The Battle of Rednitz on 22 June 910, was a decisive victory of the
Magyar cavalry over the
East Francia
East Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's Carolingian Empire, empire ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was created through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided t ...
n -
German kingdoms armies.
The location of this battle cannot be determined with 100% certitude. The battle happened near the River
Rednitz
The Rednitz is a long river in Franconia, Germany, tributary of the Regnitz (more precisely: its southern, left headstream). The Rednitz is formed by the confluence of the rivers Franconian Rezat and Swabian Rezat, in Georgensgmünd ( district o ...
, in Franconia, near the border with Bavaria ("in confinio Bavariae et Franciae"
). After the battle, the German king Louis the Child, together with the Swabian, Frankish, Bavarian, and Saxonian dukes, accepted to pay tribute to the Hungarian state.
[Györffy György: A magyarok elődeiről és a honfoglalásról; Osiris Kiadó, Budapest, 2002., p. 213]
We do not know who the commander of the Hungarian army was (he could be a chieftain or a prince), but it was the same who 10 days before the battle of Rednitz, on 12 June 910 at the
Battle of Augsburg inflicted a crushing defeat on the German army led by the King
Louis the Child
Louis the Child (893 – 20/24 September 911), sometimes called Louis III or Louis IV, was the king of East Francia from 899 until his death and was also recognized as king of Lotharingia after 900. He was the last East Frankish ruler of the Car ...
.
Sources
''Reginonis Continuator'', ''Annales Alamannici''
[Werra, Joseph]
Über den Continuator Reginonis
/ref> German chronicles from the X. century.
Background
This battle is a part of the Hungarian - German war which started in 900 with the death of Arnulf of Carinthia, with whom the Hungarians were in alliance, and after the Hungarian conquest of Pannonia
Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now wes ...
(Transdanubia
Transdanubia ( hu, Dunántúl; german: Transdanubien, hr, Prekodunavlje or ', sk, Zadunajsko :sk:Zadunajsko) is a traditional region of Hungary. It is also referred to as Hungarian Pannonia, or Pannonian Hungary.
Administrative divisions Trad ...
), and lasted until 910, the battles of Augsburg
Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
and Rednitz, both ending in disastrous German defeats, which forced the German king Louis the Child
Louis the Child (893 – 20/24 September 911), sometimes called Louis III or Louis IV, was the king of East Francia from 899 until his death and was also recognized as king of Lotharingia after 900. He was the last East Frankish ruler of the Car ...
, and the German duchies to accept the territorial losses, and pay tribute to the Hungarians. During this war, after the Battle of Pressburg
The Battle of Pressburg (german: Schlacht von Pressburg) or Battle of Pozsony ( hu, Pozsonyi csata), or Battle of Bratislava ( sk, Bitka pri Bratislave) was a three-day-long battle, fought between 4–6 July 907, during which the East Francian arm ...
, the Hungarians continued their campaigns against East Francia
East Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's Carolingian Empire, empire ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was created through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided t ...
, in order to subdue completely the Germans, beaten in 907. In 908 a Hungarian army invaded Thuringia, killing, in the Battle of Eisenach, its duke, Burchard Burchard (and all variant spellings) may refer to:
__NOTOC__ People
* Burchard (name), Burchard and all related spellings as a given name and surname
* Burckhardt, or (de) Bourcard, a family of the Basel patriciate
* Burchard-Bélaváry family, an a ...
, Duke Egino Egino or Egeno may refer to:
*Egino, Duke of Thuringia
*Egino IV, Count of Urach
Egino IV (; c. 1160 – 12 January 1230), also written as Egeno or Egon, and called the Bearded, was Count of Urach from 1181 to 1230 and co-ruler of the County of ...
, and Rudolf I, Bishop of Würzburg. In 909 a Hungarian army invaded Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, but it was defeated by Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria
Arnulf II (birth unknown; died 14 July 937), also known as the Bad (german: der Schlimme), the Evil (''der Böse'') or the Wicked, a member of the Luitpolding dynasty, held the title of Duke of Bavaria from about 907 until his death in 937. He ...
in a minor battle near Pocking
Pocking (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Bocking) is a town in the district of Passau, in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is situated about 30 km south-west of Passau, close to the Austrian border.
