Battle of Motta
Part of Sigismund's Venetian war of 1411-1413
Date August 24, 1412 [1] Location Motta di Livenza, Veneto Result Venetian victory [1] [4] [5] [6]
Belligerents
Republic of Venice [1] [2] [3]	Reign of Sigismund [1] [4] [5]
Commanders and leaders
Carlo Malatesta Ruggero Cane Ranieri Taddeo dal Verme Pietro Loredan [6] [7] [8] [9]	Pippo Spano Miklós Marczali † Niccolò di Prata ( POW) [7] [8] [9] [10]
Strength
12,000 Troops [11] Assembled on the Livenza by late August	3,000 cavalry [8] Hungarians, Bohemians, Germans and Friulians [2]
Casualties and losses
Heavy [7] Carlo Malatesta was severely wounded [4] [2]	1,300 killed [5] [3] [9] 400 captured [7] [8] several standards [12]

The Battle of Motta was fought in late August 1412, when an invading army of Hungarians, Germans and Croats, led by Pippo Spano and Voivode Miklós Marczali ^[13] attacked the Venetian positions at Motta in Italy ^[11] and suffered a heavy defeat.

In 1409, during the 20-year Hungarian civil war between King Sigismund and the Neapolitan house of Anjou, the losing contender, Ladislaus of Naples, sold his "rights" on Dalmatia to the Venetian Republic for a meager sum of 100,000 ducats. As Sigismund emerged as the ruler of Hungary, he used this as a pretext to attack Venice.

The victory allowed Venice to affirm its rule in the Western Balkans ( Venetian Dalmatia and Venetian Albania) against the plans of Sigismund of Luxembourg, King of Germany, Hungary and Croatia. ^[14]

Prelude

The Republic of Venice subjugated Verona and Vicenza after the death of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, and took control of Padova by having its count, Francesco Carrara, executed in Venice. ^[4] This, and the Republics refusal to pay the annual fee of 7,000 ducats to the Crown of Hungary drove Sigismund, king of Hungary to declare war upon Venice. ^[4]
On April 20, 1411, 12,000 Hungarian cavalry and 8,000 foot crossed the Tagliamento under Pipo of Ozora. ^[12] The initial Hungarian success ^[6] and the heavy losses that the Venetians sustained ^[9] forced the Republic into a peace negotiation (March 24, 1412) ^[12] in which King Sigismund demanded the city of Zadar, reinstatement of the Scaliger and Carraresi to their fiefdoms and a reparation of 600,000 ducats. ^{[9] [10]} This proposition was not accepted by the Republic of Venice ^[12] and the war was resumed by both sides with great passion. ^[4]

Battle

The Venetians increased their army ^[9] and at the head of 35,000 men, Carlo Malatesta reentered the field in Friuli conquering the castles of Polcenigo and Aviano. ^[5] Pandolfo Malatesta, brother of Carlo, joined the Venetian force with 1,000 lances ^[11] and by late August, the Venetians had an army of 12,000 men assembled along the Livenza river, ^[11] with Carlo Malatesta laying siege to Motta. ^[9]

On April 24, 3,000 Hungarians (including Germans, Friulians and Bohemians) ^[15] under Pippo Spano ^{[9] [10]} assaulted the Venetian camp from three sides. ^[15] The Venetians were taken by surprise and the Hungarians started a slaughter ^[2] and began to plunder what they could. ^[15] Only Carlo Malatesta and the other Venetian generals, together with Ruggero Cane Ranieri and his company of 600 horsemen, held off the Hungarians. ^{[2] [8]} The Venetian fortunes completely changed when Pietro Loredan burned the bridges, so that the fleeing Venetian troops could not escape, ^[5] and thus rallied them back into combat. ^[12] In the fierce encounter the Hungarians were driven off, ^[11] with the loss of over 1,300 men and their general killed, several standards and 400 men captured. ^{[5] [3] [8]}

The Venetians won a hard fought victory, ^{[5] [12]} having lost a lot of men killed. ^[8]

Aftermath

After being severely wounded, Carlo Malatesta, was forced to surrender his command over the Venetian troops to his brother Pandolfo. ^[7] Motta was forced to surrender ^[5] after Pietro Loredan and Martino da Faenza bombarded it, killing 60 and capturing 200 Hungarians. ^[8] In October, King Sigismund arrived in person with a force of 40,000 men, ^{[3] [10]} but continued the war with little success. ^[6] After the failed siege of Vicenza, which decimated the Hungarian force, ^[4] a truce for five years with exchange of prisoners was finally concluded on April 17, 1413. ^[12]

References