Little War in Hungary

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Little War
Part of the Ottoman-Habsburg wars
Date 1530 - c.1552
Location Hungary
Result Indecisive; John Szapolyai recognized as King of Hungary, Ferdinand I's lands in Hungary guaranteed.
Belligerents
Habsburg Austria
Holy Roman Empire
Spain
Papal States
Bohemia
Hungarian Kingdom of Ferdinand's		 Ottoman Empire
Moldavia
Hungarian Kingdom of Szapolyai's
Wallachia
Commanders
John Szapolyai †,
Suleiman the Magnificent,
Vlad Vintilă de la Slatina; Wallachian voievod,
Petru Rareş
Moldavian voievod
Strength
Unknown Over 120,000 soldiers[1]
Casualties and losses
Unknown, heavy Unknown, heavy

The Little War is a name[2] given to a series of conflicts between the Habsburgs and their allies and the Ottoman Empire between 1529 after Vienna until the end of the Siege of Eger. The war saw both sides suffering heavy casualties with the result that campaigning in Hungary would cease until 1566.

Contents

[edit] Austrian counter

 
Ottoman-Habsburg wars

Following Suleiman's unsuccessful Siege of Vienna in 1529, Ferdinand I launched a counter-attack in 1530 to regain the initiative and avenge the destruction brought by Suleiman's 120,000 strong army. An assault of Buda was driven of by John Svapolyai, the vassal King of Hungary but Ferdinand was successful esewhere, capturing Gran and other forts along the Danube river, a vital strategic frontier.

[edit] Siege of Kőszeg

Suleiman's response came in 1532 when he led a massive army of over 120,000 troops to besiege Vienna. Ferdinand withdrew his army, leaving only 700 men with no cannons and few guns to defend Koszeg.[3] The Grand Vizier of the Ottomans, Ibrahim Pasha did not realize how poorly defended Koszeg was; in fact Constantinople in 1453 stood a better chance. Nonetheless, thanks to brave leadership by Croatian Captain Nikola Jurišić the city fought off every assault. As a result, the city was offered terms; the garrison was spared in return for the surrender of the city. With the city secured the Ottomans withdrew at the arrival of the August rains.[4]

[edit] Peace and War

A peace treay was signed between Ferdinand and Suleiman. John Szaipolya was recognized as King of Hungary as an Ottoman vassal. However, the Ottomans recognized the land under Habsburg rule in Hungary. [5]

[edit] Siege of Osijek

This treaty did not satisfy John Szapolyai or Ferdinand whose armies began to skirmish along the borders. Ferdinand decided to strike a decisive blow in 1537 at John by sending his "ablest" Generals[6] to take Osijek, thereby violating the treaty. The siege was a disaster of similar magnitude to that of Mohacs with an Ottoman relief army smashing the Austrians.[7] However, rather than attack Vienna again, Suleiman sent an army of 8,000 light Cavalry to attack Otranto the same year. The troops were withdrawn from Italy after an expected French invasion designed to coordinate with Ottoman efforts failed to materialize. Nonetheless, an Ottoman victory at the naval Battle of Preveza gave the Habsburgs another defeat.

A further humiliating defeat was inflicted on the Habsburgs in 1541. John Szapolyai had died in 1540 and his son was only a few weeks old.[8] An Austrian attack on Buda followed the news of the death of John but the appeals of John's widow to Suleiman were not unanswered and in 1541 the elderly General Rogendorf was defeated outside of Buda, before he could even cross the Danube to take it.

[edit] Campaign of Suleiman (1543)

In April 1543 Suleiman launched another campaign in Hungary, bringing back Bran and other forts so that much of Hungary was under Ottoman control. A peace agreement lasted between the Habsburgs and the Ottomans until 1552, when Suleiman decided to attack Eger. The assault was futile; the locals of Eger attribute the victory to the constant stream of "bull's blood" (wine) supplied to them by the women. The Habsburg/Hungarian victory at Eger came after a period of great losses in Hungary and the survival of Eger gave the Austrians good reason to believe that Hungary was still a contested ground.

[edit] Aftermath

Suleiman made one more attack on Hungary in 1566 believing that a victory there might give him the happiness he needed in his old age. He was far too old to campaign and although he had died, his campaign was successful in taking much land from the Austrians in Hungay and inflicting many defeats.

[edit] References

  • Turnbull, Stephen. The Ottoman Empire 1326 - 1699. New York: Osprey, 2003.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Turnbull, Stephen. The Ottoman Empire 1326 - 1699. New York: Osprey, 2003. pg 50: States that more were deployed than at Vienna in 1529.
  2. ^ Turnbull, Stephen. The Ottoman Empire 1326 - 1699. New York: Osprey, 2003. pg 51
  3. ^ Turnbull, Stephen. The Ottoman Empire 1326 - 1699. New York: Osprey, 2003. pg 51
  4. ^ Turnbull, Stephen. The Ottoman Empire 1326 - 1699. New York: Osprey, 2003. pg 51
  5. ^ Turnbull, Stephen. The Ottoman Empire 1326 - 1699. New York: Osprey, 2003. pg 52
  6. ^ Turnbull, Stephen. The Ottoman Empire 1326 - 1699. New York: Osprey, 2003. pg 52
  7. ^ Turnbull, Stephen. The Ottoman Empire 1326 - 1699. New York: Osprey, 2003. pg 52
  8. ^ Turnbull, Stephen. The Ottoman Empire 1326 - 1699. New York: Osprey, 2003. pg 52
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