The Hevelli were allied to the Bohemians, who in turn had permitted military access through their territory for the Magyars when they launched failed raids on the German duchies of Thuringia and Saxony in 924.

[4] At the strategic level, Henry's eastern campaign was designed to construct a defensive system of fortresses in the east to defeat further raids on the German kingdom.

[4] He then invaded the Dalaminzi Glomacze lands on the middle Elbe river, conquering the capital Gana after a siege, exterminating the garrison and distributing the women and the children as slaves to his soldiers.

The appearance of the entire royal army of 15,000 men in May caused Duke Wenceslaus I to give up and resume the yearly payment of tribute to the king.

[7] To reinforce their conquests, the Germans quickly built up an extensive system of fortifications between the Saale and the Elbe, including a fortress at Meissen, facing little resistance from the Sorbs.

[8] The Redarii success convinced other Slavic peoples between the Elbe and Oder rivers to rise up in revolt, threatening both the payment of tribute Henry had imposed on the Slavs and the fortifications by which the Germans dominated the region.

[14] On 3 September, Bernhard's scouts alerted him to the presence nearby of a major Slav force, who were planning to launch a night attack on the Saxons.

[14] After further reconnoitering of the Slav force to confirm the accuracy of the initial report, Bernhard raised the alertness of his camp that night to prepare for the expected Slavic attack.

The Saxon cavalry were held in reserve under the command of Count Thietmar, protecting the army's flanks from a sortie by the Lenzen garrison or an unexpected Slav force.

[16] The deadliest phase of the battle ensued for the fleeing Redarii, with the Saxon cavalry cutting them down en masse in the fields or driving them into a nearby lake and causing them to drown.