Battle of Mohács (1687)
Encyclopedia
The Second Battle of Mohács, also known as the Battle of 'Berg Harsány', was fought between the forces of Ottoman Sultan
Mehmed IV
, commanded by the Grand-Vizier Sari Süleyman Paşa, and the forces of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
, commanded by Charles of Lorraine
. The result was a crushing defeat for the Ottomans.
began with the Battle of Vienna
in 1683 by the Ottoman army, and was broken by the Battle of Kahlenberg on 12 September 1683. From September 1683 the initiative passed to the imperial troops. In the following years under Charles of Lorraine Imperial Habsburg armies conquered many fortresses (such as Esztergom
, Vác
, Pest), which were under Ottoman rule, and after the Battle of Buda
they laid siege to and took over the former Hungarian capital of Buda. At the end of 1686 the Ottomans made peace overtures; however, the Imperial Habsburgs now saw a chance to occupy and conquer the whole of Hungary and these peace overtures were rejected.
In April 1687 it was decided in Vienna that further military action should be taken. The main army (of about 40,000 troops) under the command of Duke Charles of Lorraine proceeded along the River Danube
to Osijek
on the River Drava
, while a second army (of about 20,000 men) under command of Elector Max Emanuel of Bavaria moved along the River Tisza
to Szolnok
and towards Petrovaradin
. In the middle of July the two armies met on the Danube.
In contrast, the Ottoman army (of about 60,000 men) under the command of the Grand Vizier Sari Süleyman Paşa, stayed in front of the main River Drava crossing (with its 8 km long wooden bridge) at Osijek
in order to protect it and then fortified this position. When the Imperial Habsburg army arrived, the River Drava divided the two sides. At the end of July the Imperial Habsburg army was able to make a bridgehead on the shores of the river and stood in battle array, in order to challenge the Ottomans. However, the Ottoman army remained passive and was satisfied with artillery bombardments of the weirs on the Drava, the bridges and the riverside.
Because of the terrain Duke Charles of Lorraine could not observe the fortified Ottoman camp clearly in order to command an attack on it. So he decided to wait a few days for the clearing of the bridgehead. For this he was criticized both by his own sub-commanders and by the Emperor Leopold I. This reluctance to attack by his enemy was interpreted by the Ottoman Grand Vizier as a loss of morale by the Habsburg troops. Through skilful manoeuvring in early August, he forced the Habsburg army downriver to the locality of Mohács towards the Ottoman fortified position. The Ottomans had also built a fortified position at Darda
, but this was skilfully hidden among the thick bushes so that it was not visible to the Habsburg army. For this reason Duke Charles of Lorraine did not suspect the presence of the Ottoman army in the vicinity.
decided to move to Siklós
, because the position and the hard ground there made it more appropriate as a battle ground. The Habsburg right wing moving westward began to march through a densely forested area. Sari Süleyman Paşa decided that this was just the chance he was waiting for. He ordered an attack with his entire army on the imperial army's left wing, which under Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
was still in its earlier position, and which according to the Habsburg battle plan was also to start marching west. The Ottoman cavalry made up of 8000 Sipahi
s tried to outflank this Habsburg army wing from the left. The commander of the wing, the Elector of Bavaria, immediately sent a courier
to the Commander Duke of Lorraine, informing him that this wing was under threat. Orders were given and sent quickly and positions were taken immediately to resist the attack of the superior Ottoman forces, which had twice the numbers of the defenders. The Imperial infantry held their position, and General Enea Silvio Piccolomini
with some of his cavalry regiments successfully counterattacked and stopped the attack of the Ottoman Sipahi cavalry.
