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🚩 Today we examine the Battle of Vitkov Hill, fought in 1420 outside the city walls of Prague, amidst a series of crusades against the Hussites, who were a Czech proto-Protestant movement. Just one year before, in 1419, the Pope declared a crusade against them, and the Holy Roman Empire organized forces to wipe them out. Easier said than done…
📢 Narrated by David McCallion
🎼 Music:
Epidemic Sounds
Filmstro
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📚 Sources:
RNDr. et PhDr. Aleš Nováček, Ph.D. – Battles of Vítkov Hill and Vyšehrad https://www.bellum.cz/en/battles-of-vitkov-hill-and-vysehrad.html
Robert Bideleux & Ian Jeffries – A History of Eastern Europe: Crisis and Change https://www.routledge.com/A-History-of-Eastern-Europe-Crisis-and-Change/Bideleux-Jeffries/p/book/9780415366274#
Stephen Turnbull & Angus McBride – The Hussite Wars 1419-36 https://www.ospreypublishing.com/us/hussite-wars-141936-9781841766652/
Thomas A. Fudge – The Crusade Against Heretics in Bohemia, 1418-1437 – Sources and Documents for the Hussite Crusades https://www.routledge.com/The-Crusade-against-Heretics-in-Bohemia-1418-1437-Sources-and-Documents/Fudge/p/book/9781032180199
Diarmaid MacCulloch – A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years https://www.amazon.com/Christianity-First-Three-Thousand-Years/dp/0143118692
#medieval #documentary #history
Dawn breaks on 13 July 1420. The weary Hussite soldiers atop the walls lift their heads above the parapet. Beyond stands a vast army, poised to choke Prague out of existence. The wily rebel leader, the one-eyed Jan Zizka, manned the Vitkov Hill with no more than 60 men. The small outpost was meant to
Secure the road by which supplies could come from the east. But would his plan work? Prague has been under siege for a month by Sigismund, the King of Germany, Hungary, and Croatia. It seemed only a matter of time before his massive army encircled the city.
From a high point to the northwest, Sigismund’s soldiers HOWL like dogs, taunting the defenders. They shout “heretics!” and mock the terrible fate of their former leader, Jan Hus. THEN, a Hussite prisoner is brought before the walls. The crusaders tie him to a stake
And burn him alive in full view of his compatriots. Their message is clear: “Heretics will be shown no mercy.” But the prolonged campaign has tested the resolve of Sigismund’s large multinational force. Discipline has begun to break down. Growing impatient, the king decides to bring matters to a prompt conclusion.
That night, unable to see, the defenders of Prague could only hear the foreboding movement of the massive crusader army, somewhere in the darkness… No doubt, the main assault was coming… The next morning, Zizka’s men on Vitkov Hill awake to see the knights of the imperial army,
Arrayed in heavy armor and with banners flying high. They advance up the slope towards the fort, with thousands more still pouring over the river to the north. The moment of Judgment has come… Societal, economic, and cultural changes in Western and Central Europe during the High Middle Ages, culminated
With a crisis that began in mid-14th century. The bubonic plague decimated the continent. The economic system collapsed. Long-distance trade was all but extinguished. Serfs and common people now lacked even existential security. The role of the Catholic Church diminished with the decline of its political power and wealth,
And its prestige was damaged during the papal schism. For all intents and purposes, the pillars of medieval feudal society were falling. Attempts at reforming the church and the wider feudal society were made across Europe, one of which was the Hussite movement, formed from the teachings of Jan Hus,
A theologian and preacher from Bohemia. Starting around the year 1402, Hus condemned the corruption of the Catholic Church and the Papacy. He resented the actions of the “Antipope” John XXIII who, during the Western Schism, proclaimed “A CRUSADE” in 1411 against a fellow Christian,
King Ladislaus of Naples, for providing military protection to the rival Pope, Gregory XII. But to raise funds for the enterprise, John CONVENIENTLY authorized the sale of indulgences in Bohemia, a process by which a person could make “A HEFTY DONATION” to the Church and thus limit
The time they were to spend in Purgatory. Jan Hus travelled throughout Bohemia and spoke out against this practice. He bitterly opposed Papal infallibility when Papal decrees contradicted the Bible. And he promoted the reformist ideas of John Wycliffe, a proto-Protestant theologian from England. Hus’ preaching found a ready audience in
Inner Bohemia, where the society grew discontent over instability created by the rivalry between the German-dominated Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic Church. Moreover, Czech nationalism was developing just as similar notions of nationhood were evolving in England and France during the Hundred Years’ War. Spain and Portugal
Experienced their own national awakenings in the turmoil of the Reconquista. And Bohemia, with its long history as an independent duchy, had similar aspirations to these westerly kingdoms. Thus, Hus’ actions weakened the authority of the Catholic Church in Bohemia, no doubt causing
Anger and provoking accusations of heresy. In 1415, Jan Hus was lured to a church council in Constance, supposedly under the protection of King Sigismund. But once there, he was taken prisoner and burned at the stake. When news spread of his gruesome end,
It stirred Bohemia into open revolt. For the time being, King Wenceslas of Bohemia – the childless brother of Sigismund – had sympathy for the Hussites. Attempting to pacify the situation, he allowed his lords and the people to replace Catholic priests
With their own ministers, as well as the use of bread and wine in religious services. Sigismund, however, counselled his brother against allowing the Hussite heresy to gain too strong a foothold, warning him that greater bloodshed would follow once the Hussites felt
Secure enough to openly defy the throne. Wenceslas tried to play both sides for a number of years, but matters eventually came to a head in Prague in the fateful year of 1419. A Hussite march through the city, no doubt a show of strength after
Wenceslas had limited the number of churches where Hussite priests could hold positions, devolved into a riot and finally an uprising. After a stone was thrown from atop the Town Hall, either in the direction of the Sacred Host carried by the Hussite mob or its leader,
Jan Zelivsky, the Hussites stormed the tower and threw a number of royal officials from one of its high windows. The town’s mayor and a judge, along with a number of others, were killed in what became known as the First Defenestration of Prague.
