Battle of Motta (1412)

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

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 attacked the Venetian positions at Motta in Italy 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 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, King of Germany, Hungary and Croatia.