History
A Roman settlement was founded in the a ...
.
Prelude
King Louis the Child
Louis the Child (893 – 20/24 September 911), sometimes called Louis III or Louis IV, was the king of East Francia from 899 until his death and was also recognized as king of Lotharingia after 900. He was the last East Frankish ruler of the Car ...
decided that the forces from all the German duchies should come together and fight the Hungarians. He even threatened with execution those who would not come under his flag. We know about two armies which gathered: one, consisting of Swabia
Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.
The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...
n and other forces from southern Germany, led nominally by the king Louis the Child
Louis the Child (893 – 20/24 September 911), sometimes called Louis III or Louis IV, was the king of East Francia from 899 until his death and was also recognized as king of Lotharingia after 900. He was the last East Frankish ruler of the Car ...
(but because of his young age, in reality the leader of this army were Gozbert count of Alemannia and Managolt the count of Ladengau in Franconia), and the other, consisting from troops gathered from Franconia
Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch'').
The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Fr ...
, Lotharingia
Lotharingia ( la, regnum Lotharii regnum Lothariense Lotharingia; french: Lotharingie; german: Reich des Lothar Lotharingien Mittelreich; nl, Lotharingen) was a short-lived medieval successor kingdom of the Carolingian Empire. As a more durable ...
(presuming that if the duke of Lotharingia led the army, he gad to bring with him also an important troop from his country), Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
and maybe Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
(however we do not know anything about the Saxons taking part of this battle, but we presume that they also heard the call and the threat of king Louis, and that maybe they want to put an end of the Hungarian attacks, because they suffered in 906 and 908 two devastating attacks from the Hungarian armies[Vajay Szabolcs]
Der Eintritt des ungarischen Staemmebundes in die Europaeische Geschichte (862-933)
Ungarisches Institut München. V. Hase & Koehler Verlag. Mainz, 1968, p. 47), led by Gebhard, Duke of Lorraine
Gebhard of Lahngau ( 860/868 – 22 June 910), of the Conradine dynasty, son of Odo (died 879), count of Lahngau, and Judith, was himself count of Wetterau (909–910) and Rheingau (897–906) and then duke of Lotharingia (Lorraine).
In 903, Lou ...
and Liudger, the count of Ladengau. These two armies tried to unite, and fight the Hungarians together. The Hungarians learned about plans of Louis the Child, and sent quickly a Hungarian army, which rushed to prevent the joining of the Swabian and Frankish forces. They reached Augsburg on forced march very quickly, totally unexpected for Louis the Child and his army, and, at 12 June 910, defeated in the battle of Augsburg
Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
the army of the King. Maybe the failure of the Frankish army to arrive at the battle scene was due to some Hungarian units, which "kept busy" the Franco-Lotharingian army, distracting the attention of its leaders from the other battle, the Battle of Augsburg. So, the Hungarian army, with a "Napoleonean" tactic (István Bóna), cleverly managed to attack, and deal with these two armies separatedly. After that first battle, the Hungarian army marched north, to the border of Bavaria and Franconia, and met with the Franco-Bavaro-Lotharingian army led by Gebhard, Duke of Lorraine
Gebhard of Lahngau ( 860/868 – 22 June 910), of the Conradine dynasty, son of Odo (died 879), count of Lahngau, and Judith, was himself count of Wetterau (909–910) and Rheingau (897–906) and then duke of Lotharingia (Lorraine).
In 903, Lou ...
at Rednitz
The Rednitz is a long river in Franconia, Germany, tributary of the Regnitz (more precisely: its southern, left headstream). The Rednitz is formed by the confluence of the rivers Franconian Rezat and Swabian Rezat, in Georgensgmünd ( district o ...