King Wenceslas was said to have died of shock at the news, and though this could be a fanciful embroidery, his near concurrent demise almost three weeks after the incident, plunged Bohemia into chaos. The throne was now open to the
Hardline Sigismund at precisely the moment that Hussite tensions were at a peak. Wencelas’s wife, Sophia of Bavaria, attempted to take control of Prague. But the Hussites, now under the leadership of an experienced commander and former captain of Sophia’s own
Forces – Jan Zizka – resisted her garrison. There was fierce fighting and considerable damage done to both life and property. Under Sophia’s commander, Cenek of Wartenburg, the royal army occupied Prague Castle on Hradcany Hill and then fortified the surrounding area,
As well as the Charles Bridge and other crossings on the Vltava. Proving himself no less capable, Zizka occupied the fortress of Vysehrad. In an early indication of the esteem his fellow Czechs felt for his character and abilities, the garrison handed
The castle over to him without resistance. From these strongholds, the fighting in Prague went on for over a week before a ceasefire was called and the two sides began negotiations. The monarchy offered the Hussites freedom to carry out their rites and religious practices
In their own manner, but the cost would be Hussite withdrawal from the city and a cessation of fighting. Zizka raged when the Hussite leadership accepted the royal offer and gave up the fortress at Vysehrad. While the moderate Ultraquist faction of
The Hussites confirmed the agreement with the monarchy, Zizka withdrew from Prague and became military leader of the hardline Tabor faction, its name coming from the Biblical Mountain on which an ancient Israeli army mustered before victory over a Canaanite tribe.
He established a base in the town of Pilsen and began to organize his forces, while the Royalist side launched a campaign against Hussite centers around the countryside. Zizka led an army consisting largely of working men, farmers and craftsmen, with some merchants
And lower nobility. This was in stark contrast to the experienced mercenaries, knights, and men-at-arms that filled the Royalist ranks. Recognizing that his recruits lacked the same level of military training and capabilities, Zizka adapted his tactics. He began mounting guns on reinforced wagons, inadvertently anticipating the invention of
The modern tank by some five centuries. With many farmers in his army arriving in their carts, he had no shortage of carpenters who could modify these vehicles, adding firing holes on-and-below the carts. This provided his men hard cover, from where they could shoot their firearms
And crossbows at the advancing enemy. Roof covers provided protection against enemy arrows and crossbow bolts. Most importantly, Zizka would train his army to form a wagon fort in the field, making it harder for the Royalist cavalry to
Overwhelm them as they would’ve have been able to do if the rebels were formed on foot in regular formations or behind hand-held shields. These firearm and wagon tactics proved their value when a Royalist force attacked his small army while it had the castle of Nekmar under
Siege. With just five wagons, Zizka was able to fight off the Royalists and withdraw back to the relative security of Pilsen. When Royalist raids began to encroach to the south, into the Pilsen area, Zizka made the decision to withdraw again and continue to build
His army. This time, his destination was the newly established Hussite fortress at Hradiste, which they had renamed Tabor. While moving toward the new base, Zizka’s small force of a few hundred was attacked by a mounted Royalist army about twice its number.
