The Battle of Humenné ( Hungarian: ''Homonnai csata'', Polish: ''bitwa pod Humiennem'' or ''pierwsza odsiecz wiedeńska'') took place on 22–23 November 1619 near

Humenné Humenné (; ; ) is a town in the Prešov Region ("kraj") in eastern Slovakia and the second largest town of the historic Zemplín region. It lies at the volcanic Vihorlat mountains and at the confluence of the Laborec and Cirocha Rivers. Na ...

(eastern

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

) during the first period of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

between the

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

n army and the joined loyalist Hungarian and Polish forces of Lisowczycy. It was the only battle of that war to involve the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. The battle was won by the Polish cavalry led by Walenty Rogawski against the Transylvanian corps commanded by George Rákóczi, the future

Prince of Transylvania The Prince of Transylvania (, , , Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 77.) was the head of state of the Principality of Transylvania from the late-16th century until the mid-18th century. John Sigismund Zápolya was the first to adopt the title in 1 ...

Prelude

A lot of nations of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

saw the Thirty Years' War as a perfect opportunity to (re)gain their independencies. One of them was

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...

led by Gábor Bethlen, Prince of Transylvania. He joined

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

in the anti-Habsburg

Protestant Union The Protestant Union (), also known as the Evangelical Union, Union of Auhausen, German Union or the Protestant Action Party, was a coalition of Protestant German states. It was formed on 14 May 1608 by Frederick IV, Elector Palatine in order t ...

. In a short period of time, he conquered northern Hungary and

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, and in November he started a siege of

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

- the capital city of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and the Holy Roman Empire. The situation of Emperor Ferdinand II was dramatic. The emperor sent a letter to Sigismund III of Poland, and asked him to cut the supply lines of Bethlen from Transylvania. He also sent , count of Homonna - former rival of Bethlen, now

Lord Chief Justice The Lord or Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales. Until 2005 the lord chief justice was the second-most senior judge of the English a ...

of Royal Hungary - to Poland, to hire forces for the Habsburgs. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth did not want to participate in the war, so it remained neutral. But the king being a strong sympathizer of the Catholic League and the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

, decided to help the emperor. Though he didn't want to send forces directly, he allowed Drugeth to hire mercenaries in Poland. Drugeth hired around 8,000 Lisowczycy led by Rogawski, who joined his own 3,000 men. The joined army included around 11,000 soldiers, but this number is disputed.

Battle

The Lisowczycy faced George Rákóczi's corps near

in the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

in the evening on 22 November. Walenty Rogawski did not manage to hold the cavalry together and it split up. Next day, on 23 November, Rákóczi decided to send his infantry in order to pillage the enemy's camp. While it was doing so, Rogawski finally gathered his troops and unexpectedly attacked the Transylvanians. In a short time, Rákóczi had to announce a retreat. The battle was won by the Polish.

Aftermath

When Bethlen found out about Rákóczi's defeat, he had to break the siege, gather his soldiers and return to Bratislava, and sent about 12,000 cavalry to northern Hungary led by George Széchy, in order to secure it against the Lisowczycy. Ferdinand II made him sign a cease-fire and on 16 January 1620 they signed a

peace treaty A peace treaty is an treaty, agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually country, countries or governments, which formally ends a declaration of war, state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an ag ...

in Pozsony (now Bratislava). The battle of Humenné was an important part of the war as the Polish intervention saved Vienna - the capital city of the Holy Roman Empire - from Transylvania. That is why some Polish sources call it the ''first Vienna relief'' - the second being the famous

Battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mountain near Vienna on 1683 after the city had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months. The battle was fought by the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarchy) and the Polish–Li ...

in 1683.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Humenné 1619 1619 in the Habsburg monarchy Conflicts in 1619 Battles of the Thirty Years' War involving the Holy Roman Empire Battles involving Hungary Battles involving the Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711) Battles involving the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Humenné History of the Prešov Region 1619 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 17th century in Slovakia 17th century in Hungary Military history of Slovakia

Prelude

Battle

Aftermath

See also

References

Sources