The first victory of the Hussite hetman Jan Žižka

The First Victory of Hussite Commander Žižka

The Prague Defenestration marked the end of the period when the Hussites defended their ideas through peaceful means. The situation escalated. The Hussites felt the need to do more than just talk. Similarly, Catholics recognized the necessity of putting an end to heresy. Thus, in 1419, Jan Žižka began writing the history of the Hussite Wars...

Žižka Arrives

After the battles between rural radicals and Hussite nobility in Prague ended in November 1419, a truce was signed between the opposing sides. Groups of rural folk had to leave Prague, heading to other Czech towns such as Slaný, Louny, or Písek. Jan Žižka, dissatisfied with the developments in Prague, voluntarily left the city and joined a group seeking refuge in Plzeň, where power was held by the radical priest Václav Koranda, who predicted the second coming of Christ in February 1420. Many believed that if Prague could not be the center of Hussitism, then Plzeň would take its place.

Jan Žižka in a painting by Adolf Liebscher, 1904 with a mace in hand

The First Victory

Žižka decided to break the enemy's resistance. About fifteen kilometers from Plzeň, on December 12, 1419, he faced the enemy directly for the first time: "When Žižka once set out from Plzeň to Nekmíř with fewer than three hundred foot soldiers and seven wagons carrying siege equipment, he was intercepted by Lord Bohuslav, who had over two thousand cavalry and infantry. He attacked Žižka with his cavalry force, thinking he would crush them utterly. But Žižka repelled him from the wagons and killed Hynek of Nekmíř. Then he continued on his way and that night demolished three fortified strongholds." This is how the Old Czech Chronicles describe Žižka's first, somewhat overlooked victory at Nekmíř, where he successfully used the wagon fort for the first time.

Brilliant Deception

The Hussites, led by Žižka and Břeněk Švihovský, were granted safe passage out of Plzeň. Around four hundred men, women, and children set out towards Tábor on muddy roads. The convoy of twelve wagons moved cautiously, avoiding castles held by Catholic lords and larger towns. The risk of confrontation was too great. However, the migrating Hussites could not avoid conflict. Bohuslav of Švamberk, whom Žižka had defeated at Nekmíř, saw an opportunity for revenge. He tracked the Hussite force and summoned reinforcements. This, however, did not go unnoticed by the Hussites. It should be noted that at Sudoměř on March 25, 1420, the leader of the expedition was not Žižka but Břeněk Švihovský of Riesenburk. While there is no evidence that Žižka took over in a moment of crisis, it is a reasonable assumption.

Žižka leading the Hussite forces (illumination from the Jena Codex)

In the Battle of Sudoměř, Žižka revealed his strategic genius and his ability to choose the perfect battlefield for the first time. It was clear that attacking with a small force accompanied by women and children would be suicide. Žižka chose a position on a dam between the drained, muddy Škaredý Pond and the full Markovec Pond. The flanks of the wagon fort were well protected, and the Hussites had a muddy terrain behind them. By selecting such a location, Žižka defied the norms of warfare of the time, which brought him victory. The enemy could only attack head-on against the wagon fort in limited numbers. Numerical superiority was useless. The forces of Bohuslav of Švamberk, together with the royal garrison from Písek and the Knights of St. John from Strakonice, found themselves in a trap from which there was no escape.

Battle of Sudoměř

The attacking knights on horseback could not maneuver on the narrow dam and were pressed against each other. The Hussites shot them like rabbits from the wagons. A supporting attack across the muddy bottom of the pond ended similarly. Heavy horses and armored men got stuck in the mud. After the victorious battle, in which the Hussite leader Břeněk Švihovský fell, Žižka led the survivors to Sezimovo Ústí. Under his influence, the South Bohemian Hussites soon relocated to the strategically advantageous ruins of a fortress where they founded the town of Tábor.