Battle of Pressburg

Battle of Pozsony
Part of the Hungarian Conquest
Date 4-7 July 907
Location Brezalauspurc, modern-day Bratislava, Slovakia or next to Lake Balaton
Result Decisive Hungarian victory
Belligerents
East Francia Magyar tribes
Commanders and leaders
Louis the Child
Luitpold, Margrave of Bavaria †		 Árpád
Strength
c. 100,000 c. 35,000
Casualties and losses
Heavy, among other losses: Archbishop Theotmar, 3 bishops and 35 counts Not significant

Battle of Pressburg,[1] or Battle of Bratislava (Slovakian) or Battle of Pozsony (Hungarian) refers to a battle fought on July 4, 907, during which the Bavarian army was defeated by the Hungarians.[1]

Contents

The battle

Margrave Luitpold of Bavaria built up his army and attempted to score a decisive victory against the Hungarians, who already formed an important state in Europe. The German army supposedly included more than 100,000 soldiers, which is almost certainly an exaggeration typical of the time. Árpád's army the Hungarian was only around 30-35,000. Few medieval armies are known to have exceeded 10,000. The German army, consisting of three battle groups, was crushed and a large part of Luitpold's army was destroyed. The German casualties included the Margrave, Archbishop Theotmar, three bishops and 35 counts.[2]

Location

The precise location of this battle is not known.[3] The only contemporary source mentioning a location of the battle are the Annales Iuvavenses maximi (Annals of Salzburg); however, the reliability of these annals is questionable, as they survive only in fragments copied in the 12th century.[4] They state that the battle took place in the vicinity of Brezalauspurc, the castle of Duke Brazlavo, located west of Lake Balaton.[5] Some interpretations equal Brezalauspurc with modern-day Bratislava or east of Vienna[6] while others claim that it was Urbs Paludarum - Brazlavo's burg near Lake Balaton in Pannonia.[7]

Aftermath

See also: Hungarian invasions of Europe

After the Battle, the Hungarians reoccupied present-day eastern Austria up to the River Enns, began pillaging the surrounding regions. The Hungarian threat to Germany persisted until 955 when Otto I the Great won a decisive victory at the Battle of Lechfeld, which brought internal stability to German lands. However after the battle (907) Germans could not attack Hungary for 100 years.

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b "Bavaria". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.. 2008. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/56538/Bavaria/648/History#tab=active~checked%2Citems~checked&title=Bavaria%20%3A%3A%20History.%20--%20Britannica%20Online%20Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2008-06-23. 
  2. ^ Eurasian studies yearbook, Volume 78, Volume 78, Eurolingua, 2006, p. 27
  3. ^ Burghardt, Andrew Frank (1962). Borderland: a historical and geographical study of Burgenland, Austria. University of Wisconsin Press, original from the University of California. pp. 60. 
  4. ^ Timothy Reuter, Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800–1056 (New York: Longman, 1991), 138–139.
  5. ^ Bowlus, Charles R. (2006). The battle of Lechfeld and its aftermath, August 955: the end of the age of .... pp. 83. http://books.google.com/books?id=0XBtVwukIogC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+battle+of+Lechfeld+and+its+aftermath&hl=en&ei=O5rlS8fgMZSd-Ab0t5npAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=book-preview-link&resnum=1&ved=0CDEQuwUwAA#v=onepage&q=brezalauspurc&f=false. 
  6. ^ Bowlus, Charles R. (2006). The battle of Lechfeld and its aftermath, August 955: the end of the age of migrations in the Latin West. Ashgate Publishing Ltd. pp. 223. ISBN 9780754654704. 
  7. ^ Bowlus, Charles R. (1995). Franks, Moravians, and Magyars: The Struggle for the Middle Danube, 788-907. pp. 258-9. 

External links