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What happened at the Battle of Guinegate in 1479?
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Maximilian I
Maximilian I, charcoal drawing by Albrecht Dürer, 1518; in the Albertina, Vienna.
At the Battle of Guinegate in 1479, Maximilian I successfully defended his newly acquired Burgundian territories against the forces of Louis XI of France.1
This victory was significant for Maximilian's military development. He had recruited elite Swiss Reisläufer pikemen to train his own German forces, who subsequently became known as the Landsknechte. At Guinegate, these troops demonstrated their effectiveness, marking the beginning of a long-standing rivalry for battlefield dominance between the Landsknechte and the Swiss Reisläufer.1