Battle of Gorjani

The Battle of Gorjani (Croatian: Bitka kod Gorjana; Hungarian: Diakovári csata, German: Schlacht bei Gorjani) was a battle fought on 9 October 1537 at Gorjani, a place in Slavonia between Đakovo and Valpovo, as part of the Little War in Hungary as well as the Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War.

Background

After seven years of war and the failed Siege of Vienna in 1529, the Treaty of Konstantiniyye was signed, in which John Szapolyai was recognized by the Austrians as King of Hungary as an Ottoman vassal, and the Ottomans recognized Habsburg rule over Royal Hungary.

This treaty satisfied neither John Szapolyai nor Austrian Archduke Ferdinand, whose armies began to skirmish along the borders. Ferdinand decided to strike a decisive blow in 1537 at John, thereby violating the treaty.

Battle

Ferdinand sent an army of 24,000 men (Austrians, Hungarians, Germans, Bohemians, Italians and Croats) under command of Johann Katzianer to take Osijek.

Very badly prepared, the siege came to nothing, because the allied army was decimated by disease and starvation before it could even besiege the city.

The army had to withdraw, and got stuck in the swamps of Gorjani, near Đakovo and Valpovo on the Drava river, and their entire heavy armament was lost. Katzianer fled with the cavalry and abandoned his army. Count Ludwig Lodron remained to engage the Ottoman relief army that had pursued them (led by border commanders), but the entire force was annihilated.

A reported 20,000 men were killed, including generals Ludwig Lodron and Pavle Bakić.

Aftermath

This campaign was a disaster of similar magnitude to that of Mohács and therefore nicknamed the Austrian Mohacs. The news of the defeat came as a shock in Vienna and a new Treaty of Nagyvárad was signed in 1538.

Katzianer was arrested, and Nikola Jurišić took his place as the commander of Croatian defence. Some time later, Katzianer escaped the Vienna prison and hid at the Zrinski estates, until he lost Zrinski's favor, and was thus executed.