The Incredible Tactics of Jan Žižka: The Weapon That Destroyed Knightly Cavalry

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Many of you are familiar with an interesting historical figure known as Joan of Arc, the national heroine of France and victim of the "Catholic fire." But not everyone knows that in 1415, another national hero of Europe was sent to the stake - the Czech priest Jan Hus, who preached against the church's practice of charging fees for sacraments, opposed the sale of church positions, and dared to declare that not "all authority comes from God," but only that which acts according to His commandments. Hus also opposed indulgences, the practice of absolving sins for money.

As you've likely gathered, such an ideological and positive figure couldn't help but gather followers around him. Therefore, his death sparked discontent in Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic), which later erupted into a series of conflicts between reformer Jan Hus and Catholic loyalists. And one might think, what is so interesting in it? Medieval clashes in Eastern Europe. But the fact is that against Jan Hus's followers, five crusades were launched, involving the best knights of Europe, all of which ended in complete failure.

For almost 20 years, German, Austrian, English, Italian, Spanish, and Polish crusaders couldn't do anything against the Bohemian army, which was mostly made up of peasants. Interestingly, the Czech rebels suffered defeats in the end only because their movement splintered. And to achieve dozens of victories against armored cavalrymen, the Hussites could only do so thanks to the tactic of the Wagenburg.

Sources:
Rubtsov B.T. The Hussite Wars (The Great Peasant War of the 15th Century in Bohemia)
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