By the late 9th century the Magyars, a nomadic people,
migrated westward into Europe. Under their military leader - gyula- Arpad,
they arrived in what is now known as Hungary in 896. They employed light cavalry and archers,
engaging in battle in open areas where they could easily out-manoeuvre a heavier equipped force.
It took decades for the European armies, which were developing a heavier cavalry at the time,
to understand and counter the Magyar tactics of feigned retreats and nimble battle.
Pressured by the Pecheneg, Khazars and Bulgars, they migrated westward as these peoples had
similar military tactics. They turned their eyes to the former Carolingian and Byzantine Empires.
Utilising a flexible way of warfare, they subdued Moravia and German forces in the decade after
arriving in the region, slowly pushing their borders until their territory bordered Bavaria.
When the Bavarian prince Luitpold tried to temper the Magyars by killing their chief
prince at a banquet, a retaliation force crushed his army at the Battle of Pressburg. The Magyars
killed the prince, and his successor concluded a peace that resulted in the Magyars not being
attacked from the west for an entire century. In the following decades, they became infamous
around European courts. With large raiding parties they ravaged Swabia,
Bavaria and Thuringia. In 915 they reached Bremen, in 924 the Pyrenees and in 928 Rome. The only way
German principalities were spared was if the local lord paid tribute or hired them as mercenaries.
In 933, the East Francian King and Duke of Saxony Henry the Fowler decided not to pay
annual tribute anymore. When a subsequent Magyar raiding party under “man of blood”
Bulcsu tried to twist his arm into paying, he beat them at the 933 Battle of Merseburg.
It was the first serious defeat the Magyars suffered at German hands. Crucial for this
victory was not so much a numerical superiority, but the remarkable effectiveness of heavy cavalry
against the lightly armoured Magyars. Henry passed away two years later and was succeeded
by his son Otto I. Following in his father’s footsteps, he began fortifying the frontiers.
Following their defeat, the Magyars decided to leave the western territories alone. Instead,
they turned their attention to the south. In 934 and eight years later, in 942 they conducted large
raids into the Byzantine Empire, even reaching the heavily fortified city of Constantinople.
However, Bulcsu concluded a peace treaty instead of an onslaught and even had himself baptised
to ensure legitimacy to raid German lands. With newfound confidence, Bulcsu turned his
attention to the west again. He launched so-called lightning campaigns, surpassing the previous
distance the Magyars covered. In 937 Magyar cavalry ravaged through Saxony and Lorraine,
returning through the Rhone valley and the French and Italian Riviera to Capua. Five
years later Bulcsu’s horsemen travelled through Lombardy, crossing the Swiss St Bernard Pass
and even invaded Moorish Andalusia. Again, an incredible distance and it is difficult to capture
in words the extent of these campaigns. A popular saying at the time was, “Lord,
save us from the arrows of the Hungarians.” The raiding horsemen instilled fear in all of Europe.
After returning from their expedition to Andalusia, they continued their plunderings
and reached as far as Scheldt, Verdun, Burgundy and Switzerland. These raids unnerved many of the
regional nobles. With great effort, Otto managed to pacify domestic instability from unruly dukes,
such as Conrad of Lorraine. It allowed Saxon King Otto I to unite
many nobles to put a stop to the Magyar raids. Otto got his chance in 955. That year, Bulcsu and
Lehel rode around 10.000 horsemen into Bavaria. Again, sources conflict, but including archers
and infantry, some put the number of Magyar troops close to 20.0000. Contrary to their usual
modus operandi, namely capitalising on their light cavalry mobility and nimble ways of warfare, they
laid siege to the City of Augsburg on August 8. Though not optimally suited for a siege,
the horsemen heavily outnumbered the city’s defenders and its battered walls.
Still, Bishop Ulrich of Augsburg managed to hold them at bay, at least for now. They repelled
Magyar attacks at the city’s gate and walls. As the siege was ongoing, Otto received the news.
He hastily raised an army of around 10.000 men travelling from the city of Ulm towards Augsburg,
hurrying to relieve the city. However, they did not know that the Magyars had
a scout waiting at Reisenburg to warn them if someone sent a relief force on its way.
Otto organised his army based on the region they were from. The first three waves of his army
consisted of Bavarians. The fourth wave consisted of Franconian heavy cavalry led by his previous
sworn enemy Conrad of Lorraine. The fifth wave consisted of Otto’s Saxon soldiers he led himself.
The rear was guarded by two units of Swabians and heavy Bohemian cavalry.
