Hussite Wars

The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, and European monarchs loyal to the Catholic Church, as well as various Hussite factions. At a late stage of the conflict, the Utraquists changed sides in 1432 to fight alongside Roman Catholics and opposed the Taborites and other Hussite spin-offs. These wars lasted from 1419 to approximately 1434.

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Hussite Wars
Part of the European religious wars and the Crusades
Battle of Hussites and Catholic crusaders, Jena Codex, 15th century
Date 30 July 1419 – 30 May 1434 Location Central Europe, mostly the Lands of the Bohemian Crown Result Victory of the moderate Hussites (Utraquists or Calixtines) and Catholics over the radical Hussites: Compromise between moderate Hussites and the Catholic Church; both join forces to fight the radical Hussites The moderate Hussites are recognized by the Catholic Church and allowed to practice their own rite The radical Hussites are defeated, and their rites forbidden Sigismund of Luxembourg becomes King of Bohemia The Basel Compacts, signed by Emperor Sigismund and Catholic and Hussite representatives, effectively end the Hussite Wars
Belligerents
Bohemia & Moravia: Hussite movement[lower-alpha 1](1419–20) Hussite Bohemia[lower-alpha 2] (1420–23) Taborites Praguers[lower-alpha 3] Orebites[lower-alpha 4] Union of Žatec and Louny[lower-alpha 5] Bohemian Hussite nobility and cities Moravian Hussites Moravian Hussite nobility New Tábor [cs] (1420–21) Radical Hussite faction (1423–34) Taborites Orebites (until 1424) Orphans (since 1424)[lower-alpha 6] Allies: Lithuania[lower-alpha 7] Supported by: Poland Polish–Hussite invasion of Prussia (1433): Poland Pomerania-Stolp Orphans as mercenaries Poland: Polish Hussites	Crusaders and Catholic loyalists: Hungary-Croatia[lower-alpha 8] Cumans[lower-alpha 9] Holy Roman Empire (also German Kingdom[lower-alpha 10]) Bohemian Crown Landfrieden of Plzeň[lower-alpha 11] Bohemian Catholic nobility and cities German Bohemians[lower-alpha 12] Moravia Olomouc Silesian duchies Oels Nysa Oława Świdnica Münsterberg Żagań Wrocław Troppau Upper Lusatia Lower Lusatia Egerland Kladsko Meissen (until 1423) Saxony (since 1423) Austria Palatinate Brandenburg Bavaria-Landshut Trier Cologne Mainz Thuringia Hesse Würzburg Brunswick-Lüneburg Swabian cities Free imperial cities (several participated) Various mercenaries and crusaders Teutonic Order Order of Rhodes Papal States England[lower-alpha 13] Serbia Poland[lower-alpha 14] Allies: Moderate Hussite faction (since 1423) Praguers Bohemian Hussite nobility Splitted taborite group: Radical Picards/Neo-Adamites[lower-alpha 15]
Commanders and leaders
Jan Žižka # Prokop the Great † Prokop the Lesser † Jan Želivský  Jan Čapek of Sány Diviš Bořek of Miletínek (1420–23) Hynek Krušina of Lichtenburg Jakoubek of Vřesovice Jan Roháč of Dubá Bohuslav von Schwanberg (1422–25) † Čeněk of Wartenberg Sigismund Korybut Jan Tovačovský of Cimburk Hanuš of Kolowrat † Aleš Vřešťovský of Rýzmburk Chval Řepický of Machovice Jan Pardus of Horka and Vratkov Mikuláš of Hus † Ondřej Keřský of Řimovice † Petr Zmrzlík of Svojšín Jan Talafús of Ostrov Kuneš of Bělovice Bedřich of Strážnice Jan Hvězda of Vícemilice Ojíř of Očedělice Jan Královec Petr Hromádka Mikuláš Sokol Allies of the Polish–Hussite invasion of Prussia: Mikuláš of Michalów Sudivoj of Ostroróg Bogislav IX of Słupsk Supporters: Vladislaus II Spytko III of Melsztyn	Sigismund Pope Martin V Pippo Spano Ulrich II of Rosenberg Bohuslav of Schwanberg (1419–22) Čeněk of Wartenberg Jan Všembera of Boskovice Peter of Sternberg Mikeš Divůček of Jemniště Henry of Kravaře and Plumlov † Hanuš of Kolowrat † Hynce Ptáček of Pirkstein Hynčík Pflug of Rabstein Henry of Hradec (DOW) Rupert II of Lubin John XII of Bucka William Schwihau von Riesenberg Theobald of Dolany Konrad IV the Elder Přemek of Opava Půta III of Častolovice Louis of Oława John of Münsterberg John of Żagań Těma of Koldice Albert of Koldice Hanuš of Polensko Frederick I Boso of Vitzthum Frederick II of Saxony Louis III Frederick of Brandenburg Johann of Pfalz-Neumarkt Albert II of Austria Reinprecht of Walsee Julian Cesarini Otto of Ziegenheim Đurađ Branković Scibor II. Sciborowic Michael Országh Henry Beaufort William the Victorious Erasmus Fischborn Paul von Rusdorf Hińcza of Rogów Zbigniew Oleśnicki Diviš Bořek of Miletínek (since 1423) Picard/Adamite Adam de Rohan

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The unrest began after pre-Protestant Christian reformer Jan Hus was executed by the Catholic Church in 1415 for heresy.^[1][2] Because King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia had plans to be crowned the Holy Roman Emperor (requiring Papal Coronation), he suppressed the religion of the Hussites, yet it continued to spread.^[3] When King Wenceslaus IV died of natural causes a few years later, the tension stemming from the Hussites grew stronger. In Prague and various other parts of Bohemia, the Catholic Germans living there were forced out.

Wenceslaus's brother, Sigismund, who had inherited the throne, was outraged by the spread of Hussitism.^[3] He received permission from the pope to launch a crusade against the Hussites, and large numbers of crusaders came from all over Europe to fight. They made early advances, forcing the Hussites back and taking Prague. However, the Hussites reorganized and took back nearly all the land they had lost, resulting in the failure of the crusade.

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 but were defeated by Žižka at the Battle of Německý Brod. Three more crusades were attempted by the papacy, but none achieved their objectives. 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. As the conflicts went on, the Hussites also made raids into German territory.

The wars eventually ended in 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 much of the Czech population of the Kingdom of Bohemia and formed a major spontaneous military power. The Hussite Wars were notable for the extensive use of early handheld firearms such as hand cannons and wagon forts by the Hussites.