The Battle of Párkány () was fought between October 7–9, 1683 in the town of Párkány (today:

Štúrovo Štúrovo (, ) is the southernmost town of Slovakia, situated on the river Danube not far from the mouth of the Hron. Connected by the Mária Valéria Bridge it forms a cross-border urban area with the city of Esztergom in Hungary. In 2023 the tow ...

), in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, and the area surrounding it as part of the Polish-Ottoman War and the

Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War () or The Last Crusade, also called in Ottoman sources The Disaster Years (), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League (1684), Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lith ...

. The battle was fought in two stages. In the first stage Polish troops under

John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...

were defeated by the Ottoman army under Kara Mehmed Pasha on October 7, 1683. In the second stage Sobieski, supported by

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

forces under

Charles V, Duke of Lorraine Charles V, Duke of Lorraine and Bar (; ; 3 April 1643 – 18 April 1690) succeeded his uncle Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine as titular Duke of Lorraine and Bar in 1675; both duchies were occupied by France from 1634 to 1661 and 1670 to 1697. Bo ...

, defeated the Ottoman forces, which were supported by the troops of

Imre Thököly Imre () is a Hungarian masculine first name, which is also in Estonian use, where the corresponding name day is 10 April. It has been suggested that it relates to the name Emeric, Emmerich or Heinrich. Its English equivalents are Emery and He ...

, and gained control of Párkány on October 9, 1683. After the Ottoman defeat, the Austrians would besiege

Esztergom Esztergom (; ; or ; , known by Names of European cities in different languages: E–H#E, alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the righ ...

and captured it at the end of 1683.

Prelude to battle

On May 1, 1683, the Ottoman Empire attacked 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 ...

and besieged Vienna on July 14, 1683. On September 6 the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

army under

arrived in

Tulln Tulln an der Donau () is a historic town in the Austrian state of Lower Austria, the administrative seat of Tulln District. Because of its abundance of parks and gardens, Tulln is often referred to as ''Blumenstadt'' ("City of Flowers"), and "The ...

and united with Imperial forces and additional troops from

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

and

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

who had answered the call for a Holy League that was supported by

Pope Innocent XI Pope Innocent XI (; ; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 until his death on 12 August 1689. Political and religious tensions with ...

. The Ottoman army, totaling around 150,000 men under

Kara Mustafa Pasha Kara Mustafa Pasha (; ; "Mustafa Pasha the Courageous"; 1634/1635 – 25 December 1683) was an Ottoman nobleman, military figure and Grand Vizier, who was a central character in the Ottoman Empire's last attempts at expansion into both Centr ...

, was defeated on September 11, 1683. The main part of the Ottoman forces retreated to the Balkans. A part of the Ottoman army under Kara Mehmed Pasha encamped in Párkány, Hungary, where they were supported by

, a local ruler. Polish forces under Sobieski followed the Ottoman troops to Párkány to destroy them as they retreated.

Battle

First stage

On October 6, 1683, the Polish army reached the environs of Párkány. The army commanders advised caution, suggesting the advanced guards should rest for a day. Instead, Sobieski decided to surprise the Ottoman army by attacking it with his cavalry. On October 7, 1683, a Polish force of around 5,000 under Sobieski advanced in a rather disorganized manner towards the Ottoman positions. A Polish

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

regiment under Stefan Bidziński was leading the advance. Suddenly a mass of Ottoman cavalry surged forward to attack them. The dragoon regiment was caught completely by surprise—it did not even have the match-cords of its muskets lit—and was quickly overwhelmed. The surviving dragoons fled back in panic into Sobieski's main force, closely followed by the Turkish horse, and forced the Poles to beat a hasty retreat to the safety of the Imperial army, which was following several kilometers behind. The Polish army lost around 1,000 soldiers; only the intervention of the Imperial cavalry prevented the Ottoman troops from causing far heavier losses.

Second stage of battle

On October 8, 1683, Imperial reinforcements totaling 16,700 troops under

joined the Polish army. After defeating the Polish cavalry, Kara Mehmed Pasha was sent 8,000 elite cavalrymen by Kara Mustafa Pasha. The troops of Imre Thököly were waiting for attack orders on the outskirts of Párkány. On October 9, 1683, the Imperial Army formed three lines. In the center of the lines were positioned 7,600 infantrymen under

Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg Count Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg (12 January 1638 – 4 January 1701) was military governor of Vienna from 1680, the city's defender during the Battle of Vienna in 1683, Holy Roman Empire, Imperial general during the Great Turkish War, an ...

. The Polish army was positioned on the wings. Sobieski led the right wing and

Stanisław Jan Jabłonowski Prince Stanisław Jan Jabłonowski (1634–1702) was a Polish nobleman, magnate, Grand Guardian of the Crown since 1660, the Grand Camp Leader of the Crown since 1661, voivode of the Ruthenian Voivodship since 1664, Field Crown Hetman si ...

the left On the right side of the lines 4,500 German cavalry under

Ludwig Wilhelm, Margrave of Baden-Baden Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden (; 8 April 1655 – 4 January 1707) was the ruling Margrave of Baden-Baden in Germany, chief commander of the Imperial army and Reichsgeneralfeldmarschall of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also known as ''T� ...

were positioned. On the left side of the lines 4,500 cavalry were positioned under Johann von Dünewald. The Ottoman forces attacked the first line of the Imperial army unsuccessfully and were flanked by the Polish cavalry. The Ottoman forces were defeated and lost about 9,000 men during the battle.

Aftermath

After defeating the Ottomans in Párkány, the imperial forces continued their march and inflicted several more defeats on the Ottomans, while gaining control of Ottoman territories in Hungary. Kara Mustafa Pasha was executed by the sultan for failing to defend the Hungarian territories of the

Legacy

The Turkish writer Safiye Erol (1902-1964) created the novel ''Ciğerdelen'' in 1946. The events in ''Ciğerdelen'' are related to the battle.Özer, Hanife. Ciğerdelen romanında metinler arası ilişkiler.
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Parkany Parkany Parkany Ottoman period in Hungary Ottoman period in Slovakia Párkány Parkany 1683 in Europe Párkány 1683 in the Ottoman Empire 1683 in the Habsburg monarchy Battles involving the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Battles of the Polish–Ottoman War (1683–1699)