Battle of Saint Gotthard
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Saint Gotthard was fought on August 1, 1664 as part of the Austro-Turkish War (1663-1664), between an Habsburg
army led by Raimondo Montecuccoli
, Jean de Coligny-Saligny
, Wolfgang Julius von Hohenlohe, Prince Leopold of Baden, Georg Friedrich of Waldeck
and an Ottoman
army under the command of Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed
.
The battle took place near Szentgotthárd
and Mogersdorf
in Western Hungary
, near the present-day Austro-Hungarian border and is known as the Battle of Mogersdorf in Austria. The Turks were militarily defeated but were able to negotiate the Peace of Vasvár
, which was highly favorable to them.
in 1526, which resulted in the conquest of most of Hungary by Suleiman the Magnificent
. Meanwhile, the parts of Hungary that remained under Austrian control became known as Royal Hungary
. Although the Ottomans had been in relative decline since the death of Suleiman I, Ottoman power saw a resurgence under the extremely capable Köprülü family who sought to destroy the Austrian Habsburgs once and for all. They found their casus belli
when the Habsburgs supported a Transylvanian rebellion against Ottoman rule.
Transylvania
had escaped Ottoman conquest during the invasion of Hungary and retained its independence by playing off of their powerful neighbors: Poland
, Austria and the Ottomans. They recognized Ottoman suzerainty and paid a tribute to the Porte but were given political and religious autonomy in return. In 1658, seeking new land for his principality, Prince George Rákóczy II
invaded Poland with his Swedish
allies in the Second Northern War
. After initial success, he was defeated by the Poles and fled back to Transylvania. On hearing about Rákóczy's unauthorized war, the Ottomans declared war on their vassal. It was not long before Grand Vizier
Köprülü Mehmed Pasha
(Vizier 1656-1661) defeated Rákóczy and conquered Transylvania. The new Transylvanian prince, János Kemény
, fled to Vienna, seeking Austrian support.
Emperor Leopold I
, not wishing to see Transylvania fall under direct Ottoman control, sent Montecuccoli into Hungary with his small army. Montecuccoli gave no direct support as he was severely outnumbered by the Ottomans. The Ottomans, meanwhile, completed the conquest of Transylvania and built up their forces in Ottoman Hungary. Leopold I, not wishing to face the Turks alone, summoned the Imperial Diet
in January 1663.
The Turks failed to conquer the fortress of Nové Zámky
six times, but managed to do so in 1663. It was made the center of an Ottoman province, the Uyvar eyalet
in present-day southern Slovakia
. Turks and Tatars crossed the Danube in strength in 1663, ravaging Slovakia, Moravia
, and Silesia
. They took 12,000 slaves in Moravia. Several Turkish divisions reached as far as Olomouc
.
, he had to rely on his Protestant German princes to provide military aid. Even worse was the military aid from France
, which was (and continued to be until the Diplomatic Revolution
of 1756) Austria's arch-nemesis. Despite numerous objections from some Protestant princes, help was not withheld. The League of the Rhine
- a French dominated group of German princes - agreed to send a corps of 6,000 men independently commanded by Count Coligny of France and Prince Johann Philipp of Mainz
. By September 1663, Brandenburg
and Saxony
had also agreed to contingents of their own. In January 1664, the Imperial Diet agreed to raise 21,000 men, although this army did not yet exist other than on paper. The Turks had declared war in April 1663, but were slow in executing their invasion plans.
and sipahi
s, 60-90,000 azap
s, akıncı
s, silidars, tatars
and vassal
s and allegedly 360 gun.
Montecuccoli's army consisted of Austrian, and German forces, Czech infantry, French brigades, approx. 2,000 Croatians, a Piedmont
ish regiment and few hundred Hungarians.
The Habsburg forces: 5,000 infantry (10 Battalions), 5,900 cavalry (27 escadrons), 10 guns
The Holy Roman forces: 6,200 infantry (6 Battalions), 1,200 cavalry (9 escadrons), 14 guns
The Rhine forces: 600 infantry (2 Battalions), 300 cavalry (4 escadrons)
The French forces: 3,500 infantry (4 Battalions), 1,750 cavalry (10 escadrons)
Other forces: 2,000 Croat cavalry (out of this a regiment), Hungarian foot soldiers in Szentgotthárd
, and Esterházy, Batthyány and Nádasdy regiment's, Czech musketeer
s and the Italian (Piedmontish) infantry regiment (commander Marchese Pio de Savoya
).
