Szász Móric 1552. évi magyarországi hadjárata és győri táborozása

Kanász, Viktor (2023) Szász Móric 1552. évi magyarországi hadjárata és győri táborozása. ARRABONA, 61. pp. 61-90. ISSN 0571-1304

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Abstract

After having made peace with Emperor Charles V and King Ferdinand I, Prince Maurice of Saxony led a campaign of 11–15,000 soldiers against the Ottoman Empire in Hungary in the autumn of 1552, now as an ally of the Habsburgs. It happened just as the Ottoman armies were about to begin the siege of Eger after their major victories (e.g., the capture of Temesvár-Timisoara, Veszprém, Szolnok, Drégely, among others). Despite this, Maurice did not set out to liberate Eger but camped below Győr, began to fortify the city and led small and large diversionary attacks and raids in the Transdanubian region. For all these reasons, Maurice’s campaign was painted negatively by his contemporaries and the Hungarian historical consciousness. In addition, Ferdinand I was also blamed for not coming personally to the Hungarian theatre of war and for not leading the Christian troops. All this has been interpreted as a sign that the fate of his kingdom and the outcome of the war against the Ottomans in Hungary was irrelevant to the Hungarian king. Contemporary sources, on the other hand, paint a very different picture. Therefore, this study seeks to answer whether Maurice’s campaign in Hungary and his encampment in Győr – a little-known military event of 1552 – was, in fact, in vain. What was the prince, who had recently fought a bloody war with Emperor Charles V and King Ferdinand I of Hungary, doing in Győr? In what way did Ferdinand I try to persuade the prince to launch the campaign? What was this campaign’s political and diplomatic value, and what did the diplomats and decision-makers at the European courts know about it? What did the royal court and the prince think of the venture, and did the army have any contact with the Ottoman armies? Did the expedition play any short- or long-term role in the Ottoman wars? Last but not least, why did not King Ferdinand I or his son Archduke Maximilian lead the Christian troops? In addition to answering these questions, this study will also present the exact course of Maurice of Saxony’s campaign, the military events that could be outlined in its course, and the news of these events. In doing so, it is not forgotten that Hungary’s military, diplomatic and political developments in 1552 can only be understood in the broader pan-European context.

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