Battle of Kutná Hora

Battle of Kutná Hora
Part of the Hussite Wars
Josef Mathauser - Jan Žižka in front of Kutná Hora
Date 21 December 1421 Location Kutná Hora Result Hussite victory Royalist retreat out of Bohemia
Belligerents
Hussites	Holy Roman Empire Kingdom of Hungary
Commanders and leaders
Jan Žižka	Sigismund Pippo Spano
Strength
12,000-18,000	50,000-92,000 80,000 Hungarians 12,000 Austrians
Casualties and losses
Unknown, but lesser than the Royalists	2,000-12,000 men

50,000-92,000

The Battle of Kutná Hora (Kuttenberg), an early battle and subsequent campaign in the Hussite Wars, was fought on 21–2 December 1421 between German and Hungarian troops of the Holy Roman Empire and the Hussites, an early ecclesiastical reformist group that was founded in what is now the Czech Republic.

In 1419, Pope Martin V declared a crusade against the Hussites. One branch of the Hussites, known as the Taborites, formed a religious-military community at Tábor. Under the leadership of the talented general Jan Žižka, the Taborites adopted the latest weaponry available, including handguns, long, thin cannons, nicknamed "snakes", and war wagons. Their adoption of the latter gave them the ability to fight a flexible and mobile style of warfare. Originally employed as a measure of last resort, its effectiveness against the royal cavalry turned field artillery into firm part of Hussite armies.

At Kutna Hora in the early winter of 1421, the Taborites were encircled by the superior forces of the Holy Roman Empire under King Sigismund. Even though Sigismund's elite heavy cavalry was kept at bay by Zizka's artillery, the Taborites apparently faced imminent destruction. However, on 21 December, Zizka grouped his war wagons into a column and charged the enemy lines. The battle wagons advanced rapidly, with all of their guns blazing. The column smashed a hole through Sigismund's line, allowing the Taborites to escape the encirclement. Sigismund decided against mounting a pursuit of the Hussites, for he incorrectly believed that they had been utterly defeated.

...
Wikipedia