The Ottoman Grand Vizier was surprised by this unexpectedly fierce enemy resistance and ordered the cessation of the Ottoman attack. The Ottoman artillery continued to shell the Habsburg positions, but the Ottoman infantry and cavalry troops were ordered to hold their positions and for the infantry to go defensive behind the fortifications. This relative lull in fierce fighting gave the right wing of the Habsburg Army enough time to return to its original position. The Habsburg commander the Duke of Lorraine initially thought that his army should defend the positions, which might have led to a relative standstill. However, to gain the initiative, the Elector of Bavaria and the Margrave Louis of Baden-Baden
persuaded him to order a large-scale counter-attack. The deployment of the Imperial Habsburg Army for this counter-attack was finished at 3 pm. Just at the same time Sari Süleyman Paşa decided to attack again. Again Sipahis supported the Janissary
infantry frontal attack by attempting to outflank the Habsburg army. Margrave Ludwig of Baden successfully resisted the attack with his infantry squadrons and then he went on to attack the still unfinished Ottoman defensive position. At the forefront of this Imperial penetrative attack on the Ottoman fortifications were the troops under the command of the generals Rabutin and Eugene of Savoy
. The Ottoman cavalry riders could not outflank because the terrain was difficult for their horses; they had to dismount. The Ottoman attack and then resistance collapsed and soon this led to a retreat of the Ottoman army in a wild flight. The battle became a crushing defeat for the Ottomans.
Throughout the battle only the left wing of the Imperial Habsburg army saw the main action. There was a dense forest in front of the Imperial Habsburg army's right wing, which prevented it from attacking. Despite this, it attempted a bypassing manoeuvre on the right to force the relocation and withdrawal of the Ottomans, but its columns lost their way in the forest.
The losses of the Habsburg Imperial army were very light, about 600 men. The Ottomans army suffered huge losses with an estimated 10,000 deaths, as well as the loss of most of its artillery
(about 66 guns) and much of its support equipment. The splendid command tent of the Grand Vizier and 160 Ottoman flags fell into Imperial hands. It is reported that the value of the share of the bounty that was given to the Elector of Bavaria surpassed two million golden ducat
s.
and then to Constantinople
. When the news of the defeat and the mutiny arrived in Constantinople
in early September, Abaza Sivayus Pasa was appointed as the commander and soon as the Grand Vizier
. However, before he could take over his command, the whole Ottoman Army had disintegrated and the Ottoman household troops (Janissaries and Sipahi
s) started to return to their base in Constantinople
under their own lower-rank officers. Even the Grand Vizier's regent in Constantinople
was frightened and hid. Sari Suleyman Pasa was executed. Sultan Mehmed IV appointed the commander of Istanbul Straits Köprülü Fazıl Mustafa Pasha
as the Grand Vizier's regent in Constantinople
. He made consultations with the leaders of the army that existed and the other leading Ottoman statesmen. After these, on 8 November 1687 it was decided to depose Sultan Mehmed IV and to enthrone Suleiman II
as the new Sultan.
The disintegration of the Ottoman army allowed Imperial Habsburg armies to conquer large areas. They took over Osijek
, Petrovaradin
, Sremski Karlovci
, Ilok
, Valpovo
, Požega
, Palota
and Eger
. Most of present-day Slavonia
and Transylvania
came under Imperial rule. On 9 December 1687 there was organised a Diet
of Bratislava
, and Archduke Joseph was crowned as the first hereditary king of Hungary, and descendant Habsburg Emperors were declared the anointed kings of Hungary.
For a year the Ottoman Empire was paralysed, and Imperial Habsburg forces were poised to capture Belgrade
and penetrate deep into the Balkans
.
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
Mehmed IV
Mehmed IV
Mehmed IV Modern Turkish Mehmet was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687...
, commanded by the Grand-Vizier Sari Süleyman Paşa, and the forces of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
, commanded by Charles of Lorraine
Charles V, Duke of Lorraine
Charles V , Karl V. Leopold, , son of Nicolas François, Duke of Lorraine, and Claude Françoise de Lorraine. Karl Leopold was born in Vienna and became the brother in law of Emperor Leopold and son in law of emperor Ferdinand III...
. The result was a crushing defeat for the Ottomans.
Background
The Great Turkish WarGreat Turkish War
The Great Turkish War refers to a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and contemporary European powers, then joined into a Holy League, during the second half of the 17th century.-1667–1683:...
began with the Battle of Vienna
Battle of Vienna
The Battle of Vienna took place on 11 and 12 September 1683 after Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months...
in 1683 by the Ottoman army, and was broken by the Battle of Kahlenberg on 12 September 1683. From September 1683 the initiative passed to the imperial troops. In the following years under Charles of Lorraine Imperial Habsburg armies conquered many fortresses (such as Esztergom
Esztergom
Esztergom , is a city in northern Hungary, 46 km north-west of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom county, on the right bank of the river Danube, which forms the border with Slovakia there....
