
Battle of Malešov - Malešov, Czech Republic.
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ToRo61
N 49° 53.878 E 015° 13.757
33U E 516467 N 5527311
Battle of Malešov was one of the bloodiest battles of the Hussite period
Waymark Code: WM105PK
Location: Středočeský kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 03/03/2019
Views: 12
The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were fought between the Christian Hussites and the combined Christian Catholic forces of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, the Papacy and various European monarchs loyal to the Catholic Church, as well as among various Hussite factions themselves. After initial clashes, the Utraquists changed sides in 1423 to fight alongside Roman Catholics and opposed the Taborites and other Hussite spinoffs. These wars lasted from 1419 to approximately 1434.
The last major battle, in which Jan Žižka (
visit link) led Hussite troops before his death, was the battle at Malešov near Kutná Hora in the summer of 1424. The Holy Cross coalition of moderate Hussites and Czech Catholics wanted to eliminate the influence of the Hussite radicals headed by Jan Žižka. The coalition really had a bad day at Malešov. In one of the bloodiest battles of the Hussite period, Žižka troops crushed the enemy's army very convincingly. Later, a legend was told that the victory was to a large extent helped with a launching of wagons fully loaded with stones down the hill against the oncoming army. Whoever comes to the monument of battle must admit that probably no wagon, fully loaded, would be able to gain speed from such a mild hill. Jan Žižka reached the top of his power. There was no one able to challenge him. In September 1424, Žižka appeared with his troops in front of Prague. As a revenge for betrayal leading up to the battle at Malešov, furious Žižka wanted to plunder out the city. Prague preacher Jan Rokycana convinced him to change his mind.