. We do not know who led the Hungarians, but it seem to be a military leader, and not the Grand Prince of the Hungarians
Grand Prince ( hu, Nagyfejedelem) was the title used by contemporary sources to name the leader of the Magyar tribes, federation of the Hungarian tribes in the tenth century.Constantine VII mentioned Árpád in his book De Administrando Imperio as ...
, who in the 9th-10th centuries never took place in a battle outside of the Hungarian territories, the campaigns being led by more minor military leaders, the horka or one of the princes. We do not know about the strength of the two armies before the battle, but knowing the fact that at least three (Franconia, Lotharingia, Bavaria) if not four (Saxonia) East Francian duchies took part in the battle, and the army was led by a duke and a count, we can presume that the German army was bigger than the Hungarians, who before this battle had to fight another battle at Augsburg
Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
with the Swabian army of the German king Louis the Child, which, although was a victory, could cause them some losses too. Like in the before mentioned battle, in this battle too, met two war philosophies, styles and type of fighting, and weapons: the medieval European, inspired by the European-Frankish style of war and strategical thinking (consisting in heavy armours and weapons, the prevail of the strongest army without putting much importance on strategy), used by the Germans and the Nomadic War tactics, strategy and weapons used by the Hungarians (using exclusively cavalry, light or no armor, predominance of the bows and arrows, high mobility of the army corps, and predominance of delusive war tactics, which needed strategical thinking from the commanders).
Battle
We do not know many details about the battle, just that the battle was in the border between Bavaria and Franconia, the German army was heavily defeated, the commanders of the army, Gebhard, Duke of Lorraine
Gebhard of Lahngau ( 860/868 – 22 June 910), of the Conradine dynasty, son of Odo (died 879), count of Lahngau, and Judith, was himself count of Wetterau (909–910) and Rheingau (897–906) and then duke of Lotharingia (Lorraine).
In 903, Lou ...
, Liudger, the count of Ladengau, and most of the soldiers were killed and the remaining soldiers ran away. From the Annales Alamannici we can also presume, that, like in the Battle of Augsburg, the Hungarians managed to fool the enemy troops, this time the Bavarians (Baugariis) in such a way, that they thought that they won the battle, and in that moment, when the enemy left its guard down, they attacked by surprise, and defeated them. Its possible, that the Hungarians could have used the same nomadic tactic of feigned retreat
A feigned retreat is a military tactic, a type of feint, whereby a military force pretends to withdraw or to have been routed, in order to lure an enemy into a position of vulnerability.
A feigned retreat is one of the more difficult tactics fo ...
, with which they won the Battle of Augsburg ten days before.
Aftermath
After these two battles the Hungarian army plundered and burned the German territories, and nobody tried to fight them again, retreating to the walled towns and castles, and waiting them to turn back in Hungary. On their way back home the Hungarians plundered the surroundings of Regensburg, burned Altaich and Osterhofen.[Kristó Gyula: Levedi törzsszövetségétől Szent István Államáig; Magvető Könyvkiadó, Budapest, 1980, p. 240] Only the Bavarians managed to beat a minor plundering Hungarian unit at Neuching
Neuching is a municipality in the district of Erding in Bavaria in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the ...
,[Baják László: A fejedelmek kora. A korai magyar történet időrendi vázlata. II. rész. 900-1000 ''("The Era of the Princes. The chronological sketch of the early Hungarian history. II. part. 900-1000")''; ÓMT, Budapest, 2000 p. 13] but this did not change the fact: the annihilation of much of Germany's military power and capability to withstand the Hungarian attacks. This is demonstrated by the fact that after these defeats, Louis IV. the Child, the German king, together with the Swabian, Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages
* Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany
* East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
, Bavarian, and Saxonian princes accepted to pay tribute to the Hungarians.
However Louis the Child had not survived for long these battles, dying in 911, maybe caused by the trauma and humiliation of these defeats. His successor as German king, Conrad I of Germany
Conrad I (; c. 881 – 23 December 918), called the Younger, was the king of East Francia from 911 to 918. He was the first king not of the Carolingian dynasty, the first to be elected by the nobility and the first to be anointed. He was chosen as ...
