Zizka, Jan

(1360–1424) fought in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. The first Reformation began in Bohemia and culminated in the burning of Jan Hus as a heretic. Jan Žižka subsequently became the leader of the Hussite army. Despite the fact that this army only consisted of farmers and peasants, it achieved victory over the Crusaders sent to destroy the Hussites’ movement, because Žižka was a pragmatist in developing his military strategy.