![Jibou 1705](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Jibou_1705.jpg)
Battle of Zsibó ( hu, Zsibói csata, german: Schlacht bei Siben, ro, Bătălia de la Jibou) was fought on 15 November 1705 between the
Kuruc
Kuruc (, plural ''kurucok''), also spelled kurutz, refers to a group of armed anti-Habsburg insurgents in the Kingdom of Hungary between 1671 and 1711.
Over time, the term kuruc has come to designate Hungarians who advocate strict national ind ...
(
Hungarian) army (supported by
French contingents) and forces of the
Habsburg Empire
The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
,
Kingdom of Denmark
The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of Denmark, metropolitan ...
and
Vojvodian Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
in
Zsibó,
Principality of Transylvania (today: ''Jibou, Romania''). The
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
marshal
Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...
Ludwig Herbeville marched against
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
. Although the Kuruc-French army was equal in size to the combined Austrian, Danish and Serbian forces,
Francis II Rákóczi
Francis II Rákóczi ( hu, II. Rákóczi Ferenc, ; 27 March 1676 – 8 April 1735) was a Hungarian nobleman and leader of Rákóczi's War of Independence against the Habsburgs in 1703–11 as the prince ( hu, fejedelem) of the Estates Confedera ...
went on the defense due to the inferior training of his troops. The
Danes
Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural.
Danes generally regard t ...
and Austrians launched a powerful attack on the French and Kuruc infantry. Although the Kuruc infantry held its ground, the Kuruc cavalry could not launch an attack due to a lack of leadership and an overly muddy battlefield. The Austrian cavalry was thus capable of flanking the Hungarians on the left, forcing the Hungarians to retreat and crushing their cavalry in the process. After the battle, the combined Austrian-Danish army bought Transylvania.
Preparations
A 1704 campaign by Kuruc forces liberated much of Hungary from Austrian rule and established numerical parity with the Austrians. However, due to better training, a stronger officer corps and deeper logistical capabilities, the Austrians still won the decisive
Battle of Nagyszombat, going on to take back the important fortresses of (
Buda
Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...
,
Pressburg
Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...
and
Esztergom
Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Danu ...
). The Austrians subsequently called on aid from
Croatian, Serbian and Danish armies.
As a means of counterbalancing Austrian power,
Louis XIV of France
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Versa ...
attempted to support the Kuruc rebels, sending troops and material support. However, following the French defeat at the
battle of Höchstädt
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
, Louis was forced to reduce his material contributions to Rákóczi and the Kurucs.
On 8 July 1704 the Transylvanian noble Rákóczi was elected Transylvanian prince, and on 4 April 1705 he was inducted. Designed to declare the confederation of Hungary and Transylvania, problems nonetheless occurred in the National Assembly of
Szécsény over the army and the legal status of serfdom. Meanwhile, Rákóczi routed the new
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
army under
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
.
On 27 June a Danish military detachment arrived in Vienna (4500 infantry and 1600 cavalry) under Andreas Harboe. The Danish soldiers fought against the French army in the battle of Höchstädt. The Danish-Austrian vanguard under col.
Dietrich Glöckelsperg attacked
Great Rye Island. Baron Herbeville mobilized his army on the island and on July 29 tried to march in
Komárno
Komárno, ( hu, Komárom, german: Komorn, sr, Коморан, translit=Komoran), colloquially also called ''Révkomárom, Öregkomárom, Észak-Komárom'' in Hungarian language, Hungarian; is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube an ...
, but withdrew on 3 August because of the Kuruc attacks. Meanwhile,
Miklós Bercsényi Miklós () is a given name or surname, the Hungarian language, Hungarian form of the Greek (English ''Nicholas''), and may refer to:
In Hungarian politics
* Miklós Bánffy, Hungarian nobleman, politician, and novelist
* Miklós Horthy, Regent of ...
and
Antal Esterházy invaded
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The me ...
. On 25 August Herbeville crossed the Transdanubia. In September he took a rest in
Buda
Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...
. The army of
János Bottyán
János Bottyán (1643, Esztergom, Hungary – 27 September 1709), also known as Blind Bottyán, Vak Bottyán János was a Hungarian kuruc general.
Bottyán was born into a poor noble family of Protestant religion, his father was Kurulh Efimovit ...
(6000 men) tried to disturb the Austrian army.
The Kuruc commanders committed serious errors: only in October did they respond to the attack of Herbeville. Rákóczi reinforced fortifications built near Zsibó, but wanted to fight a battle near
Nagyvárad
)
, blank2_name_sec1 = Patron saint
, blank2_info_sec1 = Saint Ladislaus[Rusyn
Rusyn may refer to:
* Rusyns, Rusyn people, an East Slavic people
** Pannonian Rusyns, Pannonian Rusyn people, a branch of Rusyn people
** Lemkos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people
** Boykos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people
* Rusyn l ...](_blank)
and
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
soldiers) and the German mercenaries of Simon Forgách were trained and disciplined soldiers. Many
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
soldiers served in the infantry and cavalry, which included a miscellaneous Hungarian-Romanian-Serbian mounted regiment. The combined forces of the Kuruc-French army numbered 15,000 men and 34 cannons. The Kuruc army was located in the trenches near Zsibó, but the trenches were not completely prepared.
Herbeville's army was starving, as Bottyán had used
scorched-earth tactics against the Austrians and all the crops on Great Rye Island had been harvested. Nevertheless, the fighting morale of the army remained high. All military units were trained, equipped and disciplined, except for the irregular Serbian cavalry. Danish grenadiers, infantry and cavalry fought under Andreas Harboe and general
Frederik Gersdorff.
Jovan Popović vojvoda of
Tököl
Tököl ( sh, Tukulja) is a town in Pest County, Hungary.
Demography
The majority of residents are Hungarians, with a minority of Bunjevci.
Hungarian Uprising
An Budapest-Tököl airfield (47 20 35 N / 18 59 20 E) was built during World War ...
commanded the Serbian light cavalry. The Austrian-Danish-Serbian army numbered 16,500 men.
Literature
* Magyarország története 1526–1686, Főszerk.: Pach Zsigmond; szerk.: R. Várkonyi Ágnes, Akadémia Kiadó, Budapest 1985.
External links
Bánlaky József: A MAGYAR NEMZET HADTÖRTÉNELME – Zsibói csata (mek.oszk.hu)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zsibo, Battle
Battles involving Hungary
Battles involving France
Battles involving Austria
Battles involving Denmark
Battles involving Transylvania
Battles involving Serbia
Military history of Romania
1705 in Hungary
Conflicts in 1705
Jibou
Rákóczi's War of Independence