Battle of Lenzen

The Battle of Lenzen
Date 4 September 929 Location Lenzen, Brandenburg, Germany Result German victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Germany Duchy of Saxony	Redarii Linonen
Commanders and leaders
Bernhard Thietmar of Merseburg	Unknown
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Heavy	Entire force

Kingdom of Germany

The Battle of Lenzen was a land battle between a Saxon army of the Kingdom of Germany and the armies of the Slavic Redarii and Linonen peoples, that took place on 4 September 929 near the fortified Linonen stronghold of Lenzen in Brandenburg, Germany. The battle was a failed Slavic attempt to resist German king Henry I's campaigns to expand German territory to the Elbe.

In the battle, the Saxon army, under the command of the Saxon magnate Bernhard, destroyed a Slavic Redarii army. The Saxons had been laying siege to Lenzen, a Slavic fortress, since 30 August. On 3 September the Saxon cavalry reconnaissance screen alerted Bernhard to the presence of a Redarii army nearby. The next day, the Redarii formed up in an infantry phalanx opposite the Saxons, who did likewise.

Bernhard attempted to use his cavalry to perform a feigned retreat to draw out the Redarii, who had no cavalry units of their own, but the wet terrain prevented effective maneuvering. The Saxons then launched infantry assaults, with heavy casualties for both sides in the drawn-out combat that went on for the rest of the day. Ultimately, the Saxon cavalry under the command of count Thietmar was able to outflank the Redarii formation and charge upon them, routing them. The Saxons gave pursuit to completely destroy their opponents, slaughtering the fleeing Redarii en masse. The garrison of Lenzen surrendered the next morning.

The German victory at Lenzen was total, resulting in the suppression of effective Slavic resistance to German rule along the Elbe for the rest of Henry's reign.

In the winter of 928, Henry I marched against the Slavic Hevelli tribes, intent on seizing their capital of Brandenburg, located along the Havel. The Hevelli were allied to the Bohemians, who in turn had permitted military access through their territory for the Magyars when they launched failed raids on the German duchies of Thuringia and Saxony in 924. The conquest of the Hevelli was part of a larger campaign against Bohemia on Henry's part. At the strategic level, Henry's eastern campaign was designed to construct a defensive system of fortresses in the east to defeat further raids on the German kingdom. The Hevelli were worn down in numerous small engagements, after which Henry besieged and captured Brandenburg by storm.

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