''This page is partially a translation of the French version'' The siege of Léva was fought on 19 July 1664 as part of the

Austro-Turkish War (1663–1664) The Austro-Turkish War (1663–1664) or fourth Austro-Turkish War was a short war between the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman aim was to resume the advance in central Europe, conquer Vienna and subdue Austria. The Ottoman ...

, between a

Habsburg 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 ...

army led by

Jean-Louis Raduit de Souches Jean-Louis Raduit de Souches (16 August 1608 to 12 August 1682), was a French-born professional soldier, who served in the Swedish and Imperial armies. A capable officer who reached the rank of Field Marshal, his career was marred by a tendenc ...

and an Ottoman army under the command of Ali Pasha. The battle took place near

Léva Levice (; , Hungarian pronunciation: ; ) 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". The town is located in the north-eastern ...

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

(present-day

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 ...

) and was a Habsburg victory.

Battle

At the beginning of 1664, the Imperial Army was divided into three corps: In the south 17.000 Hungarian-Croatian troops under command of

Miklós Zrínyi Miklós Zrínyi (, ; 5 January 1620 – 18 November 1664) was a Croatian and Hungarian military leader, statesman and poet. He was a member of the House of Zrinski, a Croatian- Hungarian noble family. Full e-text available at He is the a ...

. In the center the main army of

Raimondo Montecuccoli Raimondo Montecuccoli (; 21 February 1609 – 16 October 1680) was an Italian-born professional soldier, military theorist, and diplomat, who served the Habsburg monarchy. Experiencing the Thirty Years' War from scratch as a simple footsoldier, ...

of 28,500 men, which had to stop the 100,000-man-strong army of

Grand vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed. The third corps were the 8,500 men under general Louis Raduit de Souches in the North. Souches' army first conquered

Nyitra Nitra (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of about 78,353, it is the fi ...

on 3 May and then defeated the Ottomans under Mehmet Küçük on 16 May near Zsarnóca (Scharnowitz). Battle of - schlacht von leva - levice

An Ottoman relief army under Ali Pasha was sent from

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

to halt the imperial army near Léva. But this Ottoman army, composed mainly of irregular troops, was no match for the well-organized imperial battalions of musketeers, protected by their

phalanx The phalanx (: phalanxes or phalanges) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar polearms tightly packed together. The term is particularly used t ...

pikemen A pike is a long thrusting spear formerly used in European warfare from the Late Middle Ages and most of the early modern period, and wielded by foot soldiers deployed in pike square formation, until it was largely replaced by bayonet-equipped ...

. At first, de Souches hid a part of his troops to provoke an Ottoman attack. When they walked into the trap and then discovered the rest of the enemy's army, the irregular Ottoman troops panicked and fled, leaving many dead and a rich booty of carts and weaponry on the battlefield, including eleven large artillery pieces. The commander, Ali Pacha, was killed during the rout. This victory was strategically important, especially with possibility of burning the bridge over the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

at Párkány (Gockern), thus isolating Upper Hungary from any further Turkish incursions. But eventually nothing came of it when, after even greater victory in the Battle of Saint Gotthard,

Emperor Leopold I Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; ; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia, and List of Bohemian monarchs, Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Rom ...

- to the outrage of Hungarian nobility - signed the unfavorable

Peace of Vasvár The Peace of Vasvár was a treaty between the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire which followed the Battle of Saint Gotthard of 1 August 1664 (near Mogersdorf, Burgenland), and concluded the Austro-Turkish War (1663–64). It held for abo ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leva, Battle Of Conflicts in 1664 1664 in the Habsburg monarchy Sieges involving Hungary Battles involving Austria Battles involving Hungary Battles of the Ottoman–Hungarian Wars Sieges involving the Ottoman Empire Military history of Hungary Slovakia under Habsburg rule Hungary under Habsburg rule Ottoman period in Hungary Battles of the Austro-Turkish War (1663–64) 1664 in the Ottoman Empire Sieges involving the Holy Roman Empire