The Battle of Hořice (German name: ''Horschitz'') was fought on 27 April 1423, between the

Orebites The Orebites (), also called Lesser Taborites and later known as Sirotci ("Orphans"; ), officially Orphans' Union (), were followers of a radical wing of the Hussites in Bohemia. The founders took part in the procession on Mount Oreb, near T ...

faction of the

Hussites upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century upright=1.2, The Lands of the Bohemian Crown during the Hussite Wars. The movement began during the Prag ...

and

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. The Hussites were led by

Jan Žižka Jan Žižka z Trocnova a Kalicha (; 1360 – 11 October 1424) was a Czechs, Czech military leader and Knight who was a contemporary and follower of Jan Hus, and a prominent Radical Hussite who led the Taborites, Taborite faction during the Hu ...

(who was completely blind at the time of the battle), while the

were led by the repeatedly-converting

Čeněk of Wartenberg Čeněk of Wartenberg (; ; c. 137917 September 1425) was a commander of the Royalist Bohemian forces at the start of the Hussite Wars. Up until the first half of 1420 he was a commander of the Utraquist League, a moderate fraction of the Hussi ...

. The battle took place on the Gothard plateau, near Hořice. Thanks to a strategic position, which allowed perfect use of Hussite war wagons and Žižka's tactical skills, the

Hussite file:Hussitenkriege.tif, upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century file:The Bohemian Realm during the Hussite Wars.png, upright=1.2, The Lands of the ...

s eventually won the battle. Hussites took the

high ground High ground is an area of elevated terrain, which can be useful in combat. The military importance of the high ground has been recognized for over 2,000 years, citing early examples from China and other early-dynastic cultures who regularly eng ...

and built their

wagon fort A wagon fort, wagon fortress, wagenburg or corral, often referred to as circling the wagons, is a temporary fortification made of wagons arranged into a rectangle, circle, or other shape and possibly joined with each other to produce an improvis ...

there. The Catholic cavalry could not ride up such a steep hill and was forced to dismount. The cannons owned by the nobles could not fire effectively uphill. These circumstances made it a battle between infantry behind fortifications and heavily armored infantry in the field. Žižka's men held the Wagenburg against repeated attacks by dismounted cavalry. Then, Žižka decided that the time was right to counterattack. With some cavalry, the Hussites charged downhill and swept Catholic forces from the battlefield.

References

The Battles of the Hussite Wars
* "The Hussite Wars (1419-36)", Stephen Turnbull, Osprey Publishing () {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Horice Hořice 1423 in Europe Conflicts in 1423 Jan Žižka History of the Hradec Králové Region