John Huss and the Hussite Wars - James Aitken Wylie

probable the Poles borrowed it, and Ziska in his
turn may have learned it from them when he served
in their wars. It consisted in the following
contrivance: – The wagons of the commissariat,
linked one to another by strong iron chains, and
ranged in line, were placed in front of the host.
This fortification was termed a Wagenburg; ranged
in the form of a circle, this wooden wall sometimes
enclosed the whole army. Behind this first rampart
rose a second, formed of the long wooden shields
of the soldiers, stuck in the ground. These movable
walls were formidable obstructions to the German
cavalry. Mounted on heavy horses, and armed with
pikes and battle-axes, they had to force their way
through this double fortification before they could
close with the Bohemians. All the while that they
were hewling at the wagons, the Bohemian archers
were plying them with their arrows, and it was with
thinned ranks and exhausted strength that the
Germans at length were able to join battle with the
foe.
Even after forcing their way, with great effort
and loss, through this double defense, they still
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