Battle of Cetingrad (1790)

Part of: Russo-Habsburg Turkish War (1787–1792)

Contemporary depiction of the Battle of Cetingrad

date	June 22, 1790 to July 20, 1790
place	Cetin Castle (Cetingrad), Kingdom of Croatia in the Habsburg Monarchy
output	Victory of the Croatian Army Corps of the Imperial and Royal Armies, Cetingrad and its surroundings liberated from the Turks
consequences	Cetingrad became part of Croatia again

Parties to the conflict
Ottoman Empire 1453 Ottoman Empire	Habsburg Monarchy Kingdom of Croatia in the Habsburg Monarchy
Commander
Hadzi Salih Pascha ( Beylerbey des Eyâlets Bosnia ), Disdar-Agha Ali-Bey Beširević, Jusuf-Agha Beširević, Muhamed-Agha Beširević, Hasan-Agha Beširević from Pećigrad near Cazin	Feldzeugmeister Joseph Nikolaus Freiherr de Vins , Feldmarschallleutnant Christoph Andreas Freiherr von Wallisch , Major General Daniel von Peharnik-Hotkovich Colonel Antun Pejačević
Troop strength
1,000–2,000 men	~ 4,000 men
losses
~ 1,000 men	~ 300 men

The battle of Cetingrad was a part of the military operation of the Habsburg K. uk army with the aim of liberating the Croatian castle Cetin (Cetingrad) and its surroundings, the areas of what was then Turkish Croatia , from the Turkish occupation. The operation happened during the second Russo-Habsburg Turkish War (1787–1792 ). The battle itself began on June 22, 1790 and ended after almost a month on July 20 of the same year victoriously for the Habsburg troops. With this, Cetingrad, an important military base in the border area , which had fallen into the hands of the Turkish conquerors in the 16th century, again became part of the Kingdom of Croatia.

prehistory

Cetin Castle was the place where the Croatian Sabor elected Ferdinand I of Habsburg as Croatian king on January 1, 1527 and confirmed this with the Cetingrad Charter . Later the castle was in Turkish hands and several attempts to recapture it in the 18th century were unsuccessful. When the Russo-Habsburg Turkish War broke out in 1787 , a new opportunity arose.

Course of the campaign

In the spring of 1790, the K. uk Croatian Army Corps, under the command of Feldzeugmeister Joseph Nikolaus Baron de Vins , started the movement from Karlovac to Vojnić . With this campaign, De Vins wanted to stop the Turkish incursions into the border area and from the Turks conquered parts of Croatia to liberate the castle Cetin, as well as Furjan , Bužim , Ostrožac , Tržac and some others. As early as 1788, Major General Peharnik-Hotković managed to recapture Drežnik Castle, a little further south . The total strength of the army corps was 24,380 men; this also included 1,280 horses. In the headquarters of de Vins were experienced officers such as B. Lieutenant Field Marshal von Wallisch , Major General Peharnik-Hotković , Colonel Pejačević , Lieutenant Colonel Gyulay , Lieutenant Colonel of Liechtenstein , Lieutenant Colonel Jelačić and Major Vukasović . While some units were advancing to Bužim, Ostrožac, Prijedor or Petrovac, the approximately 4,000-strong troops led by Sub-Marshal von Wallisch, Colonel Pejačević and Lieutenant Colonel Gyulay arrived near Cetingrad on June 22, 1790 , where there were about 1000 Turks, and circled them.

battle

When ordered, soldiers immediately dug into their positions and set up their guns in good positions. The next morning the guns opened fire on the castle at the same time. The besieged Turkish occupation also responded with gunfire. On June 26th, a fire broke out in the castle, which caused the ammunition dump to explode . After several days under gunfire, the castle wall was badly damaged and the soldiers of the army corps stormed it to penetrate the castle, but without success. They also tried to drive the several mines under the wall.

The attack was slowed down because of the heavy rain that fell at the beginning of July and it was not until July 20th that the British soldiers succeeded in breaking through the opening in the wall. They set the castle on fire, which a little later almost completely destroyed the whole building. Shortly afterwards, the remaining Ottomans surrendered. Lieutenant Biringer even succeeded in capturing the castle's commander, Disdar- Agha Ali-Bey Beširević.

Post-history

It took a few days before the fire was extinguished and order was restored. The captured Turkish weapons were listed and the dead and prisoners cared for. There were a total of around 1000 dead and 144 captured Ottomans, as well as around 300 casualties among the Austro-Hungarian soldiers.

The entire operation of the Austro-Hungarian Army Corps in the area of Kordun , Lika , Banovina and western Turkish Croatia lasted until mid-October 1790. He had succeeded in recapturing part of Croatian territory, including Furjan, Lapac , Boričevac, etc. a. An armistice was then immediately concluded, which was confirmed on August 4, 1791 with the Peace of Svishtov . The Turks later tried to recapture the castle militarily several times, but without success.

Individual evidence

^ Carl von Martens: Campaign 1790. In: General history of the Turkish wars in Europe from 1356 to 1812. 1829, accessed on February 13, 2020 .
^ Carl von Martens: Campaign 1790. In: General history of the Turkish wars in Europe from 1356 to 1812. 1829, accessed on February 13, 2020 .

Web links

[1] Carl von Martens: Campaign 1790. In: General history of the Turkish wars in Europe from 1356 to 1812. 1829, accessed on February 13, 2020 .

[2] Carl von Martens: Campaign 1790. In: General history of the Turkish wars in Europe from 1356 to 1812. 1829, accessed on February 13, 2020 .