, Vác
Vác
Vác is a town in Pest county in Hungary with approximately 35,000 inhabitants. The archaic spellings of the name are Vacz and Vacs.-Location:...
, Pest), which were under Ottoman rule, and after the Battle of Buda
Battle of Buda (1686)
The Battle of Buda was fought between the Holy League and Ottoman Turkey, as part of the follow-up campaign in Hungary after the Battle of Vienna...
they laid siege to and took over the former Hungarian capital of Buda. At the end of 1686 the Ottomans made peace overtures; however, the Imperial Habsburgs now saw a chance to occupy and conquer the whole of Hungary and these peace overtures were rejected.
In April 1687 it was decided in Vienna that further military action should be taken. The main army (of about 40,000 troops) under the command of Duke Charles of Lorraine proceeded along the River Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
to Osijek
Osijek
Osijek is the fourth largest city in Croatia with a population of 83,496 in 2011. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja county...
on the River Drava
Drava
Drava or Drave is a river in southern Central Europe, a tributary of the Danube. It sources in Toblach/Dobbiaco, Italy, and flows east through East Tirol and Carinthia in Austria, into Slovenia , and then southeast, passing through Croatia and forming most of the border between Croatia and...
, while a second army (of about 20,000 men) under command of Elector Max Emanuel of Bavaria moved along the River Tisza
Tisza
The Tisza or Tisa is one of the main rivers of Central Europe. It rises in Ukraine, and is formed near Rakhiv by the junction of headwaters White Tisa, whose source is in the Chornohora mountains and Black Tisa, which springs in the Gorgany range...
to Szolnok
Szolnok
Szolnok is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. Its location on the banks of the Tisza river, at the heart of the Great Hungarian Plain, has made it an important cultural and economic crossroads for centuries....
and towards Petrovaradin
Petrovaradin
Petrovaradin , is part of the agglomeration of Novi Sad in Serbia...
. In the middle of July the two armies met on the Danube.
In contrast, the Ottoman army (of about 60,000 men) under the command of the Grand Vizier Sari Süleyman Paşa, stayed in front of the main River Drava crossing (with its 8 km long wooden bridge) at Osijek
Osijek
Osijek is the fourth largest city in Croatia with a population of 83,496 in 2011. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja county...
in order to protect it and then fortified this position. When the Imperial Habsburg army arrived, the River Drava divided the two sides. At the end of July the Imperial Habsburg army was able to make a bridgehead on the shores of the river and stood in battle array, in order to challenge the Ottomans. However, the Ottoman army remained passive and was satisfied with artillery bombardments of the weirs on the Drava, the bridges and the riverside.
Because of the terrain Duke Charles of Lorraine could not observe the fortified Ottoman camp clearly in order to command an attack on it. So he decided to wait a few days for the clearing of the bridgehead. For this he was criticized both by his own sub-commanders and by the Emperor Leopold I. This reluctance to attack by his enemy was interpreted by the Ottoman Grand Vizier as a loss of morale by the Habsburg troops. Through skilful manoeuvring in early August, he forced the Habsburg army downriver to the locality of Mohács towards the Ottoman fortified position. The Ottomans had also built a fortified position at Darda
Darda
Darda can refer to:* Darda, Croatia, a village and a municipality in eastern Croatia*Rajendra Darda, Indian politician*Vijay J. Darda, Indian politician*Darda , a car racing set made in Germany*Darda, a card game closely related to Klabberjass...
, but this was skilfully hidden among the thick bushes so that it was not visible to the Habsburg army. For this reason Duke Charles of Lorraine did not suspect the presence of the Ottoman army in the vicinity.
Battle
On the morning of the 12th August the Duke of LorraineCharles V, Duke of Lorraine
Charles V , Karl V. Leopold, , son of Nicolas François, Duke of Lorraine, and Claude Françoise de Lorraine. Karl Leopold was born in Vienna and became the brother in law of Emperor Leopold and son in law of emperor Ferdinand III...
decided to move to Siklós
Siklós
Siklós is a town in Baranya county, Hungary. It is located around .-Notable people:* George Mikes , Hungarian-born British author most famous for his humorous commentaries on various countries....
