Battle of Lechfeld?

[Fanty]

Has anyone done the Battle of Lechfeld yet?

Well, that battle was in 955AD, so its out of area in this game.

But who cares? *g*

It was between Hungary and the Holy Roman Empire.

background:

The Hungarians raided the Empire for over 100 years.
Came, burn villages, plunder and go.

This time, Emperor Otto the Great, a Saxon, wanted to end this.

He called all dukes for a meeting (Reichstag) and asked for 2 men in weapon and horse from each noble and each bishop)

They said, he is craisy. Men in weapons are horrible expensive and they need em themselfs. He can have a single one.

He finaly got 8000 man (wonder how many nobles there had been if everyone send him 1 and he got 8000 LOL)

The Hungarians had 15000

Otto himself weared the Shield of the Roman emperor Constantinus (who made crhistianity Roman state religion) and the Lance wich was suposed to be the lance that was stabbed into Jesus cross.

Himself weared no helm or armor but the dress of a priest. He wanted to proof that god is with him.

He held the lance over his head the whole battle. For anyone to see that Jesus is with him in his battle versus the pagan Barbarians from the East.

The Hugarian mainforce was in front, awaiting him.
several Hungarians sneaked in his back and attacked.

The Bohemians, who had been in the back, routed after minutes.

Next the Swabians followed them

Then the Hungarians stop to plunder and Otto send the Franks towards them. They rode the Hungarians into the ground.

In the same time his Saxons charged the mainforce in front.
Followed by the Bavarian infantry.

He managed to nail the Hungarian against the river, so they had no way out and had ben forced to hand to hand combat in wich they had no chance against the superior armored Germans.

The Hungarans jumped off their horses and into the river to save their lifes.

The leaders had been captured and executed. (in the past they allways were ransomed back, wich caused they came back every year.....)
Not so this time. The leaders had been executed and Hungary never every attacked the Empire again in History.

Otto was hailed Father of the fatherland Imperator, wich was special. The different German provinces didnt see themselfs as Germans back then. They even hated each others.
But they called Otto Father of the FATHERLAND. A premiere. A very special thing.

It also was the first time in history that soldiers of the different provinces fought side at side. (Otto invaded Poland. But using only Saxon forces for this) The Polish king accepted him as his superior Lord. As the head of the Christian world. Gods holy emperor on earth.

That was back in the time, when the title Holy Roman Emperor still was respected.

[Moop]

I've never heard of a Battle of Letchdeld...

[Ragss]

I hope english isnt your first language...

[Fanty]

Hehe.

Its quiet famous battle in Germany.
Possibly like ost German history, its unknown at other places.

Exactkly it was at the 8th. August 955 on the Lechfeld near the city of Augsburg.

ITs usually THE battle that coms to mind if you think of Otto the Great.

Other things Otto did are less known.
Like he annexed Brandenburg from Slavic tribes.
Got Burgundy by taking the queen of burgundy as his wife.
The pope shits in his pants because of the Italians and Otto conquered Italy. To thank him, the pope crowned him Emperor of Rome.
few years later he wins versus an Bycantinain Army that tried to enter Italy. Bycantinium re-establishes piece by giving Ottos son a Bycantinian princess as women.

He made a deral with the catholic church that Holy Roman Emperors are equal to the Pope and v´can outveto them. (Dualhead of the church, Pope and Emperor. This right was later lost by Henry IV. and Barbarossa tried to regain this right later. unsuccessfull)

etc etc.

He is one of the few persons who got where called the Great and considered the most powerfull man during lifetime.

The crown that was made for him, was used to crown Holy Roman Emperors until 1806 (when the HRE officially was ended. Inofficially it fell somewhere between 1200 and 1300)



Time to improve some hsitory on several fractions ;)


This is a painting, showing the battle of Lechfeld


Or this




Wallpainting showing LEchfeld battle


This map shows the movements of the armies:

[Fanty]

Zitat[/b] ]I hope english isnt your first language...

No.

1. language = German
2. language: English
3. langauge: French

sorry if you cannot understand what I write

[Ragss]

I meant to offence...well i would if it was your first language hehe. I commend you for knowing 3 languages, I doubt that I will ever get around to learning a second.

[PseRamesses]

Fanty,
Thank you for the extensive history lesson. It looks like it could be a great scenario and I think you should do it. If you need help making this I recommend a visit to the Dungeon where you´ll find answers, tips, guides to everything you want to know about modding. Good luck

[Plantagenet]

Quote[/b] (Fanty @ Feb. 23 2004,22:22)]

Quote[/b] ]I hope english isnt your first language...

No.

1. language = German
2. language: English
3. langauge: French

sorry if you cannot understand what I write

I think you gave a great summary of the battle. Things I find interesting about it:

1. Otto got such a good muster partly because the Bavarians sent 3 legions (divisions) and the Swabians 2, as each were fighting on home ground (the Lech river divides Swabia from Bavaria). Add to that 1 division each from the Franconians, the Saxons (Otto's household guard), and the Bohemians, and he had the largest army ever mustered in the Kingdom of Germany since Conrad I was elected in 911. Notice however that Lotharingia did not send a legion; this is because Otto chose to move immediately to the relief of Augsburg without waiting for the Lotharingians, who were farthest from the scene.

2. Otto had much tighter-than-usual tactical control of his army. The entire force, with the Bavarians in the van and the Bohemians in the rear, advanced to the Lechfeld in column, one legion behind the other in single-file. They were still in this formation when the Hungarians attacked the baggage train and routed the Bohemians; but Otto sent Conrad the Red's Franconian legion to the rear to beat off the attack.

3. As Conrad returned to the column, the entire army deployed into line abreast formation, with the van on the right wing and what was left of the rear on the left, in full view of the Magyar host...which was quite an accomplishment given the armies of the period, and the fact that they were heavily outnumbered.

4. Now the entire German line launched a cavalry charge that, as you said, pinned the enemy against the Lech. Just as the battle was decided, the hero of the day, Conrad the Red, was struck by an arrow and killed, which even though it was one of the most decisive battles in German (and even European) history, made it a tragic victory for Otto, who was his father-in-law.

[lancer63]

Wow much like Hastings and Agincourt. One king is killed by an arrow and the smaller army is victorious. Enjoyed reading about it, and the illustrations are great. Good job Fanty.

[Gregoshi]

Very nice Fanty. Gotta love it when pictures and maps are included. You might want to post the battle info over in Aymar's Historical Battles topic. He's working on creating new historical battles as well as making the existing ones more historically accurate.