Battle of Lechfeld - Battle at Lechfeld

Battle At Lechfeld

The order of march of the German army was as follows: the three Bavarian contingents, the Frankish contingent under Duke Konrad, the royal unit (the center), the two contingents of Swabians and the Bohemian contingent. The Bavarians were placed at the head of column, according to Delbrück, because they were marching through Bavarian territory and they therefore knew the territory best. All of these were mounted.

According to the chronicler Widukind of Corvey, Otto "pitched his camp in the territory of the city of Augsburg and joined there the forces of Henry I, Duke of Bavaria, who was himself lying mortally ill nearby, and by Duke Conrad with a large following of Franconian knights. Conrad's unexpected arrival encouraged the warriors so much that they wished to attack the enemy immediately."

The arrival of Conrad, the exiled duke of Lotharingia (Lorraine) and Otto's son-in-law, was particularly heartening because he had recently thrown in his lot with the Magyars, but now returned to fight under Otto; in the ensuing battle he lost his life. A legion of Swabians were commanded by Burchard III, Duke of Swabia, who had married Hedwig, the daughter of Henry, the brother of Otto. Also among those fighting under Otto was Boleslav of Bohemia. About 3,000 Saxons, were commanded by Otto himself.

The Hungarians crossed the river and immediately attacked the Bohemians, then later the Schwabian legions, but retreated after a short fight. As Otto received word of the attack, he ordered Conrad to recover the baggage train, and Conrad succeeded in doing so. Conrad then returned to the main forces. For Otto it became evident that this was the time to attack the Hungarians, and he did not hesitate. Despite a volley of arrows from the Hungarians, Otto's army smashed into the Hungarian line, and began to sweep over it.

The Germans were able to fight hand-to-hand with the Hungarians, giving the traditionally nomadic warriors no room to use their favorite shoot-and-run tactics. Bulcsú feigned a retreat with part of his force, in an attempt to lure Otto's men into breaking their line in pursuit, but to no avail. The German line maintained formation and routed the Magyars from the field. The German forces maintained discipline and methodically pursued the Magyars for the next couple of days, rather than dispersing jubilantly, as German forces had been known to do in the past. "Some of the enemy sought refuge in nearby villages, their horses being worn out; these were surrounded and burnt to death within the walls." The captured Magyars were either executed, or sent back to their ruling prince, Taksony, missing their ears and noses. On their return, the Hungarian dukes Lél, Bulcsú and Sur, who were not Árpáds, were executed. Duke Conrad was also killed, after he opened his vest in the summer heat and one arrow struck his throat. "Never was so bloody a victory gained over so savage a people," was Widukind's conclusion.