The pikes ("spiesse") of the Austrian knights in historical paintings are commonly depicted as the long pole weapons of the 15th-century pike square, but this is an anachronism. The pikes of the late 14th century would still have been considerably shorter. As according to the testimony of the Sempacherlied, the Austrian nobility insisted on fighting against the underestimated Swiss in the front rank, it would have been sufficient to break into just the van of the Austrian army to kill Leopold and other leaders of the army, which would have ended the battle immediately.