, because the position and the hard ground there made it more appropriate as a battle ground. The Habsburg right wing moving westward began to march through a densely forested area. Sari Süleyman Paşa decided that this was just the chance he was waiting for. He ordered an attack with his entire army on the imperial army's left wing, which under Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian II , also known as Max Emanuel or Maximilian Emanuel, was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and an elector of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also the last Governor of the Spanish Netherlands and duke of Luxembourg...
was still in its earlier position, and which according to the Habsburg battle plan was also to start marching west. The Ottoman cavalry made up of 8000 Sipahi
Sipahi
Sipahi was the name of several Ottoman cavalry corps...
s tried to outflank this Habsburg army wing from the left. The commander of the wing, the Elector of Bavaria, immediately sent a courier
Courier
A courier is a person or a company who delivers messages, packages, and mail. Couriers are distinguished from ordinary mail services by features such as speed, security, tracking, signature, specialization and individualization of express services, and swift delivery times, which are optional for...
to the Commander Duke of Lorraine, informing him that this wing was under threat. Orders were given and sent quickly and positions were taken immediately to resist the attack of the superior Ottoman forces, which had twice the numbers of the defenders. The Imperial infantry held their position, and General Enea Silvio Piccolomini
General Enea Silvio Piccolomini
Enea Silvio Piccolomini was an Italian nobleman coming from a well known family from Siena in Italy, who served in the Habsburg army...
with some of his cavalry regiments successfully counterattacked and stopped the attack of the Ottoman Sipahi cavalry.
The Ottoman Grand Vizier was surprised by this unexpectedly fierce enemy resistance and ordered the cessation of the Ottoman attack. The Ottoman artillery continued to shell the Habsburg positions, but the Ottoman infantry and cavalry troops were ordered to hold their positions and for the infantry to go defensive behind the fortifications. This relative lull in fierce fighting gave the right wing of the Habsburg Army enough time to return to its original position. The Habsburg commander the Duke of Lorraine initially thought that his army should defend the positions, which might have led to a relative standstill. However, to gain the initiative, the Elector of Bavaria and the Margrave Louis of Baden-Baden
Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden
Louis William, Margrave of Baden was the ruler of Baden in Germany and chief commander of the Imperial army. He was also known as Türkenlouis...
persuaded him to order a large-scale counter-attack. The deployment of the Imperial Habsburg Army for this counter-attack was finished at 3 pm. Just at the same time Sari Süleyman Paşa decided to attack again. Again Sipahis supported the Janissary
Janissary
The Janissaries were infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops and bodyguards...
infantry frontal attack by attempting to outflank the Habsburg army. Margrave Ludwig of Baden successfully resisted the attack with his infantry squadrons and then he went on to attack the still unfinished Ottoman defensive position. At the forefront of this Imperial penetrative attack on the Ottoman fortifications were the troops under the command of the generals Rabutin and Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene of Savoy , was one of the most successful military commanders in modern European history, rising to the highest offices of state at the Imperial court in Vienna. Born in Paris to aristocratic Italian parents, Eugene grew up around the French court of King Louis XIV...
. The Ottoman cavalry riders could not outflank because the terrain was difficult for their horses; they had to dismount. The Ottoman attack and then resistance collapsed and soon this led to a retreat of the Ottoman army in a wild flight. The battle became a crushing defeat for the Ottomans.
Throughout the battle only the left wing of the Imperial Habsburg army saw the main action. There was a dense forest in front of the Imperial Habsburg army's right wing, which prevented it from attacking. Despite this, it attempted a bypassing manoeuvre on the right to force the relocation and withdrawal of the Ottomans, but its columns lost their way in the forest.
The losses of the Habsburg Imperial army were very light, about 600 men. The Ottomans army suffered huge losses with an estimated 10,000 deaths, as well as the loss of most of its artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
(about 66 guns) and much of its support equipment. The splendid command tent of the Grand Vizier and 160 Ottoman flags fell into Imperial hands. It is reported that the value of the share of the bounty that was given to the Elector of Bavaria surpassed two million golden ducat
Ducat
The ducat is a gold coin that was used as a trade coin throughout Europe before World War I. Its weight is 3.4909 grams of .986 gold, which is 0.1107 troy ounce, actual gold weight...
s.
