May 1703.
It had been four years since the Peace of Karlowitz ended the Great Turkish War.
The Ottoman Empire yielded the entirety of Hungary and large parts of Transylvania to
the Habsburg Dynasty.
In Poland, a group of Hungarian Kuruc-rebels requested Hungary's once-richest man, the
exiled Prince Ferenc Rakoczi II of Transylvania, to lead their rebellion.
Following this visit, Rakoczi declared that "All nobility and non-noble citizens of Hungary"
should rise against Habsburg rule.
The Prince faced one of the mightiest dynasties Europe had ever seen.
Initially, with nothing more than a rag-tag bunch of poorly equipped peasants and freebooters.
Against all odds, his subsequent rebellion lasted eight years, capturing most of the
Kingdom.
It became known as Rakoczi's War of Independence.
[Introduction]
[Text: I am not at all afraid to declare before you that the purpose of all my actions was
solely the love of freedom and the desire to free my country from the foreign yoke.
Ferenc Rakoczi, Memoirs.]
In the early 18th century, there were many reasons for anti-Habsburg dissent among Hungary's
nobility and peasantry.
After the Ottomans ceded the country, the Habsburgs only returned estates to the nobility,
able to pay 10% of the estate's worth.
In addition, the prolonged wars and endless rounds of conscription alienated the peasantry.
As a result, anti-Habsburg uprisings weren't unheard of.
The most famous was led by the energetic Imre Thokoly, who seized most of Upper Hungary
and proclaimed himself King in the late 17th century.
Enjoying Ottoman support, his defeat led to his exile and the acquisition of the entirety
of Hungary and large parts of Transylvania by the Habsburgs.
Nevertheless, unrest among nobility and peasantry remained.
On the other side of Europe, King Charles II of Spain passed away in 1700.
Without an heir apparent, his death led to the war of the Spanish succession, pitting
the French Bourbons and Austrian Habsburgs against each other.
The French King began looking for ways to destabilise, weaken and distract the Habsburgs.
One of his envoys at the court of Vienna mentioned a Transylvanian Prince: Ferenc Rakoczi II.
[Prince Ferenc Rakoczi II]
Rakoczi stood in a long line of anti-Habsburg dissent.
His paternal ancestors were the Princes of Transylvania.
His great-grandfather loyally supported the contemporary anti-Habsburg King-elect of Hungary.
His grandfather, by virtue of holding the title, was a similar challenge to the Habsburgs.
His father participated in the infamous Magnate Conspiracy, seeking to remove Habsburg control
from Hungary and Croatia.
His father-in-law spearheaded the conspiracy, which he paid for with his life.
His mother became famous in her own right for her three-year-long defence of the family's
Munkacs estate against besieging imperial troops.
When Rakoczi's father passed away, his mother married Imre Thokoly, the aforementioned figurehead
of anti-Habsburg dissent.
In short, he had quite a family history.
Born shortly after his father's death and his mother imprisoned in Vienna after her
defiant resistance at Munkacs, he grew up an effective prisoner of the Habsburgs.
[Text: "He was raised to the rank of Reichsfu ̈rst, given a Vienna base, Bohemian education,
German dress and wife; he had little contact with Magyars or their language; he even sought
to be set up as a landowner outside Hungary.
Evans, Robert John Weston.
Austria, Hungary, and the Habsburgs: Central Europe c. 1683-1867.
OUP Oxford, 2006., p. 11]
The young man freed himself eventually, returning to his family estate in Upper Hungary.
In 1700, he received a message from the French King, goading him to revolt.
Both parties opened correspondence, with Rakoczi writing a response:
""…the welfare and interests of France are, so to speak, identical with those of Hungary;
the orders are dissatisfied with the unlawful proceedings of the Viennese court; now, more
than ever, an end can be achieved if France and Hungary do not withdraw their aid…"
This letter, together with the French reply promising military and financial aid, was
intercepted by Vienna.
Rakoczi was subsequently arrested and sentenced to death after a brief trial.
Awaiting execution, he managed to escape thanks to sympathisers at court.
