Battle of Tarcal

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Battle of Tarcal
Part of the Hungarian campaign of 1527–1528
Date27 September 1527
Location
Tarcal, near Tokaj, in Hungary
Result Habsburg victory
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
Strength
7,000–8,000 18,000
Casualties and losses
5,000 Minimal

The Battle of Tarcal or Battle of Tokaj (Hungarian: Tarcali csata) was fought on 27 September 1527 near Tokaj between the Habsburg-German-Hungarian forces of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and an opposing Hungarian army under the command of John Zápolya. Ferdinand defeated Zápolya.

Background

In 1526, King

Louis II of Hungary was killed at the Battle of Mohács. The Hungarian Diet elected Zápolya as their new king. Archduke (and future Holy Roman Emperor) Ferdinand also claimed the crown, and was elected by a rump Diet. This conflict resulted in war between the rivals. In 1527, Ferdinand invaded Hungary and captured Buda
while Zápolya was distracted by a peasant uprising. Zápolya quickly turned to meet Ferdinand, but could only bring limited forces to the field.

The battle

Zápolya's army numbered around 7,000-8,000 men, drawn mainly from eastern Hungary, Transylvania, and Serbia. Ferdinand's army numbered 18,000 men, mostly German mercenaries, but also some of his western Hungarian supporters. 6,000 were under the command of Niklas Graf Salm and Bálint Török. On 26 September Zápolya encamped near Tokaj. Ferdinand's forces engaged with, and defeated a small Zápolya contingent in a skirmish near Sajólád.

On 27 September, Zápolya attacked Ferdinand's main force, bringing on a full-scale battle. Ferdinand's left-flank troops (from Styria) overwhelmed the Serbian troops of Zápolya's right wing, while German and Austrian mercenaries swept through Zápolya's cavalry. Ferdinand's Hungarian hussars then broke through Zápolya's center, seized his camp, and drove his remaining soldiers to the river Tisza.

Aftermath

According to a report, estimated by

Tasnád by Transvlvanian forces and Székelys. Aided by Sigismund I the Old, he raised a new army then marching toward Buda to again engage Ferdinand.[1] At the Battle of Szina Ferdinand once again defeated Zápolya, who fled to the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland.[citation needed] Zápolya allied with the Ottoman sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent; after two failed assaults on Vienna in 1529 and 1533, Ferdinand signed a peace treaty delineating his western domain and Zápolya's eastern one.[2]

References

Sources