Battle of Nancy

The Battle of Nancy was the final and decisive battle of the Burgundian Wars, fought outside the walls of Nancy on 5 January 1477 between Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, against René II, Duke of Lorraine, and the Swiss Confederacy.

René's forces won the battle, and Charles' mutilated body was found three days later.

Background

Charles was besieging the city of Nancy, capital of Lorraine, following its recapture by the forces of René II in 1476. Despite the harsh winter conditions, Charles was determined to bring the siege to an end at all costs as he was well aware that sooner or later René would arrive with a relieving army once the weather had improved somewhat.

By late December René had gathered some 10-12,000 men from Lorraine and the Lower Union (of the Rhine). A Swiss army of 10,000 men arrived to help out. René began his advance on Nancy early in January 1477, moving cautiously through the snow-covered landscape until they reached Nancy early on the morning of 5 January. Charles finally learned that René's army was indeed close by and drew up the bulk of his army in a strong defensive position south of Nancy on a heavily-wooded slope behind a stream at the narrowest part of the valley down which he knew the Swiss would have to advance. The exact numbers available to Charles are hard to judge, but contemporary observers put the numbers between 2,000 and 4,000, for even his household troops were by this stage well below strength, while most of the Ordonnance companies were at best only 50% of their theoretical strength.

Battle of Nancy (1944)

The Battle of Nancy in September 1944 was a 10-day battle on the Western Front of World War II in which the U.S. 3rd Army defeated German forces defending the approaches to Nancy, France and crossings over the Moselle River to the north and south of the city. The battle resulted in U.S. forces fighting their way across the Moselle and liberating Nancy.

Overview

When the 3rd Army began its attempt to capture Nancy, it had only recently recovered from a severe fuel shortage which had caused it to halt on the Meuse River for five days. During this time, German defenders in the area had reinforced their positions.

While the XX Corps in the north was tasked with the capture of Metz, Nancy, the other major city in the region, was assigned to the XII Corps. When the XII Corps first started on this assignment it was not at full operational strength as the U.S. 35th Infantry Division was guarding the southern flank of the Allied forces until the southern 7th Army could close the gap. This left only the U.S. 4th Armored Division and the U.S. 80th Infantry Division available.