The First Battle of Novi Zrin ( Hungarian: Zrínyiújvár) was fought on August 13, 1663 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 the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

and the Kingdom of Croatia between troops commanded of Ban

Miklós Zrínyi Miklós Zrínyi ( hr, Nikola Zrinski, hu, Zrínyi Miklós; 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. ...

/ Nikola Zrinski and the Ottoman army. The battle took place near Zrínyiújvár/ Novi Zrin (Zrínyi/Zrinski's family's fortress) in present-day

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and resulted in Hungarian-Croatian victory.

Context

From the beginning of its construction in 1661, Novi Zrin/Zrínyiújvár fortress was a thorn in the eye of both Ottoman forces in the region because it compromised their positions in Kanije Eyalet, as well as Habsburg Imperial authorities. The Habsburgs at a time wanted to remain in the defensive on their eastern borders against the Ottomans. The imperial policies therefore contradicted those of their Croatian and Hungarian vassals who wanted to see more offensive Habsburg engagement on eastern borders against the Ottomans.

Battle

As the Ottoman armies were busy besieging Nové Zámky in modern day

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 ...

, N Zrinski/M Zrinyi withdrew to Međimurje to defend Novi Zrin/Zrínyiújvár, where local defenders commander by

Petar Zrinski Petar IV Zrinski ( hu, Zrínyi Péter) (6 June 1621 – 30 April 1671) was Ban of Croatia (Viceroy) from 1665 to 1670, general and a writer. A member of the Zrinski noble family, he was noted for his role in the attempted Croatian-Hungarian Mag ...

already routed first armies sent by Kanije pasha. Meanwhile, the pasha himself came with his army to Novi Zrin to besiege it. Nikola Zrinski/M Zrinyi in the meantime returned to Novi Zrin/Zrínyiújvár and decided to take his army on a sortie which destroyed the army of Kanije pasha. After that N Zrinski/M Zrinyi's troops continued to pursue the Ottomans back to Kanije/Kaniža, after which they looted the Kanije/Kaniža countryside and returned with the booty back to Novi Zrin/Zrínyiújvár.

References

Sources

*Ferenc Tóth, ''Saint Gotthard 1664, une bataille Européenne'', Éditions Lavauzelle, 2007. *Sándor Szilágyi, ''A Magyar Nemzet Története IV. fejezet'' Conflicts in 1663 Battles involving Hungary Battles involving Croatia Battles of the Ottoman–Hungarian Wars Battles involving the Ottoman Empire Battles of the Austro-Turkish War (1663–64) Military history of Croatia 1663 in Hungary 1663 in the Ottoman Empire History of Somogy County {{Hungary-battle-stub