The siege of Gana was a twenty-day siege by a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
army led by 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 ...
against a
Slavic Glomacze
The Glomacze, also Golomacze or Dolomici ( pl, Głomacze or ''Gołomacze'', german: Daleminzier) - were Polabian Slavs inhabiting areas in the middle Elbe (''Łaba'') valley. Other West Slavic tribes such as the Milceni settled east of them. About ...
fortification, that took place in early 929 at the fort of Gana, named so after the nearby
Jahna
The Jahna is a river of Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Elbe, which it joins in Riesa.
See also
*List of rivers of Saxony
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
...
river.
In early 929, King Henry led a campaign along his realm's eastern frontier against a multitude of Slavic forts. After capturing his first target at
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...
, he seized several more Slavic forts in the area and constructed German ones to establish and secure German control over the territory. A powerful Glomacze fort at Gana near modern-day
Stauchitz was Henry's second primary target of the campaign. Henry's army took the fort after expending at least 110,000 man-hours of labour filling in a section of the ditch that protected it. Upon conquest of the stronghold, the Glomacze garrison was exterminated on Henry's orders and the young boys and girls in the fort were enslaved to Henry's ''
milites
Milites were the trained regular footsoldiers of ancient Rome, and later a term used to describe " soldiers" in Medieval Europe.
Roman Era
These men were the non-specialist regular soldiers that made up the bulk of a legion's numbers and were t ...
'' professional soldiers.
The siege and the subsequent establishment of a German fort at
Meissen
Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...
guaranteed permanent German dominance along the middle
Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
river and led to the creation of the ''
Marca Geronis
The ''Marca Geronis'' (march of Gero) was a vast super-march in the middle of the tenth century. It was created probably for Thietmar (in the 920s) and passed to his two sons consecutively: Siegfried and Gero. On Gero's death in 965 it was divi ...
'' to maintain the conquests. The siege at Gana, combined with the large number of sieges in the rest of Henry's 929 campaign, show the considerable resources that could be mobilized by the German kingdom for extended warfare to conquer, control and annex territory.
Background
In the winter of 928, 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 ...
of
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 most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
organized a military expedition along his eastern frontier against various Slavic fortifications. His first objective was the
Hevelli
The Hevelli or Hevellians/ Navellasîni (sometimes ''Havolane''; german: Heveller or ''Stodoranen''; pl, Hawelanie or ''Stodoranie''; cs, Havolané or ''Stodorané'') were a tribe of the Polabian Slavs, who settled around the middle Havel river ...
tribe's princely seat
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...
, located along the
Havel
The Havel () is a river in northeastern Germany, flowing through the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. It is a right tributary of the Elbe and long. However, the direct distance from its source to its mo ...
river. The Germans reduced Hevelli military power through a multitude of battles, before closing in on the Brandenburg fortress and capturing it by a storm. Upon occupation of the fort, Henry proceeded to take over all of Hevelli territory. The next German campaign target was the
Glomacze
The Glomacze, also Golomacze or Dolomici ( pl, Głomacze or ''Gołomacze'', german: Daleminzier) - were Polabian Slavs inhabiting areas in the middle Elbe (''Łaba'') valley. Other West Slavic tribes such as the Milceni settled east of them. About ...
fortress of Gana near the
Jahna
The Jahna is a river of Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Elbe, which it joins in Riesa.
See also
*List of rivers of Saxony
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
...
river. On their way to Gana, Henry's army marched along the
Plane
Plane(s) most often refers to:
* Aero- or airplane, a powered, fixed-wing aircraft
* Plane (geometry), a flat, 2-dimensional surface
Plane or planes may also refer to:
Biology
* Plane (tree) or ''Platanus'', wetland native plant
* ''Planes' ...
valley to the
Fläming hills, conquering more Slavic forts at
Belzig
Bad Belzig (), until 2010 Belzig, is a historic town in Brandenburg, Germany located about southwest of Berlin. It is the capital of the Potsdam-Mittelmark district.
Geography
Bad Belzig is located within the Fläming hill range and in the cen ...
