The battle of Lechfeld

The victory of the East Frankish King Otto I over the Hungarians has far-reaching consequences

For decades, the Hungarians had conducted repeated raids into Central Europe, occasionally striking in the west and south of the continent as well. After putting down a rebellion in the south of his East Frankish realm, King Otto I turned his attention in 955 to the Hungarians, whose cavalry was once again making sallies into his realm. The invaders initially besieged the city of Augsburg, but broke off when they learned of the advance of the East Frankish army. With the exception of the Lotharingians, the East Frankish army contained elements from all of the empire’s major “tribes”: the Saxons, the Franks, the Bavarians and the Swabians. Even the Slavic Bohemians, who were not Germanic, sent a contingent.

Not much is known about the exact course of the Battle of Lechfeld fought near Augsburg on 10 August 955. All we know is that the two enemies fought in different styles. Whilst the Hungarians deployed mounted archers, who attacked their enemies from a distance, the Franks could only deploy their main strength – heavily armoured cavalry – at close quarters. Although the Hungarian force suffered losses in its encounter with the Franks, it survived as a fighting force. However, it was hemmed in by rivers swollen by heavy rainfall and was eventually harried to destruction whilst retreating in smaller groups. Following this defeat, the caste of warrior nobility that had previously dominated Hungary fell from power; the population converted to Christianity; and the raids into the German Empire became a thing of the past. Otto’s resounding victory strengthened his position, and he became known as the “father of the fatherland”. This laid the foundation for his later coronation as emperor, which marked the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire.