Bohemian reform preacher Jan Hus was condemned for heresy and burned at the stake in Constance. His death became a rallying point for Bohemian reformers and intensified tensions between reform-minded estates in Bohemia and the wider Catholic hierarchy of the Holy Roman Empire.
A Hussite-led crowd threw members of Prague’s New Town council from the windows of the New Town Hall. The incident helped trigger open revolt in Bohemia and is widely treated as the opening flashpoint of the Hussite revolutionary period.
King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia died in Prague amid the growing crisis after the Prague violence. The succession struggle and resistance to his brother Sigismund’s claims deepened the political conditions that allowed the wars to expand.
Hussite forces associated with Jan Žižka defeated Catholic opponents at Sudoměř, a key early success that showcased mobile defenses using war wagons (wagenburg) and helped validate Hussite tactical innovations.
Royalist and crusader forces failed to crush the emerging Hussite center at Tábor. The defeat reinforced Tábor’s role as a major base for radical Hussite organization and campaigning.
Hussite defenders under Jan Žižka repelled Sigismund’s crusader forces at Vítkov Hill during the fighting around Prague. The victory helped prevent a crusader capture of the city and became a signature early triumph for the Hussite cause.
Combat around Vyšehrad (a key fortification near Prague) culminated in its surrender around early November 1420, consolidating Hussite control in and around Prague after the first major crusading attempts.
At Kutná Hora, Hussite forces under Žižka broke out from encirclement by Sigismund’s crusading army. The engagement is closely associated with effective battlefield use of war wagons and firearms to blunt heavy cavalry and regain operational freedom.
Žižka’s Hussite forces defeated royalist/crusader troops at Německý Brod, contributing to the collapse of Sigismund’s campaign in Bohemia and reinforcing Hussite momentum into 1422.
Jan Žižka died during the wars, removing the most prominent early Hussite commander. His death forced a reconfiguration of Hussite military and political leadership as the conflict continued under other captains and factions.
Crusader forces suffered a major defeat at Domažlice (Taus). The rout helped push the struggle toward negotiation, strengthening the position of Hussite representatives in talks linked to the Council of Basel.
At Lipany, a coalition of moderate Hussites (Calixtines/Utraquists) and Catholic forces defeated the radical Taborites and Orphans. The outcome is often treated as the decisive military turning point that made a settlement possible.
The Compacts of Basel (Compactata) were ratified by the estates in Jihlava, formalizing a negotiated settlement between the Council of Basel and moderate Hussites. The agreement notably permitted communion under both kinds (bread and wine) for the laity, marking a key endpoint to the main war phase (1419–1436).
Hussite Wars and Bohemian reform movements within the Empire (1419–1436)
