History UsefulNotes / JanZizka

While the use of cannons was hardly new, until that point in history they were used almost exclusively as siege and naval weapons, and only used in actual pitched battles as a last resort. Žižka was the first to implement large-bore firearms meant solely to kill groups of enemy soldiers as one of the main elements of his army, and by pairing them with the war wagons he allowed them to be moved around and set up rapidly while also providing protection to the operators. This bizarre strategy posed a serious problem for opposing armies, because for the first time in history [[LongRangeFighter just being within a visible range of Žižka's army made them vulnerable to attack]], basically forcing them to rush at his wagon fortress before they took heavy losses from afar. It wasn't his only strategy, however-- he was also fond of audacious raids into enemy encampments as a means of counterattack. He managed to defeat armies vastly larger than his own, including one victory at the Battle of Sudoměř where his men were outnumbered five to one. At the largest battle of the Hussite Wars, the Battle of Kutná Hora, his army of 12,000 men defeated Sigismund's army of 92,000 while Žižka's army was completely encircled. The Hussites were also mostly comprised of ''peasants'', and many could only cobble together [[EpicFlail primitive flails]] made from agricultural tools to use in melee combat, while their opponents were the heavily armed knights of the Holy Roman Empire. His reputation for being undefeated against all odds quickly made him the most feared man of the Hussite Wars, with armies quickly learning to actively avoid direct battles with him whenever possible. He would end up repelling three different crusades that were launched on Bohemia over the course of his leadership during the Hussite wars and continued to lead in battle even after losing his other good eye and becoming totally blind.

* He is the main character of the upcoming Petr Jakl film ''Warrior Of God''.

* He's the main protagonist of ''Film/{{Medieval}}'' (2022).

* Jan Žižka is a central figure of the "Hussite Revolutionary Trilogy" directed by Otakar Vavra. These Films were ''Jan Hus'' (1955), ''Jan Žižka'' (1956), and ''Against All'' (1957). In all three appearances, he was played by Zdeněk Štěpánek.

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* Žižka appears as a major character in the manga ''Dívčí Válka'' by Kouichi Ohnishi, which is set during the time of the Hussite Wars. He's a friendly character to the main heroine and, not terribly far from how he was described in his own life, he's a bit of a HotBlooded, wise {{Cloudcuckoolander}} mentor who his soldiers would follow to the ends of the earth.

* Žižka appears as a major character in the manga ''Otome Sensou'', which is set during the time of the Hussite Wars. He's a friendly character to the main heroine and, not terribly far from how he was described in his own life, he's a bit of a HotBlooded, wise CloudCuckooLander mentor who his soldiers would follow to the ends of the earth.

* The ''Dawn of the Dukes'' expansion to ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresII Definitive Edition'' featured Bohemians as one of the civilizations, complete with a civilization campaign regarding Žižka's battles during the Hussite Wars.

Žižka ended up leading an act of revolt known as the [[NoodleIncident First Defenestration of Prague]] in 1419 which saw several city councillors thrown from a window after the unfair imprisonment of several Hussites. Part of the reason the revolution occurred on that year, in particular, was that of the ascension of Sigismund as King of Bohemia, the man who many believed was the one that was ultimately responsible for Jan Hus's death.

* Data files exist in ''VideoGame/MedievalIITotalWar'' for both Hussite and War Wagon units, but did not make it into the final game and can only be accessed from the source codes.

* He is the default general for the Bohemia faction of ''[[VideoGame/EuropaUniversalis Europa Universalis 2]]''.