Battle of Saint Gotthard (1664)

Battle of Saint Gotthard
Part of the Ottoman wars in Europe
Date August 1, 1664 Location Szentgotthárd, Vas County, along the present-day Austro-Hungarian border Result Austrian victory
Belligerents
Austria, Holy Roman Empire, League of the Rhine, France	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Raimondo Montecuccoli, Leopold Wilhelm of Baden-Baden, Count Coligny	Ahmed Köprülü
Strength
~ 80,000 including Imperial and French troops	~ 10,000
Casualties and losses
50,000-60,000 killed or wounded	9,800 killed or wounded, the rest were captured.

The Battle of Saint Gotthard (Hungarian: Szentgotthárd) was fought on August 1, 1664 between an Austrian army led by Raimondo Montecuccoli and an Ottoman army under the command of Ahmed Köprülü. The battle took place at Szentgotthárd in Western Hungary, near the present-day Austro-Hungarian border. The Turks were militarily defeated but were able to negotiate the Peace of Vasvár, which was highly favorable to them.

Preparations

Ottoman dominance in Hungary began with the Battle of Mohács in 1526, which resulted in the conquest of most of Hungary by Suleiman the Magnificent. Meanwhile, the parts of Hungary that remained under Austrian control became known as Royal Hungary. Although the Ottomans had been in relative decline since the death of Suleiman I, Ottoman power saw a resurgence under the extremely capable Köprülü family, who sought to destroy the Austrian Habsburgs once and for all. They found their casus belli when the Habsburgs supported a Transylvanian rebellion against Ottoman rule.

Transylvania had escaped Ottoman conquest during the invasion of Hungary and retained its independence by playing off of their powerful neighbors: Poland, Austria and the Ottomans. They recognized Ottoman suzerainty and paid a tribute to the Porte but were given political and religious autonomy in return. In 1658, seeking new land for his principality, Prince George Rákóczy II invaded Poland with his Swedish allies in the Second Northern War. After initial success, he was defeated by the Poles and fled back to Transylvania. On hearing about Rákóczy's unauthorized war, the Ottomans declared war on their vassal. It was not long before Grand Vizier Mehmed Köprülü (Vizier 1656-1661) defeated Rákóczy and conquered Transylvania. The new Transylvanian prince, Janos Kemény, fled to Vienna, seeking Austrian support.

Emperor Leopold I, not wishing to see Transylvania fall under direct Ottoman control, sent Montecuccoli into Hungary with his huge army. Montecuccoli outnumbered by the Ottomans. The Ottomans, meanwhile, completed the conquest of Transylvania and built up their forces in Ottoman Hungary. Leopold I, not wishing to face the Turks alone, summoned the Imperial Diet in January 1663.

Vas County - Hungary

Diplomatic efforts

More so than military power, the Austrian victory was achieved due to diplomatic efforts. Although Leopold personally objected to Protestantism, he had to rely on his Protestant German princes to provide military aid. Even worse was the military aid from France, which was (and continued to be until the Diplomatic Revolution of 1756) Austria's arch-nemesis. Despite numerous objections from some Protestant princes, help was not short in coming. The League of the Rhine - a French dominated group of German princes - agreed to send a corps of 60,000 men independently commanded by Count Coligny of France and Prince Johann Philipp of Mainz. By September 1663, Brandenburg and Saxony had also agreed to contingents of their own. In January 1664, the Imperial Diet agreed to raise 80,000 men, although this army did not yet exist other than on paper. Meanwhile, the Turks had declared war in April 1663, although they were slow in executing their invasion plans.

Raimondo Montecuccoli

Battle

The Turkish invasion began in the spring of 1664, a full year after their declaration of war. This delay was key to the defense of Austria, as Montecuccoli was waiting for help to arrive. Finally in July 1664 the Imperial forces were assembled and they set out for the River Rába, which separated the Turkish forces from the Austrian duchy itself. If they were allowed to cross, the Turks could threaten both Vienna and Graz. Montecuccoli intercepted the Turks before they crossed the river but the division of command made effective deployment of troops impossible. On 1 August 1664 Turkish forces crossed the river near the monastery of Saint Gotthard and beat the Austrians back. Although initially plagued by disunity, Montecuccoli was finally able to convince Coligny and Leopold Wilhelm of Baden-Baden (commander of the Imperial detachment) to mass their forces and attack the Turkish troops, who were reorganizing in a nearby forest. The Turks were not prepared for the attack, but their losses in previous battles retaliated aggression, and made them hold ground. The Turkish army(5,000 Turkish Janissaries and 5,000 Ghazi warriors) completely crushed the first wave of the Austrian army(40,000-50,000 well equipped infantrymen). But the second wave(almost the whole army)surrounded the Turkish forces, and the Austrians became victorious. Ahmed Köprülü (Vizier 1661-1676) was captured and prisoned, among his 200 remaining soldiers. He succeeded his esacpe two days later.

Casualties were heavy on the Austrian side,50,000-60,000 were killed and wounded, most of the casualties were within the elite forces. Despite the victory, the Austrians lost huge numbers of soldiers, even though they clearly outnumbered the Turks.

Aftermath

Although many in Europe, especially the Croat and Magyar nobility, expected the Austrians to finally liberate Hungary once and for all, Leopold abandoned the campaign. Many have criticized him for this decision (both in the past and the present) but at the time he wasn't left a choice. Although Montecuccoli's army was largely intact, there was no interest among the allies to liberate Hungary. Any invasion of Hungary would undoubtedly have to be done without the help of the French and German troops. In addition, although the Magyar nobility was anxious to liberate Hungary from Turkish rule, they played little to no role in the battle. Leopold also noticed that the French officers had begun to fraternize with the Magyar nobles and encouraged them to rebel against Austrian rule. Without significant military aid from the Hungarian nobles (whom Leopold could neither trust nor count on), any liberation of Ottoman Hungary was out of the question.

In addition, Leopold had always been a member of the "Spanish faction" in Vienna. With the last Spanish Habsburg, Carlos II, about to die at any given moment, Leopold wanted to ensure that his hands were free for the inevitable struggle against Louis XIV of France. Although the liberation of Hungary was a strategic interest of the Habsburgs, it would have to wait until later. Throughout his reign, Leopold had always been more interested in the struggle against France rather than the Ottomans. Therefore, he signed the humiliating Peace of Vasvar, which did not take into account the Battle of Saint Gotthard. The Battle of Saint Gotthard is still significant, however, for it stopped any Turkish invasion of Austria, which certainly would have prolonged the war and led to an even more disastrous resolution. The Austrians would also use the twenty-year truce to build up their forces and begin the liberation of Hungary in 1683.

References

• John P. Spielman, Leopold I of Austria (1977) ISBN 0-8135-0836-3
• Charles W. Ingrao, The Habsburg Monarchy 1618-1815 (1994) ISBN 0-521-78505-7
• 11-part series on the history of Yellow Springs