He fled to relatives in Brezan, across the border.
On the border, he began energetically organising Polish support and French subsidies for his
insurrection.
He received up to 50.000 pounds per year until 1708.
He remained in touch with Hungarians at the court of Vienna, most notably Miklos Bercseny,
the chief commander of Imperial forces in Upper Hungary.
Fed up with the Habsburgs, he joined Rakoczi's cause, bringing 600 Polish mercenaries.
His co-conspirators began gathering support in Hungary.
But, contrary to their expectations, the Hungarian nobility was not eager to join their cause.
Before Rakoczi was ready, an armed uprising under peasant militants deserting the Austrian
army broke out.
Led by Tamas Esze, this revolt could provide the momentum Rakoczi required.
The rebellion spread slightly in the northeast around modern-day Transcarpathia.
Esze eagerly awaited Rakoczi's arrival by holding himself up in strategically defensible
mountainous terrain.
Over time, the rebel army's size increased to 6000 - many of them peasants.
Some bands of rebels plundered churches and noble estates by late May and early June.
If there was even the slightest sympathy for the rebels, these actions destroyed it.
Satu Mare's Chief Bailiff, Baron Sandor Karolyi, assembled a 1000-strong army and moved north
against the rebels.
At the town of Dolha Esze and Karolyi met.
The poorly trained and equipped rebels were no match for the noble army.
After a brief battle, Karolyi's army routed the rebels.
The survivors retreated to Rakoczi.
What remained was a battered group numbering not even 300 men.
Despite the significant setback, Rakoczi decided to invade nonetheless.
With this rag-tag bunch of men, he launched his war of independence.
They entered Hungary, invading Rakoczi's confiscated estate of Munkacs.
Peasants from surrounding estates learned of his invasion, and many joined him.
Soon, Rakoczi's force grew to nearly 3500 men again.
With this newfound strength, a confident Rakoczi launched an attack to seize his former estate.
On June 19, they captured Munkacs.
It showed Rakoczi underestimated the Imperial power - an army garrison stationed close by
swiftly liberated the town and expelled the rebels.
It was only due to luck that Rakoczi escaped the subsequent purge alive.
Once again, the surviving rebels retreated to Zavadka on the border.
Huddled among the Carpathian mountains for protection, Rakoczi augmented his army with
mercenaries, peasants and deserters.
He expanded his army considerably thanks to a steady stream of French subsidies.
Word reached him from representatives of villages in the Great Plain.
Many of them wanted to join his rebellion.
However, inbetween was significant territory defended by Imperial soldiers.
On July 7, Rakoczi departed from Zavadka on his march south towards the Tisza region.
However, instead of seizing his family's former estates again, he circumvented them, moving
towards a crossing of the Tisza river.
He faced surprisingly little resistance.
The Imperial Council figured the defeats at Dolha and Munkacs proved the rebellion was
not to take seriously, ignoring pleas for reinforcements from local nobility.
Meanwhile, an increasing number of serfs joined the rebellion.
This significantly unnerved the landowners.
They decided to mount their defence when it became clear that Vienna wouldn't provide
many additional troops.
Istvan Csaky, the chief bailiff of Bereg-ugocs, rallied some 1000 soldiers from nearby towns
and estates, with another 100 infantry and cavalry arriving from Kassa.
With this army, Csaky made his way to Tiszauljak.
He rightly estimated Rakoczi would cross the Tisza river there, allowing him to enter Central
Hungary.
Imperial soldiers set up camp at Beregszasz (Bereghove), intending to flank any passing
army in its rear.
[Battle Formations]
Meanwhile, the rebel army descended from the Carpathians.
It numbered some 400 cavalry and 2000 infantry.
On July 13 they passed Nagyszollos, making their way to the west.
When they reached the village of Vari, the army set up camp.
Miklos Bercsenyi and the main portion of the army remained, while Rakoczi and his vanguard
continued towards Tiszauljak.
They hoped to establish a safe passage of the river.
