Battle of Püchen

[1] In addition other chronicles account the Hungarian campaign against Saxony: Antapodosis, seu rerum per Europam gestarum, written by Liutprand of Cremona,[2] Annales Corbeienses, etc.

[4] When in 914, he was chased away by the East Francian king Conrad I from his throne, he with his family retreated to Hungary, and, after an unsuccessful attempt in 916, he regained his duchy with Magyar's help in 917.

This occurred while the Hungarians, continuing their campaign towards West, occupied and burned Basel, a city which was, several months before, captured by Conrad I from the supporters of Arnulf and his ally, Burchard II, Duke of Swabia.

[6] Historians agree that the Hungarian campaign of 919-920 started from Arnulf's thirst for revenge, because Henry the Fowler was elected as German king and not him.

[5][7] Liutprand of Cremona writes that the cause of the campaign was to force the new king to pay tribute, and the most persuasive instrument to convince him, was an army.

Henry instructed his cavalry to attack the Hungarians in a single unbroken line, holding their shields to ward off the arrows of the enemy, and then to charge them without breaking ranks.

Thus the Hungarian archers would be prevented from nocking their arrows and shooting again, and the lightly armored Magyars would not be able to withstand the charge of the German heavy cavalry.

After launching storms of arrows upon them from all directions, the Hungarians at last finished the job in close combat with their swords and lances.

[14] After the victory against Henry the Fowler, the Hungarian army continued the campaign towards West Francia, entering Lotharingia, in those times a French province, towards the end of 919.

The West Francian king Charles the Simple sent an order to all the nobles and forces of the duchy to join his army,[15] to fight against them, but besides Heribert, the archbishop of Reims, and his 1500 soldiers, nobody wanted to risk their lives.

[16] The fact that the French king and his nobles let the Hungarians do what they please in West Francia shows how afraid they were from fighting against them in an open battle.

[18] The majority of the historians conclude that the Italian campaign from 920 was made by the Hungarians which defeated Henry the Fowler and plundered Lotharingia and France, now in their way towards home.