Battle of Lipany

The Battle of Lipany (in Czech: Bitva u Lipan), also called the Battle of Český Brod, was fought at Lipany 40 km east of Prague on 30 May 1434 and virtually ended the Hussite Wars.^[1][2] An army of moderate Hussite (or Calixtine) nobility and Catholics, called the Bohemian League, defeated the radical Taborites and Orphans (or Sirotci) led by Prokop the Great, the overall commander, and by Jan Čapek of Sány, the cavalry commander.^[2]

Battle of Lipany
Part of the Hussite Wars
Date 30 May 1434 Location Lipany near Český Brod 50°01′43″N 14°56′13″E Result Victory of moderate Hussites and Catholics
Belligerents
Radical Hussites Taborites Orphans	Moderate Hussites (Calixtines) Praguers Hussite nobles Bohemian Catholics forces of Pilsen forces of Pilsen's Landfrieden forces of Karlštejn Rosenberg's forces city units of Prague and Mělník
Commanders and leaders
Prokop the Great  † Jan Čapek of Sány Prokop the Lesser [cs]  † Jan Roháč of Dubá  (POW)	Diviš Bořek of Miletínek Oldřich II of Rosenberg
Strength
10,700	14,300
Casualties and losses
1,300 killed 700 executed	200 killed

Battle

The radicals set up a Wagenburg on a strategically advantageous hill, and both armies stood opposite each other for some time. An attempt by the Calixtines/Utraquists to negotiate and peacefully resolve the conflict failed on account of the irreconcilable positions of the two sides. Three days after the unsuccessful negotiations, the Leaguers advanced to the radicals' encampment. Although the following mutual cannonade was harmless due to distance between the two armies, to the surprise of the radicals the Leaguers began to retreat with all their wagons.

Thinking that the enemy was fleeing, the radicals' commanders opened the Wagenburg to attack the Leaguers' formation, not knowing that the retreat was a trick to draw them out of the Wagenburg. As the radicals approached the Leaguers' army, the Leaguers stopped and began to fire from their wagons. At the same time, the Leaguers' heavy cavalry, which had been hidden near the radicals' camp, undertook a surprise attack from the side and penetrated into the open Wagenburg. The radicals' army quickly collapsed and the commander of the Orphans' cavalry, Čapek of Sány, fled with all his men to the nearby town of Kolín.

The battle now changed into a massacre of the lightly equipped radical forces. Both Prokop the Great and Prokop the Lesser [cs] were killed making a last stand at the wagons. Some prominent leaders of the radicals, including Jan Roháč of Dubá, were captured, but about 700 ordinary soldiers who surrendered after promises of renewed military service were burned to death in nearby barns.

Aftermath

As a consequence of the battle, the Taborite army was markedly weakened, and the Orphans virtually ceased to exist as a military force. The road towards acceptance of the Compacts of Basel was now open, and it was signed on 5 July 1436 in Jihlava. The next month, Sigismund was accepted as King of Bohemia by all major factions. Sigismund commented on the Battle of Lipany that "the Bohemians could be overcome only by Bohemians."

The last formation of Taborites under the command of Jan Roháč of Dubé was besieged at his castle Sion near Kutná Hora. It was then captured by Sigismund's forces, and on 9 September 1437 Roháč, still refusing to accept Sigismund as his king, was hanged in Prague.

See also

• Luděk Marold – Painter of the Marold's Panorama, which depicts this battle.

External links

• The Battles of the Hussite Wars
• Bellum.cz – Battle of Lipany 30th May 1434

References

1. Turnbull, Stephen (18 January 2024). The Hussite Wars 1419–36. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-6638-7.
2. Keen, Maurice (26 August 1999). Medieval Warfare: A History. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-820639-2.