Battle of Zwettl
In the Battle of Zwettl on March 25, 1427 between Hussite and Imperial Austrian troops, the Hussites failed to conquer the city of Zwettl in Lower Austria, but they were able to gain rich booty and cause considerable damage in the area.
course
On March 12, 1427, 16,000 men, infantry and cavalry, under the command of Andreas Prokop, allegedly besieged the walled city of Zwettl for the second time since the beginning of the year. They attacked for two days and two nights in vain. In order to supply their troops, the besiegers set fire to the wider area around the Weinviertel and advanced far into the Kremstal with smaller troops . At the news of this incursion, Duke Albrecht V gathered all his forces at Krems ; there are no precise details about the size of this Austrian army.
On March 25, 1427, the relief army, under the leadership of the only 21-year-old Reinprecht IV von Walsee and Leopolds von Krayg, encountered the Hussites, and there was a bloody battle near Zwettl (probably on the vineyard) in which the Austrians defeated Put the attackers to flight after four hours of fierce fighting. But instead of vigorously pursuing the fleeing Hussites, the victors plundered the abandoned wagon castle and were attacked again by the Hussites who had rallied again. The Austrians struggled to reach the town where they found refuge; whoever did not flee quickly enough was slaughtered. After three days the Hussites withdrew in the direction of Altenburg and Horn . The loss of the Austrians, for which according to Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini the carelessness of the Walseer was responsible, is put at 9,000 men.
memory
Despite the unclear outcome of the battle, Zwettl was spared from further attacks, the citizens of the city later had a memorial stone, the so-called Hussite Cross , placed on the southern slope of the vineyard, the traditional battle site on today's Allentsteiger Straße, out of gratitude for the averted destruction .
literature
General sources on the Hussites:
- The Hussites. The Chronicle of Laurentius von Březová, 1414–1421 (= Slavic historian. 11). Translated from Latin and Old Czech, introduced and explained by Josef Bujnoch. Verlag Styria, Graz et al. 1988, ISBN 3-222-11813-2 (title of the original: Chronicon. ).
- František Palacký : The History of Hussiteism and Prof. Constantin Höfler. Critical Studies. 2nd Edition. Tempsky, Prague 1868, ( digitized version ).
- Friedrich von Bezold : King Sigmund and the Imperial Wars against the Hussites. Division 2: The years 1423-1428. Ackermann, Munich 1875.
- Adolf Kutschera: From the days of the Hussite Wars. King Siegmund in the battle for Prague (= From Austria's past. Vol. 5). Haase, Leipzig et al. 1917.
- Jan Durdik: Hussite army. German military publisher, Berlin 1961.
- Heinz Rieder: The Hussites. Casimir Katz, Gernsbach 1998, ISBN 3-925825-71-1 .
- Piotr Marczak: Wojny husyckie (= W kręgu średniowiecza. 4). Egros, Warsaw 2004, ISBN 83-88185-31-4 .
Web links
- Hussites besiege the city of Zwettl on zwettl.gv.at.