The Battle of Grandson was fought on 2 March 1476, during the Burgundian Wars, and resulted in a major defeat for Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, at the hands of the Old Swiss Confederacy.

In 1475, the town of Grandson in Vaud, which belonged to Charles the Bold's ally Jacques of Savoy, had been brutally taken by the Old Swiss Confederacy, led by the Canton of Bern.

In a scene Panigarola described as "shocking and horrible" and sure to fill the Swiss with dread, all the victims were led past Charles' tent and hanged from trees or drowned in the lake in an execution that lasted four hours.

[1] The opposition of the other Swiss cantons to the Bernese operations of 1475 in Vaud made the Confederate reinforcements arrive too late to retake Grandson.

[1] Advancing on two routes, the Swiss had halted near the forest and awaited their main army to arrive when they encountered Charles's forces near Concise.

[1] In the ensuing skirmish, the Burgundian cavalry was unable to hold the enemy vanguard, and Charles ordered his troops to pull back to a more favorable ground.

[1] Charles had the habit of travelling to battles with an array of priceless artifacts as talismans, from carpets belonging to Alexander the Great to the 55-carat Sancy diamond and the Three Brothers jewel.