(911-918), refused to pay any tribute to the Hungarians (however the dukes of Bavaria and Swabia paid from 917 tribute to the Magyars, who helped their fight against the German kings [Honfoglalás]
/Út_az_új_hazába_A_magyar_nemzet_története_Levédiától_1050-ig./ Út az új hazába. A magyar nemzet története Levédiától 1050-ig.
p. 12), and this caused frequent attacks on Germany made by the Hungarian nomadic armies (911, 913, 915, 917, 919, 924), which caused defeats (Eresburg
The Eresburg is the largest, well-known (Old) Saxon refuge castle (''Volksburg'') and was located in the area of the present German village of Obermarsberg in the borough of Marsberg in the county of Hochsauerlandkreis. It was a hill castle buil ...
- 915, Püchen 919), destruction (the burning of Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
915, Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
917) and plunderings, and just a few successes (particularly in 913), which finally forced king Henry the Fowler
Henry the Fowler (german: Heinrich der Vogler or '; la, Henricus Auceps) (c. 876 – 2 July 936) was the Duke of Saxony from 912 and the King of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non-Frankish king of East Francia, he ...
in 924 to start again to pay tribute to the Hungarians, until 933, the Battle of Riade
The Battle of Riade or Battle of Merseburg was fought between the troops of East Francia under King Henry I and the Magyars at an unidentified location in northern Thuringia along the river Unstrut on 15 March 933. The battle was precipitated b ...
which ended the long (26 years) period of Hungarian military superiority and domination in Germany. However the Hungarian raids in Germany continued until 955, their defeat in the Second Battle of Lechfeld
The Battle of Lechfeld was a series of military engagements over the course of three days from 10–12 August 955 in which the Kingdom of Germany, led by King Otto I the Great, annihilated the Hungarian army led by '' Harka '' Bulcsú and the ch ...
.
The ten years following the victories of 910, increased the self-confidence of the Hungarians, resulting in more frequent attacks towards West, and the widening of the length and range of these campaigns in territories, which escaped until then their attacks, like Lotharingia
Lotharingia ( la, regnum Lotharii regnum Lothariense Lotharingia; french: Lotharingie; german: Reich des Lothar Lotharingien Mittelreich; nl, Lotharingen) was a short-lived medieval successor kingdom of the Carolingian Empire. As a more durable ...
, West Francia
In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from about ...
, the border of Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
, Burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...
.
Strategic consequences
This battle concluded and demonstrated once and for all the military superiority of the light armored, quick moving nomadic warfare over what represented the peak of the Central and Western European style of warfare of those times: the post-Carolingian Germanic armies, represented by heavy armored, slow moving cavalry and pedestrians, the nomadic Hungarians heavily defeating them several times in the most categorical way.
After 4 years (907-910) of heavy defeats (Pressburg
Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...
, Eisenach
Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...
, Augsburg
Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
, Rednitz) from the hands of the Hungarian mounted archers, every of which resulting with the annihilation of the armies (this causing a "shortage" in soldiers to the Germans), and the deaths of the German commanders (among them princes, dukes, counts, margraves, bishops, archbishops), the German kings (Conrad I of Germany
Conrad I (; c. 881 – 23 December 918), called the Younger, was the king of East Francia from 911 to 918. He was the first king not of the Carolingian dynasty, the first to be elected by the nobility and the first to be anointed. He was chosen as ...
, Henry the Fowler
Henry the Fowler (german: Heinrich der Vogler or '; la, Henricus Auceps) (c. 876 – 2 July 936) was the Duke of Saxony from 912 and the King of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non-Frankish king of East Francia, he ...
