Battle of Vilémov
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| Battle of Vilémov | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Bohemian–Hungarian War (1468–1478) | |||||||
 George of Poděbrady watching encircled Hungarian army | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Bohemian Crown | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| George of Poděbrady | Matthias Corvinus | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 25,000 men | 20,000 men | ||||||
Battle of Vilémov was a military clash between the Bohemian army under the command of the Bohemian King George of Poděbrady and the Hungarian army as part of the Crusade campaign led by the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus within the framework of the Bohemian-Hungarian Wars. It took place on 26 February 1469, in the vicinity of the village of Vilémov and ended with the encirclement of Corvinus' army in the valley of the river Doubrava, after which the two monarchs met and talked in Úhrov averting a direct clash of troops. Corvinus then left the battlefield with his army with the promise of leaving the Bohemian Kingdom but soon afterwards he started fighting again.
Although this combat situation is called a battle, it was primarily a strategic victory of the Bohemian army, which was achieved with small numbers of casualties on both sides. From a broader perspective, however, it was unable to avert Corvinus' political rise.
Campaign in Bohemia
On 23 December 1466, Pope Paul II declared Bohemian King George of Poděbrady as a heretic deposed from the throne and declared a crusade against the Hussite Bohemia. In 1467, the Pope confirmed Zdeněk of Šternberk, the leader of the Union of Zelená Hora, as the leader of the Catholics. Crusaders from the surrounding countries were sent to help him, but their attack was successfully countered by the troops of George of Poděbrady. In March 1468, the executor of the papal curse, King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, started a direct fight. He invaded Moravia and gradually liquidated the positions of George of Poděbrady, who had so far unsuccessfully summoned the Czech army for an effective counterattack. In May, there was fighting in southwestern Moravia, and on 14 May, Třebíč was captured by attack. Then Matthias' troops besieged the Špilberk castle in Brno and the fortified monastery of Hradisko near Olomouc. Bohemian expedition against Matthias' troops ended in disaster when the Bohemian army was dispersed in the Battle of Zvole and its commander Zdeněk Kostka of Postupice was mortally wounded. After the siege, garrison of the Hradisko monastery also surrendered, and in February 1469, after a six-month siege, Špilberk also surrendered.[1]
At the beginning of February 1469, Matthias Corvinus with a strong army of approximately 20,000 men launched his campaign in Bohemia. He planned to attack Kutná Hora, an important town with silver mines. However, the acute threat of invasion and persistent political efforts finally convinced the Czech nobility to send their troops, and the army summoned to Kutná Hora was soon ready to face an outnumbered attack. The crusade subsequently penetrated the Chrudim region, where it joined forces with the troops of Zelenohorská jednoty near Hrochov Týnec, but subsequently failed in an attempt to conquer Chrudim,[2] during which Matthias himself was almost captured. King George then decided to go with his army to Čáslav and confront Corvinus there. Reports of the number of Czechs, poor supplies and the winter finally forced Corvinus to retreat back to Moravia through the area of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands.