The Turks renewed their invasion in the spring of 1664. Montecuccoli was still waiting for help to arrive, and this delay was key to the defense of Austria. In July 1664 the Imperial forces were assembled and set out for the River Rába
, which separated the Ottoman forces from the Austrian duchy itself. If the Turks were allowed to cross, they would threaten both Vienna and Graz
. Montecuccoli intercepted the Turks before they crossed the river but the division of command made effective deployment of troops impossible. On 1 August 1664, Ottoman forces crossed the river near the monastery of Saint Gotthar
d and beat the Austrians back. Although initially plagued by disunity, Montecuccoli was finally able to convince Coligny and Leopold Wilhelm of Baden-Baden (commander of the Imperial detachment) to mass their forces and attack the Ottoman troops, who were reorganizing in a nearby forest. The attack surprised the Turks, who fled in confusion back to the river, a large number drowning. The confusion caused by the fleeing troops prevented Ahmed Köprülü (Vizier 1661-1676) from sending the rest of his army across the river and he instead retired from the field.
Ottoman casualties were heavy, significantly falling mostly on the elite corps of the army. Köprülü was left with an army of ill-trained irregulars and auxiliaries while Montecuccoli's casualties were light and mostly in the Imperial contingent. Despite the victory, the Austrians were still outnumbered nearly three to one.
In his work The Ottoman Centuries, Lord Kinross reported that the Turks took huge casualties from the French auxiliaries in the Austrian ranks. This was the first Ottoman experience at fighting soldiers using the musket in disciplined ranks. But the Turks, in their conservatism, were slow to adopt new economic, military, and social methods, and thus were becoming at this time gradually outclassed by their European opponents.
and Magyar nobility, expected the Austrians to finally liberate Hungary once and for all, Leopold abandoned the campaign. Many have criticized him for this decision (both in the past and the present). Although Montecuccoli's army was largely intact, there was no interest among the allies to liberate Hungary. Any invasion of Hungary would undoubtedly have to be done without the help of the French and German troops. Leopold noticed that the French officers had begun to fraternize with the Magyar nobles and encouraged them to rebel against Austrian rule.
In addition, Leopold had always been a member of the "Spanish faction" in Vienna. With the last Spanish Habsburg
, Carlos II
, about to die at any given moment, Leopold wanted to ensure that his hands were free for the inevitable struggle against Louis XIV of France
. Although the liberation of Hungary was a strategic interest of the Habsburgs, it would have to wait until later. Throughout his reign, Leopold had always been more interested in the struggle against France rather than the Ottomans. Therefore, he signed the humiliating Peace of Vasvár
, which did not take into account the Battle of Saint Gotthard. The Battle of Saint Gotthard is still significant, however, for it stopped any Ottoman invasion of Austria, which certainly would have prolonged the war and led to an even more disastrous resolution. The Austrians would also use the twenty-year truce to build up their forces and begin the liberation of Hungary in 1683.
with the inspiration to his poetic short story, Lay of the Love and Death of Cornet Christopher Rilke which was very popular among German and Austrian soldiers during the first half of the 20th century.
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
army led by Raimondo Montecuccoli
Raimondo Montecuccoli
Raimondo, Count of Montecúccoli or Montecucculi was an Italian military general who also served as general for the Austrians, and was also a prince of the Holy Roman Empire and Neapolitan Duke of Melfi....
, Jean de Coligny-Saligny
Jean de Coligny-Saligny
Jean de Coligny-Saligny, was a French noble and army commander, best known for his part in the victory in the Battle of Saint Gotthard ....
, Wolfgang Julius von Hohenlohe, Prince Leopold of Baden, Georg Friedrich of Waldeck
Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck
Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck was a German and Dutch Field Marshal .In 1641, Waldeck entered the service of the States-General of the Netherlands; later in 1651, in the service of Brandenburg, he reached the highest rank as minister...
and an Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
army under the command of Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed
Köprülü Fazil Ahmed
Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha Was a member of the renowned Köprülü family originated from Albania, that had given three grand viziers to the Ottoman Empire. He served as a Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from...
.
