Battle of Morgarten The Battle of Morgarten occurred on 15 November 1315 , when 1 , 500 - strong force from the Swiss Confederacy ambushed a group of Austria n soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire on the shores of Lake Ägerisee near the Morgarten Pass in Switzerland . The Swiss , led by Werner Stauffacher , defeated the Austrians , who were under the command of Duke Leopold I . Background . Toward the end of the 13th century , the House of Habsburg coveted the area around the Gotthard Pass as it offered the shortest passage to Italy . But the Confederates of Uri , Schwyz and Unterwalden , who had formalized the Swiss Confederacy in 1291 , held imperial freedom letters from former Habsburg emperors granting them local autonomy within the empire . In 1314 tensions between the Habsburgs and Confederates heightened when Duke Louis IV of Bavaria ( who would become Louis IV , Holy Roman Emperor ) and Frederick the Handsome , a Habsburg prince , each claimed the crown of the Holy Roman Emperor . The Confederates supported Louis IV because they feared the Habsburgs would annex their lands , which they had tried to do in the late 13th century . War eventually broke out after the Confederates of Schwyz raided the Habsburg - protected Einsiedeln Abbey , as a result of a dispute regarding access to pastures . Battle . Frederick ' s brother , Leopold of Austria , led a large army , including a small number of knights , to crush the rebellious Confederates . He planned a surprise attack from the south via Lake Ägerisee ( also known as " Lake Äegen " or " Lake Aegeri " ) and the Morgarten Pass , counting on complete victory . Johannes von Winterthur ' s chronicle of the battle puts the Austrian forces at 20 , 000 , although that number is now believed to be inaccurate . Another account , by Rudolf Hanhart , states that there were 9 , 000 men in the Austrian army , while historian Hans Delbrück states that the Austrian army consisted of only 2 , 000 to 3 , 000 men , but that these were mainly well trained and equipped knights . The Confederates of Schwyz , supported by the Confederates of Uri , feared for their autonomy , but were not supported by the Confederates of Unterwalden who expected the army to approach from the west near the village of Arth , where they had erected fortifications . The size of the Confederate army is also disputed , with estimates ranging from 1 , 500 to around 3 , 000 or 4 , 000 . Nevertheless , regardless of their size , the Confederate militia lacked the training of the Habsburg knights , who were also better equipped . According to a legend recounted in " Tait ' s Edinburgh Magazine " in 1852 , one Habsburg knight , Henry Huenenberg , recognising the superiority of his force and possibly concerned that victory over a " rabble " would be a disgrace , or in an act of chivalry , shot an arrow with a message attached into the Confederates ' camp , telling them that the Austrians would advance through Morgarten on 15 November and that they should return to their homes . In response , the Confederates prepared a road - block and an ambush at a point between Lake Ägerisee and Morgarten Pass , where a small path led between a steep slope and a swamp . When the Confederates attacked from above with rocks , logs and halberds , the Austrian knights had no room to defend themselves and suffered a crushing defeat , while the foot soldiers in the rear fled back to the city of Zug . About 1 , 500 Habsburg soldiers were killed in the attack . According to Karl von Elgger , the Confederates , unfamiliar with the customs of battles between knights , brutally butchered retreating troops and everyone unable to flee . He records that some infantry preferred to drown themselves in the lake rather than face the brutality of the Swiss . This established the Confederates ' reputation as barbaric , yet fierce and respectable fighters . Aftermath . Within a month of the battle , in December 1315 , the Confederates renewed the oath of alliance made in 1291 , initiating a period of growth within the Confederacy . In March 1316 , Emperor Louis IV confirmed the rights and privileges of the Forest Cantons . However , Leopold prepared another attack against the Confederacy . In response , Schwyz attacked some of the Habsburg lands and Unterwalden marched into the Bernese Oberland . Neither side was able to prevail against the other , and in 1318 , the isolated Forest Cantons negotiated a ten - month truce with the Habsburgs which was extended several times . By 1323 , the Forest Cantons had made alliances with Bern , and Schwyz signed an alliance with Glarus for protection from the Habsburgs . Within forty years , cities including Lucerne , Zug and Zürich had also joined the Confederacy . The Confederate victory gave them virtual autonomy , and for a time , a peace with the Habsburgs that lasted until the Battle of Sempach in 1386 .