Battle on the Raxa

Battle on the Raxa
Recknitz Damgarten
Date 16 October 955 Location uncertain, probably on the Recknitz or Elde rivers Result German victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Germany Rani	Obotrites, Veleti, and allied Slavs
Commanders and leaders
Otto I of Germany	Nako Stoigniew
Casualties and losses
Unknown	700 prisoners executed

The Battle on the Raxa river (German: Schlacht an der Raxa) was fought on 16 October 955 over control of the Billung march (in present-day Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, northeast Germany) between the forces of Otto I of Germany allied with the Rani tribe on one side, and the Obotrite federation under Nako and his brother Stoigniew (Stoinef, Stoinneg, Stoinegin, Ztoignav) with their allied and tributary Slav neighbours on the other. The Raxa river is identified with either the Recknitz or the Elde river. The German victory over the Slavs followed up on the August victory at the Lechfeld over the Magyars and marked the high point of Otto's reign.