The battle took place near Szentgotthárd
Szentgotthárd
Szentgotthárd is the westernmost town of Hungary. It is situated on the Rába River near the Austrian border, and is home to much of Hungary's small Slovene ethnic minority....
and Mogersdorf
Mogersdorf
Mogersdorf is a town in the district of Jennersdorf in Burgenland in Austria.Mogersdorf has a famous place in Austrian history because it was here that Raimondo Montecuccoli annihilated a 60,000/90,000-strong army of the Ottoman Empire in 1664 upon its attempt to cross the Raab river westwards...
in Western Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
, near the present-day Austro-Hungarian border and is known as the Battle of Mogersdorf in Austria. The Turks were militarily defeated but were able to negotiate the Peace of Vasvár
Peace of Vasvár
The Peace of Vasvár was a treaty between the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire which followed the Battle of Saint Gotthard of August 1, 1664, and concluded the Austro-Turkish War...
, which was highly favorable to them.
Preparations
Ottoman dominance in Hungary began with the Battle of MohácsBattle of Mohács
The Battle of Mohács was fought on August 29, 1526 near Mohács, Hungary. In the battle, forces of the Kingdom of Hungary led by King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia were defeated by forces of the Ottoman Empire led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent....
in 1526, which resulted in the conquest of most of Hungary by Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and in the East, as "The Lawgiver" , for his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system...
. Meanwhile, the parts of Hungary that remained under Austrian control became known as Royal Hungary
Royal Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary between 1538 and 1867 was part of the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, while outside the Holy Roman Empire.After Battle of Mohács, the country was ruled by two crowned kings . They divided the kingdom in 1538...
. Although the Ottomans had been in relative decline since the death of Suleiman I, Ottoman power saw a resurgence under the extremely capable Köprülü family who sought to destroy the Austrian Habsburgs once and for all. They found their casus belli
Casus belli
is a Latin expression meaning the justification for acts of war. means "incident", "rupture" or indeed "case", while means bellic...
when the Habsburgs supported a Transylvanian rebellion against Ottoman rule.
Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
had escaped Ottoman conquest during the invasion of Hungary and retained its independence by playing off of their powerful neighbors: Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Austria and the Ottomans. They recognized Ottoman suzerainty and paid a tribute to the Porte but were given political and religious autonomy in return. In 1658, seeking new land for his principality, Prince George Rákóczy II
George II Rákóczi
György Rákóczi II , a Transylvanian Hungarian ruler, was the eldest son of George I and Susanna Lorantffy....
invaded Poland with his Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
allies in the Second Northern War
Northern Wars
Northern Wars is a term used for a series of wars fought in northern and northeastern Europe in the 16th and 17th century. An internationally agreed nomenclature for these wars has not yet been devised...
. After initial success, he was defeated by the Poles and fled back to Transylvania. On hearing about Rákóczy's unauthorized war, the Ottomans declared war on their vassal. It was not long before Grand Vizier
Grand Vizier
Grand Vizier, in Turkish Vezir-i Azam or Sadr-ı Azam , deriving from the Arabic word vizier , was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself...
Köprülü Mehmed Pasha
Köprülü Mehmed Pasha
Köprülü Mehmed Pasha , was the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1656 until his death. He was the first leader and founder of the Albanian Köprülü noble dynasty/family.- Life :He was recruited as a part of the devshirmeh system and was trained in the palace school...
(Vizier 1656-1661) defeated Rákóczy and conquered Transylvania. The new Transylvanian prince, János Kemény
John Kemény (Prince)
János Kemény was a Hungarian aristocrat, writer and prince of Transylvania....
, fled to Vienna, seeking Austrian support.
Emperor Leopold I
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
, not wishing to see Transylvania fall under direct Ottoman control, sent Montecuccoli into Hungary with his small army. Montecuccoli gave no direct support as he was severely outnumbered by the Ottomans. The Ottomans, meanwhile, completed the conquest of Transylvania and built up their forces in Ottoman Hungary. Leopold I, not wishing to face the Turks alone, summoned the Imperial Diet
Diet (assembly)
In politics, a diet is a formal deliberative assembly. The term is mainly used historically for the Imperial Diet, the general assembly of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire, and for the legislative bodies of certain countries.-Etymology:...
in January 1663.
