The Battle of Lechfeld and its Aftermath, August 955

In August 955 the forces of Otto the Great annihilated a huge army of Hungarian mounted archers in an encounter known as the battle of Lechfeld. This book provides the first satisfactory explanation for the decisive nature of Otto's victory which effectively ended the incursions of steppe nomads into Western Europe. A detailed reconstruction of the battle is preceded by chapters analyzing 10th-century Germany and the strengths of nomadic styles of warfare. A pioneering aspect is the consideration of environmental factors, not only the limits they imposed on the expansion of the nomadic way of life into Europe, but also the impact the local environment had on the outcome of the battle.