) and other political leaders, decided not to fight again in an open field with the obviously tactically superior Magyars, fearing to have the same fate of their predecessors, but they retreated in their castles and walled towns (knowing that the Hungarians are not very skilled in sieges, because they have no siege equipments), waiting until they left their countries filled with spoils.[Reuter, Timothy. Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800–1056. New York: Longman, 1991., p. 129-130] It is interesting to know that not only the Germans who shared borders with the Hungarians chose not to fight with them (for example in 924 the German king Henry the Fowler retreated in his castle of Werla
The Royal Palace of Werla (German: ''Königspfalz Werla'') is located near Werlaburgdorf (municipality: Schladen-Werla) in Lower Saxony. The grounds of the royal palace cover about 20 hectares rising atop Kreuzberg hill, a 17 m high natural platea ...
, instead of defending his duchy with fight, when hearing that the Hungarians crossed Saxony's borders, and started to plunder his realm), but also the French too, for example in 919, when the Hungarians invaded Lotharingia
Lotharingia ( la, regnum Lotharii regnum Lothariense Lotharingia; french: Lotharingie; german: Reich des Lothar Lotharingien Mittelreich; nl, Lotharingen) was a short-lived medieval successor kingdom of the Carolingian Empire. As a more durable ...
and France, the king Charles the Simple
Charles III (17 September 879 – 7 October 929), called the Simple or the Straightforward (from the Latin ''Carolus Simplex''), was the king of West Francia from 898 until 922 and the king of Lotharingia from 911 until 919–923. He was a memb ...
wanted to gather the forces of his kingdom against them, only the archbishop of Reims
Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne.
Founded by ...
appeared from the nobles of the whole kingdom, who obviously hearing about the risks of a battle with the archers from the Carpathian Basin from the news which came from Germany, decided not to participate in a war against them, so the king withdrawed together with his 1500 soldiers, letting the Magyars to pillage his country. Because the fear of the European political and military leaders of the encounter with the Hungarians, after the years until 910, when in only four years (907-910) occurred four major battles (Battle of Pressburg
The Battle of Pressburg (german: Schlacht von Pressburg) or Battle of Pozsony ( hu, Pozsonyi csata), or Battle of Bratislava ( sk, Bitka pri Bratislave) was a three-day-long battle, fought between 4–6 July 907, during which the East Francian arm ...
in 907, Battle of Eisenach in 908, Battle of Augsburg in 910 and Battle of Rednitz), between 910 and 933 just two major battles took place between the Hungarians and their enemies: in 913 the Battle of Inn (a Bavarian-Swabian victory), and in 919 the Battle of Püchen (the Hungarians defeated the German king Henry the Fowler
Henry the Fowler (german: Heinrich der Vogler or '; la, Henricus Auceps) (c. 876 – 2 July 936) was the Duke of Saxony from 912 and the King of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non-Frankish king of East Francia, he ...
).
Another "tactic" used by the German kings and dukes between 910 and 933, was to pay off by tribute the peace within their borders. This inefficience and fear of the European armies to fight against the Hungarians made possible for the latters to extend their raids into Western Europe: France, Burgundy and even northern Spain, and in the Balkans to Constantinople and Greek peninsula!
After long years of tribute payment to the Hungarians, the German king Henry the Fowler managed to figure out the appropriate tactics to beat the Hungarians, to build unbreakable walls around the towns, and to build an army consisting of heavy knights, with which he could withstand them with success in 933.[Bóna, 2000, p. 39]
References
{{coord missing, Hungary
910
Rednitz 910
Rednitz
The Rednitz is a long river in Franconia, Germany, tributary of the Regnitz (more precisely: its southern, left headstream). The Rednitz is formed by the confluence of the rivers Franconian Rezat and Swabian Rezat, in Georgensgmünd ( district o ...
Rednitz
The Rednitz is a long river in Franconia, Germany, tributary of the Regnitz (more precisely: its southern, left headstream). The Rednitz is formed by the confluence of the rivers Franconian Rezat and Swabian Rezat, in Georgensgmünd ( district o ...
Rednitz
The Rednitz is a long river in Franconia, Germany, tributary of the Regnitz (more precisely: its southern, left headstream). The Rednitz is formed by the confluence of the rivers Franconian Rezat and Swabian Rezat, in Georgensgmünd ( district o ...