This week in Christian history: Battle of Sudomer, mission school established, Gunpowder Plot priest trial begins

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, March 24, 2024

The Battle of Sudoměř – March 25, 1420

The Battle of Sudomer, which occurred in 1420 during the Hussite War, is credited with being the first use of the war wagon. | Public Domain

This week marks the anniversary of the Battle of Sudoměř, in which a small force of Hussites successfully fended off an invading Catholic crusader army in what is now the Czech Republic.

The Hussites were followers of Jan Huss, a Catholic reformer executed for his beliefs. He was considered by many to be the forerunner of the 16th century Protestant Reformation.

At Sudoměř, a force of around 400 men and women under the command of Jan Žižka successfully fought off a numerically superior army of knights via the first reported use of the war wagon.

“Protected by hoardings and planks, bound together with iron, these hardened wagons were circled before battle. The horses were unhitched and the wheels interlocked, forming a fort on any battlefield where the Hussites chose to fight,” noted War History Online.

“Each cart contained men with long flails ready to fend off attackers, as well as missile troops who turned the static formation into a battlefield threat. An infantry strike force and smaller cavalry groups sat safely inside the ring, ready to storm out once the enemy became disordered.”