Not one Swiss mercenary had been taken prisoner.
They had fought to the death rather than surrender.
The belongings of the fallen were counted as spoils, to be divided evenly among every soldier who fought that day. That evening, the officers gathered in the newly finished command tent so I could hear the casualty reports.
"Streit Gunner losses: twelve dead, twenty-three wounded."
"Duchy pikemen losses: thirty-six dead, sixty-seven wounded."
"Gale Knight losses: three dead, eight wounded."
Fifty-one dead and ninety-eight wounded in total. Beating the strongest mercenary company in the world at that cost was nothing short of a miracle. Confirmed Swiss dead numbered a staggering two hundred and forty-seven.
Losses like that would normally push any force to surrender or run, but the Swiss never stopped fighting until the Count of Basel gave up. Brutally tough, terrifying men.
