Jan Zizka Essay

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Jan Zizka was a Czech General, the leader of the Hussites and a follower of Jan Hus. He was nicknamed the One Eyed Zizka. He fought on the winning side of the Battle of Grunwald in 1410 which is regarded as the most important victory in polish history. He played an important role in the civil wars of Bohemia during the late 1300s. Zizka is one of the greatest military leaders of all time and is one of 6 commanders to never lose a battle. Jan Žižka was born in the small village of Trocnov. As a young man, he became a member of the royal court of Bohemia, acting as chamberlain to the Queen. Early in his life, he lost one eye, either by accident or by malice, the true cause is not known. Zizka rose to fame and prominence during the Hussite Wars. The Hussites were a humanist movement created by the famous theologian Jan Hus. Despite predominately being a religious movement the Protestant Reformation was fueled by socio-economic issues such as the Hussite Wars. The first successful revolt against the Roman Catholic Church were the Hussite Wars, a 100 years before the 95 theses. These wars began when the Catholic Church executed the leader of the Hussites Jan Hus in 1415. Žižka, a believer in Hus's theology, united with the Hussites against Emperor Sigismund and acted decisively in the First Defenestration of Prague in 1419. Following the Defenestration of Prague Zizka moved his troops to Tabor to further pressure Emperor Sigismund’s army. Tabor being an agricultural area Zizka decided to implement farming tools into battle tools. He cleverly mounted cannons onto wagons as an early tank prototype. Žižka also utilized carts to draw enemy fire in the first stage of battle. Žižka was well-versed in warfare and was one of the first to utilize the pistol and cannon.The carts fired relentlessly upon the troops until the enemy attacked. It was then that more

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