The Hussite Civil War Explained - Medieval Bohemian History

After the reins of the Hussite army were handed over to yeoman Jan Žižka, internal strife followed. Seeing that the Hussites were weakened, the Germans undertook another crusade. They were firmly defeated by Žižka at the Battle of Deutschbrod, and they were driven out once again. A third crusade was attempted by the papacy, but it resulted in complete failure as well. The Lithuanians and Poles did not wish to attack the Czechs, Germany was having internal conflicts and could not muster up a sufficient force to battle the Hussites, and the king of Denmark left the Czech border to go back to his home. The Germans eventually were forced to seek peace.

The fighting ended after 1434 when the moderate Utraquist faction of the Hussites defeated the radical Taborite faction. The Hussites agreed to submit to the authority of the king of Bohemia and the Roman Catholic Church, and were allowed to practice their somewhat variant rite.

The Hussite community included most of the Czech population of the Kingdom of Bohemia and formed a major spontaneous military power. They defeated five consecutive crusades proclaimed against them by the Pope (1420, 1421, 1422, 1427, 1431), and intervened in the wars of neighboring countries. The Hussite Wars were notable for the extensive use of early hand-held firearms such as hand cannons.

#KingdomComeDeliverance #KCD #History