The Turks failed to conquer the fortress of Nové Zámky
Nové Zámky
Nové Zámky is a town in southwestern Slovakia.-Geography:The town is located on the Danubian Lowland, on the Nitra River, at an altitude of 119 metres. It is located around 100 km from Bratislava and around 25 km from the Hungarian border. It is a road and railway hub of southern...
six times, but managed to do so in 1663. It was made the center of an Ottoman province, the Uyvar eyalet
Uyvar Eyalet
Uyvar Eyalet was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire.It was established during the reign of Mehmed IV. In 1663 the Ottoman expeditionary force led by Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed defeated the Austrian garrison of the city of Uyvar and conquered the region. The Peace of Vasvár recognised Ottoman control over...
in present-day southern Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
. Turks and Tatars crossed the Danube in strength in 1663, ravaging Slovakia, Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
, and Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
. They took 12,000 slaves in Moravia. Several Turkish divisions reached as far as Olomouc
Olomouc
Olomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...
.
Diplomatic efforts
The Austrian victory was achieved more due to diplomatic efforts than military power. Although Leopold personally objected to ProtestantismProtestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
, he had to rely on his Protestant German princes to provide military aid. Even worse was the military aid from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, which was (and continued to be until the Diplomatic Revolution
Diplomatic Revolution
The Diplomatic Revolution of 1756 is a term applied to the reversal of longstanding diplomatic alliances which were upheld until the War of the Austrian Succession and then reversed in the Seven Years' War; the shift has also been known as "the great change of partners"...
of 1756) Austria's arch-nemesis. Despite numerous objections from some Protestant princes, help was not withheld. The League of the Rhine
League of the Rhine
The League of the Rhine was a defensive union of more than 50 German princes and their cities along the River Rhine, formed in 14 August 1658 by Louis XIV of France and negotiated by Cardinal Mazarin , Hugues de Lionne and Johann...
- a French dominated group of German princes - agreed to send a corps of 6,000 men independently commanded by Count Coligny of France and Prince Johann Philipp of Mainz
Johann Philipp von Schönborn
Johann Philipp von Schönborn was the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz from 1647 until 1673, the Bishop of Würzburg from 1642 until 1673, and the Bishop of Worms from 1663 until 1673....
. By September 1663, Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
and Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
had also agreed to contingents of their own. In January 1664, the Imperial Diet agreed to raise 21,000 men, although this army did not yet exist other than on paper. The Turks had declared war in April 1663, but were slow in executing their invasion plans.
Battle
Köprülü's army, which might have numbered 120-150,000, probably included some 60,000 JanissariesJanissary
The Janissaries were infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops and bodyguards...
and sipahi
Sipahi
Sipahi was the name of several Ottoman cavalry corps...
s, 60-90,000 azap
Azap
Azabs were irregular light infantry of the Ottoman Army.The Azaps were also known as "the bachelors", they were volunteers who were paid only during campaigns and had the freedom to leave the army whenever they wanted. The Azaps were initially only Anatolian Turks, though by the late 16th century...
s, akıncı
Akinci
Akıncı were irregular light cavalry,scout divisions and advance troops of the Ottoman Empire's military. When the pre-existing Turkish ghazis were incorporated into the Ottoman Empire's military they became known as "akıncı." They were one of the first divisions to face the opposing military and...
s, silidars, tatars
Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
and vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
s and allegedly 360 gun.
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
ish regiment and few hundred Hungarians.
The Habsburg forces: 5,000 infantry (10 Battalions), 5,900 cavalry (27 escadrons), 10 guns
The Holy Roman forces: 6,200 infantry (6 Battalions), 1,200 cavalry (9 escadrons), 14 guns
The Rhine forces: 600 infantry (2 Battalions), 300 cavalry (4 escadrons)
The French forces: 3,500 infantry (4 Battalions), 1,750 cavalry (10 escadrons)
Other forces: 2,000 Croat cavalry (out of this a regiment), Hungarian foot soldiers in Szentgotthárd
Szentgotthárd
Szentgotthárd is the westernmost town of Hungary. It is situated on the Rába River near the Austrian border, and is home to much of Hungary's small Slovene ethnic minority....
, and Esterházy, Batthyány and Nádasdy regiment's, Czech musketeer
Musketeer
A musketeer was an early modern type of infantry soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern armies, particularly in Europe. They sometimes could fight on horseback, like a dragoon or a cavalryman...
s and the Italian (Piedmontish) infantry regiment (commander Marchese Pio de Savoya
Francesco Pio de Savoya
Francesco Pio de Savoya y de Moura was a Spanish nobleman who held numerous hereditary and awarded titles.-Life:Francesco was born in 1672 to Gilberto Pio de Savoya, who died when he was just four years old. The young Francesco therefore became the 4th Duke of Nocera, 2nd Principe di San Gregorio...
