Battle of Motta (1412)

Battle of Motta
Part of Sigismund's Venetian war of 1411-1413
Ruggero Cane Ranieri, the victor of Motta di Livenza[1]
Date August 24, 1412[2] Location Motta di Livenza, Veneto Result Venetian victory[2][3][4][5]
Belligerents
Republic of Venice [2][6][7]	Kingdom of Hungary [2][3][4]
Commanders and leaders
Carlo Malatesta Ruggero Cane Ranieri Taddeo dal Verme [5][8][9][10]	Pipo of Ozora Miklós Marczali † Niccolò di Prata (POW) [8][9][10][11]
Strength
12,000 Troops[12] Assembled on the Livenza by late August	3,000 Cavalry[9] Hungarians, Bohemians, Germans & Friulians [6]
Casualties and losses
Heavy[8] Carlo Malatesta was severely wounded [3][6]	1,300 killed[4][7][10] 400 captured[8][9] several standards[13]

The Battle of Motta was fought in late August 1412, when an invading Hungarian army led by Pipo of Ozora and Voivode Miklós Marczali ^[14] attacked the Venetian positions at Motta^[12] and suffered a heavy defeat.^[15]

Prelude

The Republic of Venice subjugated Verona and Vicenza after the death of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, and took control of Padova by having its count, Francesco Carrara, executed in Venice.^[3] This, and the Republics refusal to pay the annual fee of 7,000 ducats to the Crown of Hungary drove Sigismund, king of Hungary to declare war upon Venice.^[3]
On April 20, 1411, 12,000 Hungarian cavalry and 8,000 foot crossed the Tagliamento under Pipo of Ozora.^[13] The initial Hungarian success^[5] and the heavy losses that the Venetians sustained^[10] forced the Republic into a peace negotiation (March 24, 1412)^[13] in which King Sigismund demanded the city of Zadar, reinstatement of the Scaliger and Carraresi to their fiefdoms and a reparation of 600,000 ducats.^[10][11] This proposition was not accepted by the Republic of Venice ^[13] and the war was resumed by both sides with great passion.^[3]

Battle

The Venetians increased their army^[10] and at the head of 35,000 men, Carlo Malatesta reenters the field in Friuli and conquers the castles of Polcenigo and Aviano.^[4] Pandolfo Malatesta, brother of Carlo Malatesta, joins the Venetian force with 1,000 lances^[12] and by late August, the Venetians have an army of 12,000 men assembled along the Livenza river,^[12] with Carlo Malatesta laying siege to Motta.^[10]
On April 24, 3,000 Hungarians (incl. Germans, Friulians & Bohemians) ^[16] under Pipo of Ozora^[10][11] assaulted the Venetian camp from three sides.^[16] The Venetian camp was taken by surprise and the Hungarians created a slaughter^[6] and started to plunder what they could.^[16] Only Carlo Malatesta and the other Venetian generals together with Ruggero Cane Ranieri and his company of 600 horse held off the Hungarians.^[6][9] The Venetian fortunes completely changed when Pietro Loredano burnd down the bridges so that the fleeing Venetian troops could not escape,^[4] and thus rallied them back into combat.^[13] In the fierce encounter the Hungarians were driven off,^[12] with the loss of over 1,300 men and their general killed, several standards and 400 men captured.^[4][7][9]
The Venetians won a hard fought victory,^[4][13] having lost a lot of men killed.^[9]

Aftermath

After being severely wounded, Carlo Malatesta, was forced to surrender his command over the Venetian troops to his brother Pandolfo Malatesta.^[8] Motta was forced to surrender^[4] after Pietro Loredano and Martino da Faenza bombarded it, killing 60 and capturing 200 Hungarians.^[9] In October, King Sigismund arrived in person with a force of 40,000 men,^[7][11] but continued the war with little success.^[5] After the failed siege of Vicenza, which decimated the Hungarian force,^[3] a truce for five years with exchange of prisoners was finally concluded on April 17, 1413.^[13]

Sources