Episode Details

Jan Žižka, a 15th century Czech commander, led armies of peasant farmers against crusader knights and never lost a battle, even after going completely blind. This episode traces his life from impoverished lower nobility and outlaw years to the Battle of Grunwald, the royal court in Prague, and the Hussite rebellion after the burning of Jan Hus.

We explore how he turned farm wagons into the wagon fort, combined them with early gunpowder weapons, and defeated Emperor Sigismund at Vítkov Hill. We also look at how he commanded without sight, his mobile artillery breakout at Kutná Hora, and the legend that followed his death in 1424.

• How his outlaw years taught him to master terrain and asymmetric warfare
• The first defenestration of Prague and the rise of the Taborites
• How the wagon fort neutralized heavy cavalry charges
• The Czech origins of the words pistol and howitzer
• Why his followers called themselves the Orphans after his death