 The Swabians had assembled a large army at Constance in April 1499.Constance, situated on the north shore of the river Rhine, was an ideal gateway for expeditions into Swiss territories of the Thurgau south of Lake Constance.The Swiss had prepared for an attack and set up their main camp at Schwaderloh, a small village only a few kilometers south of Constance, and had garrisoned the villages on the southern shores of the lake.