The Battle of Humenné ( Hungarian: ''Homonnai csata'',

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

: ''bitwa pod Humiennem'' or ''pierwsza odsiecz wiedeńska'') took place on 22–23 November 1619 near

Humenné Humenné (; hu, Homonna; ukr, Гуменне) is a town in the Prešov Region ("kraj") in eastern Slovakia and the second largest town of the historic Zemplín region. It lies at the volcanic Vihorlat mountains and at the confluence of the ...

(eastern

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), 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 s ...

) during the first period of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

between the

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

n army and the joined loyalist Hungarian and

forces of

Lisowczycy Lisowczyks or Lisowczycy (; also known as ''Straceńcy'' ('lost men' or ' forlorn hope') or (company of ); or in singular form: Lisowczyk or ) was the name of an early 17th-century irregular unit of the Polish–Lithuanian light cavalry. The Li ...

. It was the only battle of that war to involve the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

. The battle was won by the Polish cavalry led by Walenty Rogawski against the Transylvanian corps commanded by George Rákóczi, the future

Prince of Transylvania The Prince of Transylvania ( hu, erdélyi fejedelem, german: Fürst von Siebenbürgen, la, princeps Transsylvaniae, ro, principele TransilvanieiFallenbüchl 1988, p. 77.) was the head of state of the Principality of Transylvania from the last d ...

Prelude

A lot of nations of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

saw the Thirty Years' War as a perfect opportunity to (re)gain their independencies. One of them was

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

led by

Gábor Bethlen Gabriel Bethlen ( hu, Bethlen Gábor; 15 November 1580 – 15 November 1629) was Prince of Transylvania from 1613 to 1629 and Duke of Opole from 1622 to 1625. He was also King-elect of Hungary from 1620 to 1621, but he never took control of ...

, Prince of Transylvania. He joined Bohemia in the anti-Habsburg

Protestant Union The Protestant Union (german: Protestantische Union), also known as the Evangelical Union, Union of Auhausen, German Union or the Protestant Action Party, was a coalition of Protestant German states. It was formed on 14 May 1608 by Frederick I ...

. In a short period of time, he conquered northern Hungary and Bratislava, and in November he started a siege of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

- the capital city of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and the Holy Roman Empire. The situation of

Emperor Ferdinand II Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria and Maria of Bavaria. His parents were de ...

was dramatic. The emperor sent a letter to

Sigismund III of Poland Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 t ...

, and asked him to cut the supply lines of Bethlen from Transylvania. He also sent , count of Homonna - former rival of Bethlen, now

Lord Chief Justice Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

of Royal Hungary - to Poland, to hire forces for the Habsburgs. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth did not want to participate in the war, so it remained neutral. But the king being a strong sympathizer of the Catholic League and the Habsburgs, decided to help the emperor. Though he didn't want to send forces directly, he allowed Drugeth to hire mercenaries in Poland. Drugeth hired around 8,000 Lisowczycy led by Rogawski, who joined his own 3,000 men. The joined army included around 11,000 soldiers, but this number is disputed.

Battle

The Lisowczycy faced George Rákóczi's corps near

in the Carpathian Mountains in the evening on 22 November. Walenty Rogawski did not manage to hold the cavalry together and it split up. Next day, on 23 November, Rákóczi decided to send his infantry in order to pillage the enemy's camp. While it was doing so, Rogawski finally gathered his troops and unexpectedly attacked the Transylvanians. In a short time, Rákóczi had to announce a retreat. The battle was won by the Polish.

Aftermath

When Bethlen found out about Rákóczi's defeat, he had to break the siege, gather his soldiers and return to Bratislava, and sent about 12,000 cavalry to northern Hungary led by George Széchy, in order to secure it against the Lisowczycy. Ferdinand II made him sign a

cease-fire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

and on 16 January 1620 they signed a

peace treaty A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...

in Pozsony (now Bratislava). The battle of Humenné was an important part of the war as the Polish intervention saved Vienna - the capital city of the Holy Roman Empire - from Transylvania. That is why some Polish sources call it the ''first Vienna relief'' - the second being the famous Battle of Vienna in 1683.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Humenne 1619 in Europe Conflicts in 1619 Hummene Hummene Hummene Humenné History of the Prešov Region

Prelude

Battle

Aftermath

See also

References

Sources