Battle of Leitzersdorf

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Battle of Leitzersdorf
Part of: Hungarian Wars (15th century)
date May 11, 1484
place Leitzersdorf , Lower Austria
output Hungarian victory
Parties to the conflict

Kingdom of Hungary

Habsburg hereditary lands

Commander

István Dávidházy ,
Tobias von Boskowitz and Černahora

Hans Wulfersdorfer , Heinrich Prüschenk , Kaspar von Roggendorf

Troop strength
probably several thousand probably several thousand
losses

unknown

unknown

The battle of Leitzersdorf was on May 11, 1484 as part of the third war that broke out in 1482 between the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus (ruled 1458–90) and Emperor Friedrich III. (ruled 1452–93) defeated. Frederick's army, which advanced to relieve the besieged town of Korneuburg , suffered a heavy defeat against the Hungarian troops who wanted to prevent it.

Starting position

In 1482 there was another war between Matthias Corvinus and Friedrich III. came. During its course the Hungarian troops were able to occupy large parts of the Habsburg hereditary lands . When King Matthias resumed combat operations with three armies after the end of the winter break in March 1484, the most moving phase of this war began. While the army led by István Dávidházy († 1484) besieged Bruck an der Leitha , the army commanded by Tobias von Boskowitz and Černahora set out to conquer other places in Lower Austria and to secure the troops besieging Bruck. The third army, which was led by Péter Geréb , marched into Styria and Carinthia to defend the armed forces of Frederick III. to tie.

After Bruck and its citadel had fallen, the Hungarians began on April 19, 1484 with the siege of Korneuburg , which also served the goal of Vienna to zernieren . Friedrich III. wanted to prevent the loss of Korneuburg and sent his field army to relieve the city. At Leitzersdorf in what is now the Korneuburg district , Friedrich's armed forces encountered the Hungarian troops on May 11th.

Course of the battle

The course of the battle near Leitzersdorf is only roughly known, with regard to tactical details there are some differences in the literature. The two armies consisted mainly of mercenaries and it is certain that it was the warriors of Frederick III. from the beginning succeeded in pushing back the Hungarian troops. Both sides sought to decide the battle with the storm of heavy cavalry. In the violent clash of the cavalry units, the imperial riders led by Hans Wulfersdorfer († 1504), Heinrich Prüschenk († 1500) and Kaspar von Roggendorf († 1506) were able to prevail against the Hungarian cavalry led by István Dávidházy and break them up. The Hungarians withdrew to their camp or fled there.

In the enemy camp, however, the victorious fighters of Frederick III overtook him. the fate of so many medieval armies: indiscipline and greed for booty. Because as soon as they reached the Hungarian camp, the imperial fighters began to plunder and their order of battle dissolved. The experienced Hungarian field captain Tobias von Boskowitz and Černahora recognized the favorable situation and now brought about the turning point. He managed to regroup the Hungarian troops and to counter-attack the imperial troops, which were completely occupied with the looting. In contrast to the Hungarians, the imperial commanders were unable to regroup their men in order of battle, so that the battle ended with the headless flight and a severe defeat of the imperial fighters.

Consequences of the battle

Although the battle near Leitzersdorf was initially nothing more than “ a tactical victory ” for the Hungarians, it nevertheless represented - as was to be seen - the most significant open clash of the whole in terms of “ its extent and… its effects… War ”. The will of the Lower Austrian cities to resist could not be affected by the outcome of this battle, but the decisive factor was that Friedrich III. in the following period was no longer able to set up a new field army, so that the initiative in the war now passed entirely to Matthias Corvinus. Without outside help, however, the enclosed and starved cities ultimately had no choice but to surrender to the Hungarians. On December 3, the defenders of Korneuburg stretched their weapons and at the end of 1484 only Vienna and Wiener Neustadt were left by the troops of Frederick III. held while the entire eastern part of Lower Austria was controlled by Hungarian forces. As a result, Vienna became more and more difficult and should soon become the next target of the Hungarian king's conquest.

Memory of the battle

On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the battle, the Leitzersdorf parish and the Stockerau stamp collecting association had a memorial stone erected near the Leitzersdorf church in October 1984. It bears the following inscription:

“In memory
of the battle near Leitzersdorf
in 1484
MATTHIAS CORVINUS
FRIEDRICH III.
Dedicated by the
Leitzersdorf parish and the
Stockerau stamp collecting association

Oct. 1984 "

literature

  • Josef Borus: Aspects of the Central European Army at the end of the 15th century. In: Andreas Baumkircher - heirs and successors. Symposium as part of the "Schlaininger Talks" from 20.-24. September 1989 at Burg Schlaining (= Scientific papers from Burgenland . Issue 88). Eisenstadt 1992, pp. 285-299, ISBN 3-85405-119-0 , PDF on ZOBODAT
  • Gyula Rázsó: The campaigns of King Matthias Corvinus in Lower Austria 1477-1490. (= Military History Series, Issue 24) Österreichischer Bundesverlag Ges.mbH, 3rd edition, Vienna 1982, ISBN 3-215-01666-4 .

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Borus (1992), p. 295, according to which the imperial infantry initially pushed back part of the Hungarians and thereby enabled the cavalry to develop fully. Rászó (1982), p. 16f., On the other hand, does not mention any infantry contingents for either side.
  2. ↑ According to Rászó (1982), p. 16, “ [the imperial] drove the [f] loaned [Hungarians] to the camp ... ”, while Borus (1992), p. 296, writes that the Hungarians had withdrawn there .
  3. ↑ Borus (1992), p. 296.
  4. ↑ Rászó (1982), p. 16.