The Royalists chose the moment for their attack badly, as they had allowed Zizka to pick the terrain after he had sighted the approaching knights soon after crossing the Orava River. The ground on which he made his stand was a boggy area to the southeast of Sudomer. Zizka used a dam
That had been constructed for fishponds to protect one of his flanks, and then set up his war wagons between two lakes, limiting the maneuverability of the mounted enemy still further. Almost immediately, the Royalists’ heavy, armored horses became bogged down in waterlogged marsh,
But they managed to destroy three of the twelve of Zizka’s wagons. Nevertheless, Zizka’s tactics won out, and his men were first able to halt the now slow-moving cavalry. Many Royalists were cut down in a hail of shot. Eventually, Zizka launched a counterattack,
On foot. Armed with flails, spears, and other melee weapons, the Hussites brought the fight to the mounted knights. Being on foot, they found it easier to move through the morass. The Royalist force endured very heavy casualties and those that were not killed fled the field.
In spite of the losses Zizka suffered, Sudomer transformed him from a diehard outlaw into the hero of the Bohemian Hussites. His ranks swelled rapidly over the months that followed. He set to work making Tabor an impregnable redoubt, building a double wall and ordering
More of the Hussite “pipe guns” and heavier howitzer style guns. The Hussites became the first force in European history to field large contingents of firearms, and this gave their otherwise disadvantageous position an edge in the ongoing war.
The success at Sudomer was fortunately timed. For Pope Martin V had proclaimed a crusade against the Hussites, earlier that month, and his papal bull Omnium Plasmatoris Domini was read before the Imperial Diet at Breslau. Sigismund immediately took command of the
Expedition, and recruits from across Europe began making their way to his assembly point, the Lower Silesian town of Swidnica. From there, they moved south in late April. Estimated size of the crusader host varies widely from the conservative 30,000 to the unrealistic 100,000 men, with the number most often given being between 50
And 60,000 troops, including camp followers. In contrast, numbering between 12 and 30,000, the Hussites could not hope to match this force in size, though they were somewhat buoyed by the defection of Cenak of Wartenburg to their cause. Cenak attempted to
Besiege Prague Castle district, but it was to no avail as Sigismund’s would soon arrive. The united Ultraquists and Taborites still remaining in the city were now under siege themselves. They issued a call for aid to Zizka.
Answering the call, the champion of the Hussite cause began moving at speed back to Prague. When Zizka arrived in Prague, Sigismund was encamped across the Vltava to the north, while the crusaders already held the city’s key strongpoints, with several thousand stationed
In the Prague Castle district on the western side and additional 4,000 in Vysehrad to the south. With an eye for reading the terrain, Zizka quickly realized that the enemy would soon hold all strategic points that controlled access to the city. All but one.
The Hussite leader hastily dispatched a small contingent to occupy the Vitkov Hill, a prominent ridge east of Prague. An old stone watch tower dominated the western end of the hill. Controlling it would secure the road by which supplies could come in from the east.
Since the much smaller Hussite army would not stand a chance in the open, it was crucial they held on to Vitkov Hill, lest they be cut off and surrounded. A timber palisade was constructed around the existing watchtower. Redoubts were
Added in front of the fort, with stone blockhouses at either end of the redoubt. The steep northern slope provided additional protection. Trenches, rocks, tree trunks, and other obstacles were used along the ridge to further hamper any advance of the more numerous Crusaders. As the Royalist scouts finished reconnoitring
The perimeter of Prague, Sigismund realized that it would be impossible to attack the city without gaining control of the Spitalfield, from where a direct assault on the walls could be launched, and, more importantly, reducing or capturing the fort on Vitkov Hill.
On July 13th, Sigismund ordered an artillery detachment be moved across the river into the Spitalfield area north of the Hussite fort. They were to coordinate with other artillery placements near the Royal camp to begin the bombardment of the Vitkov Hill.
Zizka, to the astonishment of his comrades, mobilized a detachment and RUSHED out the gate. To most, the action seemed like madness! But Zizka realized that the support for Sigismund’s artillery had not crossed the Vltava. Sigismund may have believed that the rebels would not leave their strong positions and march out into the open,
Thus allowing the artillery to cross first. Zizka correctly guessed that to exploit this narrow window of opportunity before the enemy could react, there was no time to consult the other Hussite captains. Daring action was needed!