, Mörz,
Niemegk
Niemegk () is a town in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the ''Amt'' ("collective municipality") Niemegk.
Geography
The municipal area is situated on the northeastern slopes of the Fläm ...
and
Zahna
Zahna is a town and a former municipality in Wittenberg district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany not far from Federal Highway (''Bundesstraße'') B 2 and about 11 km east of Lutherstadt Wittenberg. It was the seat of the former administrati ...
. Nearby, German forts were constructed in 929 at
Strehla, controlling a ford over the
Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
, at Osterburg and at
Dahlen, securing the area.
Siege
Archaeological excavations have uncovered a fortress in the Jahna river valley near
Stauchitz that may be identified with the Gana site. The fort had walls 15 meters thick at their foundation and with a height of 6 meters. It was enclosed by a 15-meter wide and 5-meter tall ditch. The circuit of the walls was 700 meters long and the fort encompassed an area of 4 hectares, not including a possible outer fort.
Filling in a 200-meter section of the ditch was necessary for Henry's men to storm the walls, a process that would have required the excavation of 15,000 tons of earth with at least 50,000 man-hours of work. The earth then needed to be transported and unloaded on the ditch using wagons. At least 750 carts and 30,000 wagon-loads of earth would have been needed, requiring another 60,000 man-hours of loading, transport and unloading. With only 8 hours of daylight in the winter, it would have taken 1,000 men two weeks to accomplish the task.
Once Gana was stormed at the end of the 20-day siege, Henry gave the order for his men to kill all the defenders and enslave the young boys and girls to his ''
milites
Milites were the trained regular footsoldiers of ancient Rome, and later a term used to describe " soldiers" in Medieval Europe.
Roman Era
These men were the non-specialist regular soldiers that made up the bulk of a legion's numbers and were t ...
'' professional soldiers. Given the ferocity of the German conquest, it is likely they had sustained heavy losses in the assault. Bachrach estimates more than 1,000 Germans killed or wounded, based on a mathematical siege attack model for the Brandenburg fortification.
Aftermath
After conquering Gana, Henry marched up the Elbe to accomplish his ultimate campaign aim, the siege of
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
and the subjugation of
Duke Wenceslaus I's
Duchy of Bohemia
The Duchy of Bohemia, also later referred to in English as the Czech Duchy, ( cs, České knížectví) was a monarchy and a principality of the Holy Roman Empire in Central Europe during the Early and High Middle Ages. It was formed around 870 b ...
. Along the way, he constructed a fortress at
Meissen
Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...
, as proven by dendrochronological dating of the wooden construction at Meissen, which establishes an early building stage for 929. Meissen secured German control over the middle Elbe and was followed by the establishment of the ''
Marca Geronis
The ''Marca Geronis'' (march of Gero) was a vast super-march in the middle of the tenth century. It was created probably for Thietmar (in the 920s) and passed to his two sons consecutively: Siegfried and Gero. On Gero's death in 965 it was divi ...
'' to maintain the German hold. With the help of Duke
Arnulf of Bavaria's troops, Henry invaded Bohemia with a total force of 12,000–15,000 professional soldiers and expeditionary militia levies and compelled the surrender of heavily-fortified Prague, concluding a highly successful campaign.
Analysis
The extensive and successful German siege operations over some period of time show that Henry and the German kingdom could mobilize thousands of soldiers and supply them with the transport animals, food and fodder necessary to maintain them.
Citations
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siege of Gana
929
Gana
The word (; Sanskrit: गण) in Sanskrit and Pali means "flock, troop, multitude, number, tribe, category, series, or class". It can also be used to refer to a "body of attendants" and can refer to "a company, any assemblage or association of ...
Gana
The word (; Sanskrit: गण) in Sanskrit and Pali means "flock, troop, multitude, number, tribe, category, series, or class". It can also be used to refer to a "body of attendants" and can refer to "a company, any assemblage or association of ...
Gana
The word (; Sanskrit: गण) in Sanskrit and Pali means "flock, troop, multitude, number, tribe, category, series, or class". It can also be used to refer to a "body of attendants" and can refer to "a company, any assemblage or association of ...