).
The Turks renewed their invasion in the spring of 1664. Montecuccoli was still waiting for help to arrive, and this delay was key to the defense of Austria. In July 1664 the Imperial forces were assembled and set out for the River Rába
Rába
The Rába is a river in southeastern Austria and western Hungary and a right tributary of the Danube. Its source is in Austria, some kilometres east of Bruck an der Mur below Heubodenhöhe Hill. It flows through the Austrian states of Styria and Burgenland, and the Hungarian counties of Vas and...
, which separated the Ottoman forces from the Austrian duchy itself. If the Turks were allowed to cross, they would threaten both Vienna and Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
. Montecuccoli intercepted the Turks before they crossed the river but the division of command made effective deployment of troops impossible. On 1 August 1664, Ottoman forces crossed the river near the monastery of Saint Gotthar
Gotthard of Hildesheim
Saint Gotthard , also known as Gothard or Godehard the Bishop, is a Roman Catholic saint.-Life:...
d and beat the Austrians back. Although initially plagued by disunity, Montecuccoli was finally able to convince Coligny and Leopold Wilhelm of Baden-Baden (commander of the Imperial detachment) to mass their forces and attack the Ottoman troops, who were reorganizing in a nearby forest. The attack surprised the Turks, who fled in confusion back to the river, a large number drowning. The confusion caused by the fleeing troops prevented Ahmed Köprülü (Vizier 1661-1676) from sending the rest of his army across the river and he instead retired from the field.
Ottoman casualties were heavy, significantly falling mostly on the elite corps of the army. Köprülü was left with an army of ill-trained irregulars and auxiliaries while Montecuccoli's casualties were light and mostly in the Imperial contingent. Despite the victory, the Austrians were still outnumbered nearly three to one.
In his work The Ottoman Centuries, Lord Kinross reported that the Turks took huge casualties from the French auxiliaries in the Austrian ranks. This was the first Ottoman experience at fighting soldiers using the musket in disciplined ranks. But the Turks, in their conservatism, were slow to adopt new economic, military, and social methods, and thus were becoming at this time gradually outclassed by their European opponents.
Aftermath
Although many in Europe, especially the CroatsCroats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
and Magyar nobility, expected the Austrians to finally liberate Hungary once and for all, Leopold abandoned the campaign. Many have criticized him for this decision (both in the past and the present). Although Montecuccoli's army was largely intact, there was no interest among the allies to liberate Hungary. Any invasion of Hungary would undoubtedly have to be done without the help of the French and German troops. Leopold noticed that the French officers had begun to fraternize with the Magyar nobles and encouraged them to rebel against Austrian rule.
In addition, Leopold had always been a member of the "Spanish faction" in Vienna. With the last Spanish Habsburg
Habsburg Spain
Habsburg Spain refers to the history of Spain over the 16th and 17th centuries , when Spain was ruled by the major branch of the Habsburg dynasty...
, Carlos II
Charles II of Spain
Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain and the ruler of large parts of Italy, the Spanish territories in the Southern Low Countries, and Spain's overseas Empire, stretching from the Americas to the Spanish East Indies...
, about to die at any given moment, Leopold wanted to ensure that his hands were free for the inevitable struggle against Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
. Although the liberation of Hungary was a strategic interest of the Habsburgs, it would have to wait until later. Throughout his reign, Leopold had always been more interested in the struggle against France rather than the Ottomans. Therefore, he signed the humiliating Peace of Vasvár
Peace of Vasvár
The Peace of Vasvár was a treaty between the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire which followed the Battle of Saint Gotthard of August 1, 1664, and concluded the Austro-Turkish War...
, which did not take into account the Battle of Saint Gotthard. The Battle of Saint Gotthard is still significant, however, for it stopped any Ottoman invasion of Austria, which certainly would have prolonged the war and led to an even more disastrous resolution. The Austrians would also use the twenty-year truce to build up their forces and begin the liberation of Hungary in 1683.
In literature
The battle of Mogersdorf/Szentgotthárd provided Rainer Maria RilkeRainer Maria Rilke
René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke , better known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was a Bohemian–Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most significant poets in the German language...
with the inspiration to his poetic short story, Lay of the Love and Death of Cornet Christopher Rilke which was very popular among German and Austrian soldiers during the first half of the 20th century.