Aftermath
After the battle, the Ottoman Empire fell into deep crisis. There was a mutiny among the Ottoman troops. The commander Sari Suleyman Pasa became frightened that he would be killed by his own troops and fled from his command, first to BelgradeBelgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
and then to Constantinople
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. When the news of the defeat and the mutiny arrived in Constantinople
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
in early September, Abaza Sivayus Pasa was appointed as the commander and soon as the Grand Vizier
Grand Vizier
Grand Vizier, in Turkish Vezir-i Azam or Sadr-ı Azam , deriving from the Arabic word vizier , was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself...
. However, before he could take over his command, the whole Ottoman Army had disintegrated and the Ottoman household troops (Janissaries and Sipahi
Sipahi
Sipahi was the name of several Ottoman cavalry corps...
s) started to return to their base in Constantinople
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
under their own lower-rank officers. Even the Grand Vizier's regent in Constantinople
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
was frightened and hid. Sari Suleyman Pasa was executed. Sultan Mehmed IV appointed the commander of Istanbul Straits Köprülü Fazıl Mustafa Pasha
Köprülü Fazil Mustafa Pasha
Fazıl Mustafa Köprülü, Ghazi Fazıl Mustafa Köprülü was an Ottoman grand vizier in the 17th century when the Ottoman Empire was engaged in a war against Holy Alliance countries in the Great Turkish War. He was a member of the Köprülü family of Albanian origin...
as the Grand Vizier's regent in Constantinople
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. He made consultations with the leaders of the army that existed and the other leading Ottoman statesmen. After these, on 8 November 1687 it was decided to depose Sultan Mehmed IV and to enthrone Suleiman II
Suleiman II
Suleiman II was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1687 to 1691...
as the new Sultan.
The disintegration of the Ottoman army allowed Imperial Habsburg armies to conquer large areas. They took over Osijek
Osijek
Osijek is the fourth largest city in Croatia with a population of 83,496 in 2011. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja county...
, Petrovaradin
Petrovaradin
Petrovaradin , is part of the agglomeration of Novi Sad in Serbia...
, Sremski Karlovci
Sremski Karlovci
Sremski Karlovci is a town and municipality in Serbia, in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, situated on the bank of the river Danube, 8 km from Novi Sad...
, Ilok
Ilok
Ilok is the easternmost town and municipality in Croatia. Located in the Syrmia region, it lies on a hill overlooking the Danube river, which forms the border with the Vojvodina region of Serbia. The population of the town of Ilok is 5,036, while the total municipality population is 6,750...
, Valpovo
Valpovo
Valpovo is a town in Slavonia, Croatia. It is close to the Drava river in the region of Slavonia, northwest of Osijek. The population of Valpovo is 7,396, with a total of 11,570 in the municipality.-Demographics:...
, Požega
Požega, Croatia
Požega is a city in western Slavonia, eastern Croatia, with a total population of 26,403 . It is the administrative center of the Požega-Slavonia County.-Geography:...
, Palota
Palota
Palota is a village and municipality in the Medzilaborce District in the Prešov Region of far north-eastern Slovakia.-Geography:The municipality lies at an altitude of 482 metres and covers an area of 24.116 km². It has a population of about 190 people....
and Eger
Eger
Eger is the second largest city in Northern Hungary, the county seat of Heves, east of the Mátra Mountains. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, historic buildings , and red and white wines.- Name :...
. Most of present-day Slavonia
Slavonia
Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...
and Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
came under Imperial rule. On 9 December 1687 there was organised a Diet
Diet (assembly)
In politics, a diet is a formal deliberative assembly. The term is mainly used historically for the Imperial Diet, the general assembly of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire, and for the legislative bodies of certain countries.-Etymology:...
of Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
, and Archduke Joseph was crowned as the first hereditary king of Hungary, and descendant Habsburg Emperors were declared the anointed kings of Hungary.
For a year the Ottoman Empire was paralysed, and Imperial Habsburg forces were poised to capture Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
and penetrate deep into the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
.