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5 – Battle of Vitkov Hill (1420)
The little known Hussite Wars was a series of conflicts over a 15 year period (1419-1434). It took place between a Christian movement in the Kingdom of Bohemia called the Hussites and several European monarchs who sought to impose the Roman Catholic Church’s authority upon them. One would expect the Hussites to get crushed, but they more than held their own and eventually forced a compromise in 1434. They agreed to submit to the authority of the Church and the Kingdom of Bohemia in return for the Hussite church becoming free of the Papacy.
The Battle of Vitkov Hill, from June 12 – July 14, 1420, perfectly illustrates why the Hussites eventually achieved a victory of sorts. The location of the battle was just outside of Prague and should have been no contest whatsoever. On one side, there was an army of 7,000-8,000 men under the leadership of Sigismund, the Holy Roman Emperor. Opposing them was a group of fewer than 100 soldiers led by Jan Zizka. Sigismund attempted to capture Prague and assembled an 80,000 man army to march on the city which was defended by 12,000 men.
Vitkov Hill, a seemingly flimsy defensive structure, stood in the way. Zizka knew the importance of the hill; if the enemy took it, the chances of withstanding a siege were slim. Along with his small group of men, Zizka remained behind the wooden planks on the hill and waited for the enemy’s attack. Sigismund understood the implications of failing to take the hill and sent 8,000 troops to capture it. The Vitkov Hill was actually a more solid defensive location than it appeared as the wooden fortifications were surrounded by moats and there was also a stone and clay wall.
For several weeks, the Christian Knights were unable to take the hill as Zizka led a brilliant and heroic defense. Attack after attack was repelled until Hussite relief troops arrived on the scene on July 14 and surprised the Knights with an attack from behind. The Crusaders panicked and fled the field, and a number of them drowned in the River Vltava. Up to 300 Knights died in the failed assaults on the hill.
Vitkov Hill was renamed Zizkov in honor of the brave commander and a monument depicting Zizka on a horse was erected on the hill. It is the third largest bronze equestrian statue on Earth. After the loss at Vitkov Hill, the Crusaders knew they couldn’t starve the city into surrender. While Sigismund took the castles of Hradcany and Vysehrad, he couldn’t hold them, and he eventually withdrew from Prague with his army.