Zürich had allied with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, who now appealed to King Charles VII of France to send an army to relieve the siege.

Enthused by this success, and despite strict orders to the contrary, the Swiss troops crossed the Birs to meet the bulk of the French army of some 30,000 men,[1] which was ready for battle.

Immediately, the Swiss forces formed three pike squares of five hundred men each, and they fought well when Armagnac cavalry charged again and again and were repulsed.

Because of the heavy casualties on the French side, the original plan of moving towards Zürich, where a Swiss force of 30,000 was ready, was now judged unfavorably by the Dauphin.

The Dauphin formally made peace with the Swiss Confederacy and Basel in a treaty signed at Ensisheim on 28 October, and withdrew his troops from the Alsace in the spring of 1445.

[4] In terms of military tactics, the battle exposed the weakness of pike formations against artillery, marking the beginning of the era of gunpowder warfare.