Bujdosó Pap Györgyi et al.: Várostromok és Közép-Európa Zrínyi Miklós (1620-1664) korában - Studia Agriensia 34. (Eger, 2017)
Sudár Balázs: Török hadak Magyarországon, 1663-1664
Balázs Sudár Ottoman Troops in Hungary 1663-1664 The wars fought in Hungary in 1663-1664 are considered by European and Hungarian historians to be the prelude to forcing back the Ottoman Empire. The symbol of these operations was the victorious Battle of Szentgotthárd ( 1 August 1664), which was due to joining European forces on a large scale. When this war is assessed from the Ottoman perspective, however, we have a completely different picture. The Ottoman Empire, which had been on decline for half a century and on the brink of collapse, started to revive during the Grand Vizierate of Köprülü Mehmed (1656-1661) and went on offensive under Fazil Ahmed. The aim of the Grand Vizier was to reorganise the Hungarian frontlines. In 1663 he captured Érsekújvár, Lippa and Nyitra, a move that almost separated the counties in Eastern Hungary from those in the west of the country. In order to continue his military operations, he left his troops in position for the winter and was planning an early attack. The Habsburg military leadership, however, was quicker to act. Part of their move was the winter campaign of Zrínyi and Hohenlohe, followed by an offensive against Nyitra and Kanizsa in the spring. These attacks upset Fazil Ahmeds plans, who then abandoned his established military supply line and decided to help Kanizsa. This meant that the Ottoman campaign was “derailed” and failed to achieve tangible successes in spite of its indisputable results. The defeat in the battle of Szentgotthárd was far less severe from the Ottomans’ perspective than it would seem from the Europeans’ side, because the Ottoman army’s main body was not even involved there, so it was left intact. Further military operations were prevented by food shortages, leading to the Peace ofVasvár. This stabilised the results achieved, leading to an Ottoman occupation that was more extensive than before. The Grand Vizier continued his efforts to restore order. After consolidating his power at the Hungarian borderlands he ended the War of Candia and had considerable successes at the Polish front also. 112
