Battle of Langensalza ( 1075 ) The First Battle of Langensalza was fought on 9 June 1075 between forces of King Henry IV of Germany and several rebellious Saxon noblemen on the River Unstrut near Langensalza in Thuringia . The battle was a complete success for Henry , resulting in the subjugation of the Saxons shortly before the Investiture Controversy commenced . In Germany the battle is known as the " Schlacht bei Homburg an der Unstrut " , after a nearby " Kaiserpfalz " and monastery . Background . The Salian king Henry IV had inherited the quarrels with the Saxons from his father Emperor Henry III , whose long and costly sojournments at the Imperial Palace of Goslar had annoyed the local nobles . From the start of his reign in 1065 , 15 - year - old Henry IV suffered numerous setbacks enforcing his Imperial authority in Saxony after the regency of his mother Agnes of Poitou . Attempts to restore the rights over the Harz forests were not received well by the Saxon freedmen , and efforts to extend the crownlands in general as well as the increased demands laid upon the fisc were opposed . A policy of building castle s and supplying them with loyal , mainly Swabian officials , continued from the time of his father , fostered resentment among multiple groups . In particular , the large Harzburg became a symbol of Imperial tyranny and was seen as impeding on traditional Saxon rights . Like his father , Henry desired to set Goslar as the fixed capital of the German Kingdom . In 1070 / 71 Henry had already picked a quarrel with the Saxon count Otto of Nordheim , then Duke of Bavaria , and Magnus Billung , son of Duke Ordulf of Saxony . The king seized Otto ' s title and property and kept Magnus prisoner at Harzburg Castle , even after the latter succeeded his father to the Saxon duchy in 1072 . This heightened tensions between the Imperial court and the Saxons ; Magnus ' subsequent release in exchange for seventy Swabians captured in Lüneburg did little to encourage a thaw in relations . In anger , the king rejected several Saxon petitions for redress . In 1073 several bishops and princes organized a resistance . Several castles were besieged , and the King was forced to escape from the Harzburg to Hessewech . In February 1074 he proceeded to Gerstungen , where the insurrection , numbering twice the size of his forces , met him ; he agreed to several concessions , reasoning that the Saxons would break their end of the deal eventually . The freedmen , who felt betrayed by the nobles due to the peace treaty , sacked the Harzburg in a frenzy , destroyed the castle , and committed such acts of sacrilege ( tossing the bones of members of the royal family , along with those of an abbot and St . Anastasius ) that they shocked the local population and the religious authorities . Henry used the destruction as a pretext for renewed hostilities . He gained the support of several bishops , the lower feudality and city burghers . While Henry was conducting a campaign against the Magyars on the one hand , papal legates were attempting to create support for the Saxon rebels on the other . In 1075 Otto of Nordheim , together with the count palatine in Saxony and Bishop Burckhard II of Halberstadt openly declared their hostility , using Henry ' s violations of the Treaty of Gerstungen as an excuse . They gained many Saxon and Thuringian freedmen , but many nobles and peasants did not join . The King made camp in Bredingen , and managed to gain the defections of some lower Saxon nobles with promises to listen to their grievances . In June , he moved to Langensalza . The battle . Henry ' s move to Langensalza put him closer to the Saxon encampment . The two sides met for battle at Homburg on 9 June . The Saxon army contained several thousand men , but in typical Saxon tradition , most of them were on foot . Their ranks consisted of nobles and their vassals , along with freedmen and some serfs . Many of them were poorly trained , described by their opponent as " an inept rabble accustomed to agriculture rather than military service , who , compelled not by a military spirit but by fear of their leaders , had entered battle contrary to their customs and traditions . " . Henry IV ' s army advanced in five ranks , despite the open terrain south of the River Unstrut . The Saxons rushed out of their castle at Homburg all on horseback , apparently leaving their foot soldier y behind in their haste . The engagement that followed was less of a battle than a rout . A charge by the Swabians under Duke Rudolf almost instantly destroyed the Saxon centre . The Saxon leaders took to their horses and fled , but the foot soldiers were slaughtered . It was reported that several thousand died when they drowned in the Unstrut . Many spoils were gained by Henry ' s army . The aftermath . The defeat was stunning . It shocked the Saxons , and the supporters of the rebellion became frantic . The Archbishop of Mainz threatened excommunication against the Thuringians in order to gain funds to finance the insurrection . Unfortunately , Henry and his army ravaged the Saxon and Thuringian countryside , bringing starvation . The Archbishop of Magdeburg eventually conceded and requested the terms to which the King would hold the rebels . Henry demanded a short imprisonment for all the leaders , as well as confiscation of their fiefs and their redistribution among loyal Imperial partisans . As harsh as the terms were , the complete victory Henry gained at Langensalza convinced them to accept . In a humiliating gesture , the rebel bishops , nobles and peasants walked barefoot between the ranks of the King ' s army and submitted to him . The King then convened a meeting of princes at Goslar on Christmas to determine the future of Saxony ; he ended up freeing Otto of Nordheim and making him his viceroy to Saxony . Henry considered the Saxon question settled , but the Investiture conflict would quickly undo the peace . Sources . Haverkamp , Alfred . Medieval Germany 1056 - 1273 ( Oxford University Press , 1988 ) Thompson , James ( 1928 ) . " Feudal Germany " . ISBN 0 - 404 - 18601 - 7