Battle of Vezekény

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Battle of Vezekény
date August 26, 1652
place Nagyvezekény and Taszár
output Defensive victory of the imperial troops
Parties to the conflict

Ottoman Empire 1453Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire

Holy Roman Empire 1400Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire,
Royal Hungary

Commander

Bey Mustafa by Gran

Count Adam Forgach
Count Ladislaus Esterházy de Galántha †

Troop strength
approx. 3,000 approx. 1,500
losses

800 dead and injured, as well as 56 prisoners

550 dead and injured

The battle of Vezekény on August 26, 1652 in the Habsburg part of Hungary was not part of a Turkish war , but occurred after an Ottoman raid into the valley of the Neutra in what was then Habsburg Upper Hungary . The battle ended with a defensive victory for the Christian troops and is especially important because it initiated the rise of the Esterházy family under Paul Esterházy .

background

Although the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire had made peace after the Long Turkish War in 1606 and this peace was formally held until 1663 , in the meantime there were frequent Ottoman raids in the border regions. Because parts of the Ottoman armed forces did not receive a fixed salary, but were dependent on income from looting and loot. Usually only the defenseless villages were attacked and plundered and the retreat was quickly started before the Hungarian nobles could react in their castles and send their own armed forces to defend themselves.

In August 1652 an unusually large force of approx. 3,000 Ottoman cavalry attacked Habsburg Hungary again and plundered the villages in the valley of the Neutra . The leader of this Ottoman armed force may have had little experience in this area, because the Neuhäusl fortress was located in the Neutra Valley and its commander, Count Adam Forgach, was known for rigorously avenging Ottoman raids. In addition, the Neutratal was already further inland and thus did not allow a quick retreat. As soon as Adam Forgach found out about the Ottoman raid, he requested support from the other nobles and gathered his forces. Baron Zsigmond (Sigmund) Esterhazy already served as commander of the cavalry and his son Sandor under him in the fortress Neuhäusl. Just one day later, Ferenc (Franz) Esterhazy, the commandant of Buják Castle, arrived in Forgach's camp with his younger brother Miklos and his cousin Gabor. At the same time, the young Esterhazys Janos (commandant of Csepreg ) and Tamás (Thomas) (deputy commandant of Léva ) visited their father at the headquarters in Galanta . When they received Forgach's notification, they in turn informed their cousin László (Ladislaus) Esterhazy (Supreme Commander of Pápa ), who was currently staying in Schintau Castle , and so these three also made their way to Adam Forgach's army camp. By chance, all men of the Esterhazy family of military age were united in the army camp on the day before the battle.

The battle

Adam Forgach had finally assembled a force of around 1,500 men, including around 600 Hungarian and 150 German horsemen, and set out to face the Ottoman raiders. He finally succeeded in the village of Vezekény , where he found, however, that the number of the Ottoman forces was roughly twice as large. Still, he decided to attack. Shortly after the first clash, Forgach received the information that the Ottomans had taken Christian prisoners (including women and children) and that they were waiting for the end of the battle at the village of Taszár under Ottoman guard. Thereupon Forgach decided to send a small detachment under his most experienced commandant László Esterhazy to Taszár to try to free these prisoners.

The battle of Vezekény initially developed unfavorably for the imperial troops. The Ottomans outnumbered them, especially when it came to cavalry. After the initial element of surprise had been lost and the Ottomans had rallied again, they attacked twice on their part and could only be repulsed with difficulty by Forgach and his men. The decision finally brought about the fact that Forgach had a wagon castle built and the cannons carried by the imperial family. The third onslaught of the Ottoman cavalry broke up and their formation was disordered by the fire of the cannons. The imperial cavalry finally counterattacked and thus brought about victory. The Ottoman horsemen then withdrew in a wild flight towards Ottoman-controlled Hungary.

Battle at Taszár

Meanwhile, the small cavalry group under László Esterhazy discovered the prison camp near Taszár, but they found that the balance of power was the same as in the battle of Vezekény. The Ottoman guard was about twice as big as his cavalry troop, so that here too only a surprise attack promised success. In fact, this attack succeeded and the Ottomans initially fled, especially since they believed it was the vanguard of a larger army. The Esterhazys freed the prisoners, put them on captured wagons and let them flee towards Gimes under the command of Baron Zsigmond . In the meantime, however, the Ottomans had rallied and, unfortunately for the Esterhazys, had been reinforced by a stray rearguard. Whether the Esterhazys were surprised when the Ottoman camp was plundered, or whether they deliberately confronted the Ottoman overwhelming power to give Baron Zsigmond and the freed prisoners enough time to escape, could never be clarified. In any case, the remaining horsemen under László Esterhazy were pushed into the swampy terrain on the Neutra River and killed there down to the last man.

Aftermath

A report about the battle at the imperial court in Vienna states that 186 Christian prisoners could be freed, 56 Ottoman prisoners were made and 2 standards were captured. The losses amounted to about 550 on the Christian and 800 on the Ottoman side. The battle of Vezekény was ultimately a narrow defensive victory for the imperial army, but it put an end to larger Ottoman raids for the time being. The battle is especially important because 4 Esterhazys died in the battle near Taszár, these were:

  • Baron Ferenc (Franz) Esterhazy, 37-year-old head of the Altsohl line of the Esterhazys and lord of the Altsohl and Dobronya castles . Except for one girl who died early, remained childless.
  • Count László (Ladislaus) Esterhazy, 26 years old and chief clan of Sopron County , Knight of the Golden Spur , Imperial and Royal Chamberlain and Councilor , as well as Commander-in-Chief of Pápa Castle . Married to Maria Eleonora, the daughter of Ádám Batthyánys , but so far remained childless.
  • Gaspar (Caspar) Esterhazy, 24 years old, Vice-Captain of Léva Castle . Unmarried and childless.
  • Tamás (Thomas) Esterhazy, also 24 years old, lieutenant on Csallóköz and so far also unmarried and childless.

Due to the unexpected death of four Esterhazys without descendants, a great deal of power and wealth fell to Paul Esterhazy , who was only 17 at the time , and who also married his niece Ursula Esterhazy to further secure and concentrate the inheritance. This began the rise of the Esterhazys family to become one of the richest and most powerful in royal Hungary.

swell

  • Gerald Schlag: The Battle of Vezekény. In: Catalog Bollwerk Forchtenstein. Eisenstadt 1993, p. 207 f.
  • László Berényi: The Battle of Vezekény. In: Burgenland homeland sheets . 2002, pp. 94-120, PDF on ZOBODAT
  • Lothar Höbelt: Peaceful coexistence - unpeaceful border: The background to the Battle of Vezekény 1652. In: Burgenland homeland sheets. 1/2012, pp. 1–34, PDF on ZOBODAT

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