Maximilian founds the Landsknechte

Timeline

1. 1486–1487Innsbruck · TyrolAfter being elected King of the Romans in 1486, Maximilian began recruiting some six to eight thousand German mercenary infantry, adopting the Swiss-style pike square to end dependence on Swiss troops. Recruits came mainly from the urban poor and adventurers of Tyrol, Swabia, and other South German regions; the military system was still in its infancy.
2. 1487Bruges · BrugesMaximilian handed part of the new recruits to Count Eitel Friedrich II of Hohenzollern, who in 1487 hired Swiss drillmasters at Bruges to train them by pike drill, forming what became known as the Black Guard. This was a key step in the Landsknechte's transition from ad hoc recruitment to professional infantry with fixed organization and training.
3. 1488Swabia · SwabiaIn 1488 Maximilian pushed for the founding of the Swabian League, organizing an armed force reputedly numbering twelve thousand infantry and twelve hundred cavalry to intimidate Bavaria and stabilize southwestern Germany. This force is often seen as the first Landsknecht army raised on German soil, bringing the new military system back from the Low Countries experiment to the imperial heartland.