Valley Of Death
Based on the novel „Winterhelden“ by Thomas Vaucher
Winter 1478 - The confederates besiege Bellinzona, which belongs to the Duchy of Milan. When the Duke of Milan sends an army of 10'000 men to relieve Bellinzona, the confederates retreat across the Gotthard back to the Confederation. As guardians of the valley, a 125-strong squad is left behind to protect the villages of the Leventina from robberies of the Milanese. No one expects the entire Milanese army to move towards the Gotthard in the winter. Yet when they do, the few confederates face - supported by 400 locals - the 10'000 men and win. According to legend, they had dammed the river Ticino, which caused it to flood the banks and froze the way through the valley. The Milanese were not prepared for these circumstances and had no traction on the icy ground. The confederates however fought with steel crampons and nail shoes on their feet ...
One hundred left behind
As guardians we were assigned
There'll be no threat, everyone thought
Until their army got within eyeshot
Last night we dammed the stream
Flooding the road and completing the scheme
We're wearing shoes prepared with nails
Our grip is strong and so we‘ll prevail
Blaring battle horns
Prayers to the lord
We’re not afraid of dying
We roar our battle cry
And raise our banners high
We stand death-defying
Through ice and snow we strike
It’s time to make our stand
We hunt for the kill
We are prepared to fight
We take our fate in our hands
In the Valley of Death
They are ten thousand strong
We'll show them where they belong
They are doomed to pay the price
Cause they have no grip on the slippery ice
There's no escape for them now
The field is ready to plow
We attack them now with all our heart
Let's fight them till they fall apart
Blaring battle horns
Prayers to the lord
We’re not afraid of dying
We roar our battle cry
And raise our banners high
We stand death-defying
Through ice and snow we strike
It’s time to make our stand
We hunt for the kill
We are prepared to fight
We take our fate in our hands
In the Valley of Death
With the ice on our side
We’re ready to fight
In the Valley of Death
We’re making a stand
And fight till the end
Till there’s no one left to fight
Or we die side by side
With honor and pride
In the Valley of Death