Battle fought between Henry III, King of the Romans, and Břetislav I, Duke of Bohemia, on 22/23 August 1040
Břetislav I's ambush halted Henry III's first invasion of Bohemia, forcing a royal retreat and delaying German imperial control for a year.
Key Facts
- Date of battle
- 22/23 August 1040
- Location
- Upper Palatine Forest, Domažlice District, Bohemia
- Hungarian reinforcements
- 3,000 troops sent by Peter, King of Hungary
- German vanguard size
- 1,000 men, almost completely destroyed
- Outcome reversed
- Břetislav surrendered after second campaign on 29 September 1041
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Břetislav I's 1039 conquest of Gniezno and removal of St. Adalbert's relics to Prague angered Archbishop Bardo and Henry III. His refusal to pay a demanded tribute, after offering his son Spytihněv as hostage, prompted Henry to launch a two-army invasion of Bohemia via the Bohemian Forest passes, while a Saxon force under Eckard II simultaneously invaded from the north.
Břetislav fortified the Bohemian Forest passes and prepared an ambush, bolstered by 3,000 Hungarian troops. Henry located the trap and sent a vanguard of 1,000 men under Werner I of Maden into a side valley of the Chamb; the vanguard was nearly annihilated in the prepared defenses. Otto of Schweinfurt's wing also suffered heavy losses the following day, forcing Henry to order a full retreat.
Henry requested a truce but Břetislav demanded unconditional surrender, so Henry organized a second campaign in 1041. That campaign proved successful: Henry's forces met the Saxon army before Prague on 8 September 1041, compelling Břetislav to surrender on 29 September 1041. Henry later founded Stockau Abbey in 1041, and Břetislav built a chapel at Brůdek in 1047 to commemorate the battle.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Henry III, King of the Romans, Werner I of Maden, Count of Winterthur, Otto of Schweinfurt, Margrave, Eckard II, Margrave of Meissen.
Side B
1 belligerent
Břetislav I, Duke of Bohemia.