Under a hail of enemy cannon fire, Zizka led his men through the clouds of dust and smoke. By the time the Royalists spotted them, it was too late. The Hussites poured onto the Spitalfield, overwhelming their artillery positions. Many of the crews were killed, others routed,
And a number of artillery pieces were hauled away back into the city. Remarkably, as night fell, Sigismund remained undeterred. Confident that he still had the upper hand, the king spent the night going through battle plans with his commanders. Finally, he gave the order for
A general assault on the Vitkov in the early hours of the morning. During the night, ferry boats worked to ship the crusaders across the river from Letenska to take up position before Vitkov Hill once more in the Spitalfield. In addition, Sigismund dispatched spies through secret passes in the Hussite
Lines. These relayed orders throughout the Prague Castle and Vysehrad areas. Unlike the uncoordinated attack of the day before, Sigismund now planned to bring his full force to bear and crush the Hussites in one strike. Sorties from both castles would pin the Hussites down in the cramped streets and squares,
While the main attack from the north would sweep over the Vitkov and close the channel that kept Zizka supplied and in contact with the Hussite controlled areas of Bohemia to the east and south. Like a trap closing around an unknowing prey,
Sigismund would then have the Hussite hero and his forces to grind down at his pleasure. At dawn the attack began. The Royalist garrisons of the Prague Castle and Vysehrad districts attacked the Hussite outposts in the city.
The entire city of Prague soon resounded with the noise, clamour, and terror of battle. Smoke hung heavy over thatched roofs and drifted lazily up toward the spires of the city’s churches and cathedral. But the Royalist action within the city was only meant to divert attention of the rebel leadership.
The main thrust came from the Spitalfield, by Sigismund’s assault force numbering 16,000 men. 1,000 Saxon knights were tasked with advancing up the north face of the Vitkov Hill and taking the fort. A much larger group formed the right wing
And was tasked with attacking the Porici Gate, once the Vitkov Hill was taken. A third group consisting of men-at-arms, regular cavalry, and infantry, moved behind the knights, forming the second wave. However, the Saxon knights discovered that the north-facing slope of the Vitkov was too steep for a mounted attack, so they left
Their horses behind and proceeded on foot. Worse, their advance was slowed further by the trenches, pits, and obstacles placed on the slope. The going was tough. When they reached the palisade, they had to pick their way over the obstacles and earthworks
Of the defenders, under fire from crossbow bolts the moment they came into range. The 60 or so Hussite defenders put up a tremendous fight, using their firearms when the knights came into close proximity, and then resorting to spears and heavy flails to
Hold off the enemy at close quarters. Against all odds, the heroic defenders on Vitkov Hill stood their ground. Seeing the struggle of their valiant compatriots, another 50 fighters left the walls of Prague to join the fighting on the hill.
Piece by piece, however, Sigismund sent more troops into the fray, ramping up the pressure on the Vitkov. His aim was to wear down the defenders until they could do no more. By this time, only 26 of the Hussites were left standing. They now fought against a
Force over FIFTY TIMES their numbers. But they sold their lives dearly. Still, the gruelling slaughter took its toll, as the strength of the defenders finally gave way. The first of the blockhouses fell. Soon after the old watchtower was taken by the crusaders.
24 Comments
🚩 Try Opera browser FOR FREE here: https://opr.as/Opera-browser-HistoryMarche
🚩 Today we examine the Battle of Vitkov Hill, fought in 1420 outside the city walls of Prague, amidst a series of crusades against the Hussites, who were a Czech proto-Protestant movement. Just one year before, in 1419, the Pope declared a crusade against them, and the Holy Roman Empire organized forces to wipe them out. Easier said than done…
you know, Christianity, is a religion of LOVE
Ever thought of making a game with historical scenarios just like this what's look like this I would buy it and I think lots of people too
The cost of making an indie game can range somewhere between $10,000 to $1 million. There are many factors that influence the game development costs.
Brutal as this battle was, it must have been funny to turn around and see thousands of horses minding their business
Congrats on 1M! You deserve 10M
we can thank the jesuits for the bubonic plague, basically the same people who brought us the corona virus. history repeats and humanity is still being enslaved by deepstate.
In Russia we call these Gulyai Gorod, wandering city.
Yes, we've had one defenestration, but what about second defenestration?
Anyone: Decides to practice another religion.
Catholic Church: "Time to die!"
Imagine being a pope and having your main crusading man be Sigismund. I'd honestly just off myself at that point, it's not worth the humiliation
comment
It is great to see this content in the channel. And kudos for mastering all those Czech names!
Sigismung of Luxembourg was a unique combination of brilliant political master and awfull military commander.
Greetings from Tabor 😁 Thank you for this video! I really like your channel, you're doing great job
Make some videos on india
where is okraine on your map?
Listening to historymarche while playing age of empires 2 is the shit !
Dude you hit 1 mil!
Anyone know where Vitkov Hill is today in relation to modern Prague please?
not Tejbor but Tábor
Siggismund, Kingdom of Bohemia, names I had heard from Kingdom come deliverance 😢 nice game
Legend says that if you say a channels name 3 times you get pinned
Historymarche
Historymarche
Historymarche
An interesting battle to say the least. I was unaware of these reformists. I guess you really do learn something every day.
You should do a series on the Goryeo-Khitan War which had a huge influence in Asian history during the medieval period. Maybe try expanding out of western hemisphere’s history!