Especially the Swabians are noted to be exhausted from their long march towards Ulm, hence their
positioning. The infantry consisted of spearmen and knights with swords and lances. Still, his
forces were outnumbered at least 2 to 1. It must have been his hope that his heavy cavalry combined
with the hilly terrain would be enough to subdue the Magyars, just like his father had managed to
nearly two decades earlier. They travelled through the Rauherforst, an area where enemy
horse archers and light cavalry would be largely ineffective. The alternative would have been
to travel around it, crossing vast plains where the Magyars would surely be able to strike them.
On the morning the day after they launched their siege, news reached the Magyars of
Otto’s army approaching. They abandoned their siege and began taking their positions between
the rivers Schmutter and Lech, expecting to meet Otto’s army soon. Their infantry
manned the frontlines, supported all the way around by Magyar cavalry and horse archers.
[Battle sequence]
On August 10, 955, Otto and his men slowly trekked through the Rauherforst as the scorching sun shone
down on them. Suddenly, as the column trekked along, Otto heard screams from the rearguard.
A force of Magyar lightly armoured horse riders had managed to circumvent the Rauherforst,
crossing the Schmutter and Zusam rivers. They completely surprised the
already exhausted rearguard with their rapid charge on the narrow wood path.
A skirmish broke out. Their attack was devastating to the supply train,
Bohemians and Swabians, who were easily routed. Things did not look good for Otto.
However, instead of pushing forward, the Magyars began looting the supply train. Although it
seemed they would defeat Otto’s troops in a pincer movement, instead, they were losing
momentum and not doing anything about it. The horsemen seemed happy enough with the loot.
Understanding his precarious situation with the main Magyar contingent on the other side of the
woodlands, Otto ordered Conrad’s Franconian cavalry to turn back and fight in the rear,
while he continued forward. Duke Conrad broke with the column
train and charged towards the looting Magyars. Dismounted and distracted, the Magyars were easy
prey. They engaged in battle in the woodlands, while Otto reached the end of the woods.
He deployed his force in a line on the field. Three Bavarian infantry units stood in front,
with the rest in the rear. The Magyars deployed their infantry
and archers in the front, surrounded by their numerous cavalry units in a crescent formation.
As Conrad victoriously returned from the woods,
Otto ordered his infantry to charge the Magyar infantry. The Magyar archers managed to launch
just one volley of arrows against Otto’s forces as they were charging. The heavy cavalry remained out
of archery range, but within sight to have the Magyars expect a charge at any moment.
The poor equipped Magyar infantry was no match for the Bavarians. Heavy bitter close combat
led to the Magyar formations slowly breaking. But afraid for a charge by the mounted knights,
they received no help from their horsemen. As fighting between infantry was going on, Otto
ordered Conrad and his own cavalry to charge. The horses rushed towards both flanks of the crescent.
Conrad broke off his attack halfway - his feigned attack was meant to confuse the enemy.
Otto’s charge hit the crescent flank hard, and the Magyars were no match for his heavy knights.
The light cavalry now tried to launch a desperate counter-attack, but any arrow volley
was blocked by shields and any close-combat was an uneven match. Finally, gaining the advantage,
Otto ordered the Saxon and Thuringian cavalry to charge into the crescent’s left flank.
Without too much trouble, they forced the cavalry to flee eastward,
crossing their struggling infantry and breaking the crescent formation.
Conrad too charged forward with his heavy knights, nearly encircling the remaining Magyars.
Chronicles recount how "Duke Conrad, the foremost of all in combat, suffering from battle fatigue
caused by a scorching sun, loosened the straps of his armour to catch his breath when an arrow
pierced his throat and killed him instantly.". Lehel attempted to feign a retreat several times,
but Otto’s knights listened to his orders to ‘hold the line’ and not fall victim to these tactics of
deceit. Finally, the Magyars broke ranks and many tried to flee. The right flank had no
place to escape and in the panic, many drowned in the river Lech. Those who didn’t run were killed.
In total, the battle lasted 20 hours, and after bitter close combat fighting, Bulcsu and Lel were
captured. They were hung like common criminals to give a sense of the opinion Otto had of them.
Due to severe rainfall either before or right after the battle, the levels of the
Danube and its tributaries rose. As such, the Magyars who escaped the
initial onslaught were trapped. For days after the battle, Magyars were found in the region.
Many of them were executed, and those who weren’t were maimed before being sent home.
Instead of thinking his victory warranted an invasion of the Hungarian homeland,
Otto was convinced his victory would end Magyar raids for the time to come. And he was right. His
victory set him on course to become the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, formally established in
962 when Otto received the title from Pope John XII. It also prompted the Magyars to establish
what would become the Christian Kingdom of Hungary, abandoning their raiding ways.
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