The Battle of Sudoměř was fought on 25 March 1420, between Catholic and Hussite forces. The Hussites were led by Břeněk of Švihov, who was killed in battle, and Jan Žižka, whose forces proved victorious. This was the second major battle of the Hussite Wars; the first battle, the Battle of Nekmíř, was more of a Hussite retreat than a true fight.
The Battle of Sudoměř began after Hussite forces, which had taken up temporary fortifications on the plains, were found by Royalist forces, who closed in for an attack. The Hussites were greatly outnumbered 5-to-1, and initially hoisted the white flag, but when the Royalists refused to accept their surrender, the battle truly began.
Though outnumbered and comparatively ill-equipped, facing heavily armoured knights, the Hussites had fortified their surroundings ingeniously. Their flank was protected by war wagons loaded with arquebusiers, and many large ponds and marshy areas surrounded the Hussite infantry – ground, which the Royalist cavalry could not hope to cross.
One thousand Knights Hospitaller from Strakonice led by Jindřich of Hradec – killed in battle – attacked war wagons placed on a slim dam, with huge casualties but no success. After that, another thousand Royalist cavalrymen, led by Peter von Konopischt of Sternberg – killed in the Battle of Vítkov Hill later that year – rushed a weakly held side of the Hussite formation, but were mired in marshy ground. They dismounted in order to progress, but soon found themselves mired once more. Following this, the Hussite light infantry equipped with flails were able to easily finish the cavalrymen.
The battle ended with the advance of night and fog, during which Žižka and the Hussite forces were able to escape. Though the Catholic Royalists were not entirely defeated, the fact the Hussites were able to inflict such heavy casualties with so few men, and then escape soundly, proved to be a great victory. Only 400 hussites (farmers and townsmen, including women and children) beat the 700-strong force of heavily armoured cavalry. Hussite General, Jan Žižka, through superior knowledge of tactics and terrain, along with the highly effective deployment of wagon fort strategies, won the day.
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battle, sudoměř, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclear, because, lacks, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, september, 2014, learn, whe. This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations September 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Battle of Sudomer was fought on 25 March 1420 between Catholic and Hussite forces The Hussites were led by Brenek of Svihov who was killed in battle and Jan Zizka whose forces proved victorious This was the second major battle of the Hussite Wars the first battle the Battle of Nekmir was more of a Hussite retreat than a true fight Battle of SudomerPart of the Hussite WarsThe Battle of Sudomer by Ferdinand HettesDate25 March 1420LocationSudomer southern BohemiaResultHussite victoryBelligerentsLandfrieden of Plzen group of knights and nobles called themselves Iron Lords Order of St John Strakonice Commandery Hussites of Plzen TaboritesCommanders and leadersBohuslav of Schwanberg Jindrich of Hradec DOW Peter of Sternberg Mikes Divucek of Jemniste Hanus of KolowratBrenek Svihovsky of Dolany Jan Zizka Valkoun of AdlarStrength700 cavalry400 infantry12 war wagonsfew cavalrymenCasualties and lossesHeavyHeavy at least 3 wagons destroyed30 capturedProcess EditThe Battle of Sudomer began after Hussite forces which had taken up temporary fortifications on the plains were found by Royalist forces who closed in for an attack The Hussites were greatly outnumbered 5 to 1 and initially hoisted the white flag but when the Royalists refused to accept their surrender the battle truly began Though outnumbered and comparatively ill equipped facing heavily armoured knights the Hussites had fortified their surroundings ingeniously Their flank was protected by war wagons loaded with arquebusiers and many large ponds and marshy areas surrounded the Hussite infantry ground which the Royalist cavalry could not hope to cross One thousand Knights Hospitaller from Strakonice led by Jindrich of Hradec killed in battle attacked war wagons placed on a slim dam with huge casualties but no success After that another thousand Royalist cavalrymen led by Peter von Konopischt of Sternberg killed in the Battle of Vitkov Hill later that year rushed a weakly held side of the Hussite formation but were mired in marshy ground They dismounted in order to progress but soon found themselves mired once more Following this the Hussite light infantry equipped with flails were able to easily finish the cavalrymen The battle ended with the advance of night and fog during which Zizka and the Hussite forces were able to escape Though the Catholic Royalists were not entirely defeated the fact the Hussites were able to inflict such heavy casualties with so few men and then escape soundly proved to be a great victory Only 400 hussites farmers and townsmen including women and children beat the 700 strong force of heavily armoured cavalry Hussite General Jan Zizka through superior knowledge of tactics and terrain along with the highly effective deployment of wagon fort strategies won the day External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Battle of Sudomer List of Hussite Battles SudomerCoordinates 49 14 31 N 14 03 50 E 49 24194 N 14 06389 E 49 24194 14 06389 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Battle of Sudomer amp oldid 1133462170, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
