The Battle of Zvolen ( hu, Zólyomi csata, german: Schlacht bei Altsohl, sk, Bitka pri Zvolene) was a battle 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 ...
's and the army of
Habsburg monarchy
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 ...
on 15 November 1703 at
Zvolen
Zvolen (; hu, Zólyom; german: Altsohl) is a town in central Slovakia, situated on the confluence of Hron and Slatina rivers, close to Banská Bystrica. It is surrounded by Poľana mountain from the East, by Kremnické vrchy from the West an ...
in Upper Hungary (modern day
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
). General
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 ...
was routed by 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: ...
army under
Simon Forgách. Forgách in 1704 went over to the Kuruc side.
Prelude
On 15 June
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 ...
sparked off the war of independence against Emperor
Leopold I. First Rákóczi found little support in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
and also the nobility and peasants fought against the Kurucs. Miklós Bercsényi soon brought mercenaries from
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
,
Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...
and the
Ruthenian (
Western Ukrainian
Western Ukraine or West Ukraine ( uk, Західна Україна, Zakhidna Ukraina or , ) is the territory of Ukraine linked to the former Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, which was part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austrian ...
) regions. The Kuruc forces and his mercenaries (with the
Slovak and
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 ...
minorities) pushed forward into the Austrian border. On 17 September
Levice
Levice (; hu, Léva, Hungarian pronunciation: ; german: Lewenz, literally lionesses) is a town in western Slovakia. The town lies on the left bank of the lower Hron river. The Old Slavic name of the town was ''Leva'', which means "the Left One ...
was captured by the Kurucs but the Austrian army recaptured it on 31 October.
Opposing forces
brigadier joined Bercsényi after the capture of Levice. The Kuruc and Austrian army was mostly cavalry. The Kuruc forces have irregular Hungarian and Slovak horsemen, some regular horsemen, well-trained
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
and Ruthenian cavalry, some thousand veteran haiduks from
Great Turkish War
The Great Turkish War (german: Großer Türkenkrieg), also called the Wars of the Holy League ( tr, Kutsal İttifak Savaşları), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Pola ...
,
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
officiers and soldiers, and
Moravian artillerymen with obsolete guns. Bercsényi's lieutenants was
Sándor Károlyi and Ocskay.
In the Austrian army two regiment infantry with muskets, some platoons of
Serbian
Serbian may refer to:
* someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe
* someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people
* Serbian language
* Serbian names
See also
*
*
* Old Serbian (disambiguat ...
fusiliers from
Vojvodina,
Hungarian Royalists and
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
dragoons. His commanders was also Hungarians: Forgách,
Bottyán the Blind and
Antal Esterházy (later everyone Kuruc commanders).
In both camps were disagreements between the commanders. Another Austrian army was in
Bystrica under
Leopold Schlick
Leopold may refer to:
People
* Leopold (given name)
* Leopold (surname)
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
* Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons''
* Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...
, just celebrated his name day, assist those not bothered about Forgáchs.
The battle
The Kuruc and Austrian army glared at each other for a long time. The thirst tormented the troops, there was little water. Before the battle Bottyán and Ocskay dueled, and both injured. In the battle the Kuruc forces repulsed the Austrians and their allies.
After the battle Austrians locked themselves in Zvolen. Bercsényi tried to starve them. During the night, most of the army tried to break out of the castle. But Ocskay raided the Austrians and destroyed them; very small soldiers reached the camp of Schlick in Bystrica.
Aftermath
The wounded Bottyán was the Zvolen castle for three weeks. On 7 December they surrendered in exchange for a free getaway. The Kurucs occupied the country between Levice and Zvolen, and in several battles defeated the Austrian, Danish and Serbian forces.
Sources
Zólyom – vártörténet (magyar-varak.hu)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zvolen, Battle
Battles involving Hungary
Battles involving Austria
Battles involving Denmark
Battles involving France
Slovakia under Habsburg rule
1703 in the Habsburg monarchy
18th century in Hungary
Conflicts in 1703
Zvolen
Rákóczi's War of Independence