Camping at Vari was an incredibly risky manoeuvre: the entire army risked encirclement once the
Imperials caught wind of their presence.
Considering an imperial force held Berehovo, Rakoczi was in incredible danger.
There is no way he could have known of his weak position.
Neither did his enemies.
They vastly overestimated Rakoczi's strength, leading the Prince to continue relatively
unhindered.
Meanwhile, Csaky's army deployed on the right bank of the Tisza River, nearby Tiszauljak.
When word reached him of Rakoczi's approaching force, his army retreated to the left bank,
to Tiszabecs.
Probably anticipating a much larger, non-existent, main army to follow Rakoczi's vanguard.
Under the command of Mihaly Kende, Csaky's deputy, 30 Hungarians and 20 Germans remained
to guard the river passing.
The roads towards Tiszauljak were in very poor condition.
Muddy and uneven, Rakoczi's infantry fell far behind the cavalry vanguard.
On the morning of July 14, Rakoczi's cavalry reached the Tiszauljak ford.
As they arrived, Kende and some 35 cavalry were making a reconnaissance round.
Some 15 Germans defended the meadow.
After a brief skirmish, the cavalry dispersed them.
They seized the village.
When Kende returned, he realised Tiszauljak was lost.
Together with his horsemen they retreated to a bend in the Tisza.
The Kuruc cavalry launched a pursuit, as more Kuruc troops arrived at Tiszaulja.
What followed was several hours of scattered skirmishes.
The Kuruc cavalry charged against the Imperial cavalry, stuck in the River bend desperately
hoping for reinforcements would soon arrive.
Despite being heavily outnumbered, Kende's cavalry held firm against the Kurucs.
Beyond the Tisza, Csaky learned of the fight going on across the river.
Sources conflict on exactly how Csaky learned the following.
Some sources indicate his army captured a Kuruc drummer.
Others mention that Rakoczi sent envoys to Csaky preceding the attack at Tiszauljak.
What is for sure is that Csaky learned of a 40.000-strong Polish-Swedish army approaching.
They aimed to push into Transylvania from the north.
This news was entirely fabricated, there was no army approaching.
But it unnerved Csaky significantly - instead of aiding Kende and the cavalry across the
bend, he prepared a retreat, abandoning his men fighting a hopeless battle across the
river.
At the battle, the Kuruc cavalry launched several charges, with fresh cavalry arriving
to strengthen their lines.
Just when Rakoczi considered retreating and await the arrival of his infantry to deal
the decisive blow, the fourth cavalry charge was successful.
The charge tore into the cavalry, and Kende, together with many of his men, were forced
into the Tisza river.
The vast majority drowned.
As for Csaky's army, during the retreat, most, if not all nobles abandoned his army to rush
to their estates.
These required protection from the fictional 40.000-strong army on its way.
When the Imperial army at Berehovo learned of the approaching army, they retreated to
Munkacs and prepared a defence.
With no army to oppose them across the river, and no Imperial army to assault them in the
rear, Rakoczi's force easily made its way across the Tisza.
Central Hungary now lay open to them.
[Aftermath]
The false information about the large army approaching opened Hungary to Rakoczi.
Within a few months, his minor rebellion turned into a war with a national character.
The Battle at Tiszabecs is generally considered to be the watershed moment, proving Rakoczi
would not be easily dealt with like so many other minor uprisings.
But he would face many setbacks.
Initially, after crossing the Tisza, much of the nobility refused to join his uprising.
Instead, they wanted to wait for the situation to develop.
Rakoczi reflected on this in his memoirs:
"The uprising of the Poor shocked the nobles, who retreated to castles and fortresses.
Their estates were plundered by the serfs under the pretext that their landlords were
going to the Germans.
The people themselves chose their own leaders; putting their trust in the canvassers, barbers,
tailors, their officers were made up of such individuals, and to replace them with others
would have been dangerous, even impossible, as there were no better and more skilful men
in the army."
In the next several months, many noteworthy Hungarian towns and villages fell to the Kurucs.
The war was far from over.
Thank you for watching this video.