery for free, and also sent artillery to assist the Swiss in attacking the fortress. Coupled with the Swiss's fearless attack, the Myers line of defense was in danger many times.

But Maximilian I knew the importance of this place and sent many elites to guard it. If the Austrian soldiers were on the plains, they might not be able to beat the Swiss. However, relying on a solid line of defense, they can barely withstand the Swiss attack. However, under the fire of the French, they did not suffer well, and the battle losses were relatively large.

At the end of November, Frenzberg finally brought reinforcements, from the direction of Liechtenstein, along the Rhine Valley, into the emperor's control area.

The Principality of Liechtenstein and the Swabian League are neighbors and have close ties. Therefore, Frenzberg's reinforcements passed smoothly, including 20 front-mounted bronze three-pounders brought by Frenzberg. Fortunately, it is a three-pounder that is easy to maneuver. If it is a heavier artillery, it is impossible to pass the rugged mountain road to reach Myers in the plateau canyon.

After arriving in Meers, Frenzberg first went to Chur, met with Maximilian I, who was sitting here, and expressed his loyalty. The emperor was very happy that Marin could send reinforcements. Although I feel that there are few people, considering Marin's situation, I can also express understanding.

After encouraging Frenzberg, Maximilian I sent Frenzberg to Meers again, and let him be responsible for blocking the Swiss attack. Of course, the emperor also needed to supply enough gunpowder and lead, as well as shells, for Frenzberg's army. After all, Frenzberg had brought 800 musketeers and 20 three-pounders, and gunpowder was in great demand.

However, although the consumption of gunpowder is a lot, it is very worthwhile. After Frenzberg took his men to the Myers line of defense, the power of the musketeers was immediately highlighted...

Although the Swiss are not afraid of death, many pioneer warriors also wear chest plate armor and helmets, but when they encounter muskets, those brave Swiss mercenaries who climb the high wall have to be smashed down the city wall by the musketeers like dumplings...

You must know that Frenzberg came with 800 musketeers, shooting in three stages, and 266 musketeers fired at the same time in each round.

The Myers line of defense was not wide, and 266 muskets fired together, and the Swiss mercenary offensive was immediately beaten back.

The unwilling Swiss stopped the storm, pulled out 20 rear-mounted bronze cannons donated by the French, and began to blast the city wall. But Frenzberg also brought artillery. So, Frenzberg pulled the front-mounted three-pounder bronze cannon to the city wall and began to bombard the French cannon...

You know, the rear-mounted guns (that is, the Fran cannons) in this era are not as powerful as the front-mounted guns because of their poor air-holding properties. Therefore, in the artillery battle, the artillery of Frenzberg had the upper hand, and the Swiss had to retreat.

After a few days of fierce fighting, the Swiss suffered huge losses and had to stop the storm in an all-round way. Of course, Maximilian I also spent a lot of gunpowder, which made him very distressed. You know, gunpowder is very expensive these days. Therefore, while Maximilian I enjoyed the victory, he also felt extremely distressed about the consumption of gunpowder. But anyway, victory is the most important thing. Compared with the control of the huge Graubünden area, the massive investment of gunpowder is still insignificant.

Under the attack of the guns and guns of the soldiers under Frenzberg, it was very difficult to storm Myers. In desperation, the Swiss had to find another way. After all, Graubünden still has a pass to the west to attack. As a result, only part of the Swiss army on the northern route was left, and the rest were pulled westward, intending to open the Graubünden defense from the west. As long as they enter the Graubünden area, the Swiss have full confidence to defeat the Austrian army and complete the occupation and control of the Graubünden area of ​​more than 7,000 square kilometers.

Even after taking control of the Graubünden area, the Swiss could directly threaten the western part of Austria and cut off Austria's route to Italy.

It can be said that whoever controls Graubünden will have the initiative. When Maximilian I took control of Graubünden, he had the ability to interfere with Italy, and at the same time he could use the dangerous terrain to stop the Swiss.

The Swiss also have their own strategic goals. They are not to occupy Graubünden, but because, by controlling Graubünden, they can threaten the security of Austria. By threatening the security of Austria, Maximilian I could submit and agree to the autonomy of the Swiss.

The biggest wish of the Swiss is to hope that the Habsburg family will give up their coveted Swiss territory and allow Switzerland a high degree of autonomy. But this is very difficult, because most of Switzerland was originally the territory of the Habsburg family, but it was forcibly divided from the Habsburg family during the Luxembourg dynasty. Therefore, the Habsburg family has been brooding, hoping to retake these territories.

You know, Aargau, Switzerland, is the birthplace of the Habsburg family. In the face of the ancestral land, the Habsburg family certainly refused to give up.

Therefore, the Swiss want to force the Habsburg family to give up their coveted Switzerland by force and gain a high degree of autonomy (in fact, it is no different from independence).

In the original history, after being mixed into the Swabian War, Maximilian I was beaten by the Swiss and forced to agree to the Swiss autonomy.

But because of Marin's intervention, in this time and space, Maximilian I was busy occupying Graubünden and was not in a hurry to join the war with Jinswabian. Naturally, he was not overwhelmed by the Swiss and signed the terms of autonomy for the Swiss.

Therefore, the Swiss are naturally unwilling that their political goals have not been achieved. Originally, Maximilian I did not join the war with Jin Swabian, and the Swiss did not take the initiative to provoke. But after Maximilian I finally couldn't help mixing in, the Swiss suddenly aimed at the emperor, in order to force the emperor to agree to the Swiss autonomy and ask the Habsburg family to give up their coveting of Swiss land.

Therefore, the Swiss are unwilling to give up before this goal is achieved. Although there was no victory in Meers, north of the Graubünden area, the Swiss quickly mobilized their main force to attack the pass west of Graubünden with all their might. In short, the Swiss will not give up unless they score Graubünden and force the emperor to agree to their political demands...