The Battle of Ilava (called also Battle of Rudé Pole, Slovak: Bitka na Rudom poli) was a battle in the

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, European monarchs loyal to the Cat ...

between the

Hussites The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Hussit ...

and the Hungarian-Royalists army near

Ilava Ilava (german: Illau, hu, Illava) is a town in the Trenčín Region, northwestern Slovakia. Name The name is of uncertain origin. The historic medieval names were ''Lewe'', ''Lewa'' (the same historic name as Levice), ''Lewa de cidca fluviom V ...

Upper Hungary Upper Hungary is the usual English translation of ''Felvidék'' (literally: "Upland"), the Hungarian term for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been ...

(

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

) on November 9th, 1431 (sometimes date of November 10th or 11th is given). In 1430 the army of the

defeated the army of the Hungarians,

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

and Royalists in the Battle of Trnava, but the casualties of the Hussites were quite big, making the victory not as successful. In september of 1431 the Hussite army under

Prokop the Great Prokop the Great ( cs, Prokop Veliký, la, Procopius Magnus) or Prokop the Bald or the Shaven ( cz, Prokop Holý, link=no, ) (c. 1380 – 30 May 1434) was a Czech Hussite general and a prominent Taborite military leader during the Hussite Wars ...

Prokop the Lesser Prokop may mean either of two Hussite generals, both of whom died in the 1434 battle of Lipan: * Prokop the Great * Prokop the Lesser Other people who bore the name Prokop: * Procopius, 6c historian * Saint Prokop, or Procopius of Sázava (died ...

''(Prokůpek)'' and Hanuš of Kolovrat again invaded present day Slovakia (also known as

) for the revenge of the death of Velek Koudelník of Březnice and for food replenishment. The Hussites captured city of

Nitra Nitra (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of about 78,353, it is the fifth la ...

and the Orebite forces conquered the Likava castle in

Liptov Liptov () is a historical and geographical region in central Slovakia with around 140,000 inhabitants. The area is also known by the German name ''Liptau'', the Hungarian ''Liptó'', the Latin name ''Liptovium'' and the Polish ''Liptów''. Etymo ...

county, on 29th September. The

Taborite The Taborites ( cs, Táborité, cs, singular Táborita), known by their enemies as the Picards, were a faction within the Hussite movement in the medieval Lands of the Bohemian Crown. Although most of the Taborites were of rural origin, they ...

forces were looting settlements around cities of

Trnava Trnava (, german: Tyrnau; hu, Nagyszombat, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a ''kraj'' (Trnava Region) and of an '' okres'' (Trna ...

and

Levice Levice (; hu, Léva, Hungarian pronunciation: ; german: Lewenz, literally lionesses) is a town in western Slovakia. The town lies on the left bank of the lower Hron river. The Old Slavic name of the town was ''Leva'', which means "the Left On ...

. Later, seeking to return home, Hussites were following river Váh to the north, hoping to cross the bridge at Hlohovec. They found the bridge destroyed and were forced to march on towards Ilava, where the Hungarians under the leadership of Miklós Rozgoyni (Mikuláš Rozgoň) and István Poharnok (Štefan Pohárnik) prepared a trap. The battle was fought on a field (Rudé pole, lit. red field) between

and settlement of Košeca. Thanks to the intensive rain, the Hussites were not able to properly manoeuver and about 5,000 of them were killed or drowned trying to cross

Váh The Váh (; german: Waag, ; hu, Vág; pl, WagWag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów ...

. Around 250 Hussite

war wagons A war wagon is any of several historical types of early fighting vehicle involving an armed or armored animal-drawn cart or wagon. China One of the earliest example of using conjoined wagons in warfare as fortification is described in the Chinese ...

and many cannons were captured. Rozgonyi executed many Taborite prisoners and their commander Zikmund Hořovský. Remains of the Hussite army retreated through the valley of

Púchov Púchov (german: Puchau; hu, Puhó) is an industrial town in the centre of Púchov District in Slovakia, with a population close to 18,000. Geography It is located on the main train line between Bratislava and Košice. It is half way between Tre ...

back into Moravia.

Sources

Illavai ütközet (Magyar katolikus lexikon)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilava, Battle of 1431 in Europe Ilava 1431 Battles involving Hungary in the Middle Ages Battles involving Bohemia Military history of Hungary Conflicts in 1431 History of the Trenčín Region