20.5. 1420 Hussite army led by Žižka invaded Prague

Jan Žižka, who had left a large garrison in Tábor, set off with nine thousand fighters towards Prague. On the way, he conquered and burned Benešov, although he faced resistance. He also scattered the royal army and on 20 May 1420 arrived in Prague, where he captured Štvanice.

On his way to Prague, he also destroyed the Benedictine monastery Porta Apostolorum in Postoloprty. Two days later, however, some lords accompanied by their men went to the city to deliver food and reinforcements to Prague Castle. "On 22. On the 22nd of May, Žižka observed from his camp on the island that a strong crowd of mounted royalch on the other side of the Vltava River behind Bubny with many wagons pulling towards Prague Castle," Hynek Lang described the events of that time.

Žižek managed to cross the Vltava and attacked the marching nobility at Bubenec. He destroyed them so thoroughly that the leader of the procession, Michalec of Michalovice, could hardly save the castle. Apart from the prisoners, Žižka also received rich booty originally intended for the royal estate in Prague. Immediately afterwards he seized the Břevnov Monastery.

"Many were killed and wounded. And those who were not captured scattered as far as they could. Plenty of booty was taken from the wagons of the Tabors. In the three days after the arrival of the Tabors, on 23 May, the war aid of the towns of Žatec, Louny and Slany also came. They marched under their city flags on foot, in wagons and on horseback, counting many thousands of warriors," Lang adds.

They had a crowd of leaders - valiant knights - the landowners Záviš Bradatý and Petr Obrovec. Together with them, Petr Špička, the parish priest of the Church of St. Wenceslas in Žatec, was also at the head. These troops reinforced Prague before its decisive clash. When they reached the city and Sigismund fled from the field at Litožnice, the troops turned against both castles.

Žižka himself led the attacks, and Žižka was aided by other hetmans and pades, especially the famous Knights ofKrušina of Lichtemburk, the warlike Hynek of Koldstein, a Moravian, then Hvězda of Vícemilic, called Bzdinka, a man impartial and little known. They were all aware that they had a difficult task ahead of them, for there was a royal army in Hradcany. But it was plagued by hunger, and it was even said that they had eaten almost all the horses. But Sigismund came to Prague and supplied both castles with food.

After a few days, moreover, word spread that huge new hordes of crusaders were pouring into Bohemia like a flood. Slané fell, Louny surrendered, seventeen Caliphs were drowned in Litomerice, and the people of Dedin were martyred....

Source: Josef Frantisek Karas: On Žižek's war chariot, Slavin (Pantheon); Collection of likenesses, autographs and biographies, Hynek Lang: Zizka. Czech-Moravian Military Weekly, www.baracnici-karlin.cz