1514

The Ottomans had dedicated their time in the wake of the officer uprising against Hadim Pasha, the wonder genius of the Hungarian campaign who up to Baja had secured significant gains against their enemy, in stabilizing the army and restructuring the campaign against its earlier faults. The first would be a complete changing of the ranks against Hungary; what was initially a provincial army, mainly Serb and Bosnian in makeup, would be replaced by the army of the Emperor. This imperial army was to be brought, for Hadim Pasha was not to be replaced by simply another vizier. Sultan Korkut had decided that now was the time to partake upon campaign, doing what was forced upon him by Ottoman standards of good rulership. However, the situation had forced the Sultan's hand at home too and he was forced to sack Hadim and instead replace him with Mehmed Piri Pasha as Grand Vizier of the Empire. While Korkut planned his journey to establish his presence and command as Sultan in the wake of his bloody destruction of his brother, Piri Pasha worked to ensure that their arrival in Pannonia would end in victory. Initially riding ahead of the Sultan, he stopped by both of the major depots along the Danube that had been established to support the campaign in Hungary. He took charge and worked directly with the logistics officers to resolve long standing issues and remove corrupt and inept officers from important posts. He would begin to keep a complex and detailed ledger along his large river boat through the Danube, quickly gaining notoriety within the upper ranks of the Ottoman army leadership for his hands-on approach. He even commanded the festivities for Sultan Korkut's departure to be delayed two days to await his return from his travels along the Danube. When he arrived, Korkut's planned ceremony for the departure of the imperial army to the Ottomans kicked off at the start of the Via Militaris. Korkut had hoped for a glorious send off that would send his glorious initial campaign into high gear, but the reality he felt would be much more subdued. He was taking the sons and husbands of the core lands off to the frontier and while he aimed to remove some of the hesitancy off of his early reign he felt its palpability now. Regardless, the ceremony itself went off without out a hitch and he soon began the journey. He had prepared a series of major stops along the way to publicize his appearance in the provinces and the strength of his army. However, the well-organized and well-fed lines of supply made by Piri Pasha made the army fat and slow. The army's leadership and Piri's lack of discipline against the officer corps made Korkut mostly powerless to stop it even after complaining, and it would be very apparent during his travel. The army, for its part, arrived in Belgrade at the end of the journey in very high spirits. Korkut having taken the last portions of his journey seriously and preparing for his final ceremony in the recent church-turned-mosque of the fortress city he made a grand and impressive posture. The tired veterans of the campaign were very happy to see the Sultan present and their complaints against Hadim answered.

The Hungarians had been busy fighting their countrymen in Dozsa and his men, who were reduced to mere bands of bandits spread throughout the mountains of Carpathia and Transylvania. Dozsa's own wiliness had made him nigh-uncatchable by the authorities, and eventually they were forced to give way when the news of the Ottomans arriving with another army in Belgrade. The army requiring year-round raising and the peasant unrest, combined with lingering issues meant that the Hungarian army and some of its cities had begun to run out of food. Heavy rationing was necessary to allow the Hungarian army to remain at campaign and harsh measures against repressed peasant communities were widespread to keep the nobility and other groups like the Szekely and Cumans. Meanwhile, King Vladislaus lost his right-hand man in Stephan VII Bathory who was badly injured and forced to retire last year. Instead, Bernardin Frankopan moved to take the reigns alongside the King and Zapolya. Frankopan did not hold as much sway or hold the relationships Bathory had built over the last decade, as Frankopan was primarily of Croat background. However, the Croatians had been forced to retire after 1513 due to a lack of coin to pay their mercenaries and also a devastating raid against their territory by Ottoman akinji. Being such an outsider hindered his ability to maintain the tired, diseased, and demoralized Hungarian army. Zapolya once again gained a lot of influence over the running of the army and with his personal wealth and connections to those such as the magnate Laski family of Poland mitigated much of the worst parts of the problems.

Battle of Kecskemét

The Hungarians would choose to meet the approaching Ottoman army at Kecskemét, a while farther out from Buda than their last fight against the Turkish invaders. Unable to muster much more with the raging typhus and food issues, the battlefield would still look much like it did at Baja. A wide open, flat plain allowing both of the massive armies to face each other. Not quite as numerous as at the Battle of Palanka, the armies were still some of the largest Europe has ever seen. The armies makeups had also changed somewhat, as both adapted to the recent battles and also gathered from different parts of their realms. The Hungarians had received financial support from their familial kin and allies in the neighboring realms of Austria and Poland, who hoped to help King Vladislaus against the Muslim threat. Similarly, Vladislaus replaced his dead countrymen with men of coin from those near. Bohemian pikes along with Polish copycats of Hungarian hussars and German landsknecht came to Buda. A significant force of 2,000 landsknecht led by George von Frundsberg also came, which when considered in addition to the 10,000 Croatian polearms who returned home meant the Hungarian infantry core had shrunk considerably, partially made up by more arquebusiers and crossbows. The Ottomans came with their imperial, or Kapikulu, army that brought with it an even stronger janissary corps, an enlarged Sipahi cohort, and most importantly an elite and heavily armored core. Out were the lightly armed provincials and in were the heavily armed Rumelians and Turks.

The battle itself starts with Frankopan continuing the tried and trued tactics done by Bathory - splitting the Hungarian cavalry in halves to cover both flanks. The Sipahi's once again mirror as well, drawing the Hungarians in while firing arrows on the retreat. Right before the Hungarians give way they turn and crash into a melee. The cavalry melee lasts for hours and while it is not particularly bloody, complicated maneuvers dominate for quite some time. The two armies were nearly dominated by their cavalry groups and both had reputations to either keep or regain. Once there were clear winners, however, neither side could claim the full battlefield. The Sipahis had forced the Hungarians to route on the left flank but the Hungarian knights had crushed the Sipahis on the right who suffered against the enemies tenacity and arms. Here the main infantry lines and gunpowder men began to engage and march forward. The Ottoman artillery struggle with a number of issues with faulty powder from the long journey but the Hungarians rain fire down with greater experience from years before. Both the janissaries and the Hungarian arquebusiers initiate the melee with bloody casualties, promising this would not end happily for either side. As the melee began, onlookers who had also journeyed to view the battles at Palanka and Baja would note a marked difference here. The Hungarians were obvious, with their exhaustion and disease apparent to the Hungarian onlookers. The Ottomans too, even with the efforts of Piri Pasha, had not been free of the disease. The exchange of veterans, many of whom were sick, with new recruits only delayed the inevitable. The Ottomans were also well-prepared entering the Carpathian plains but there was immediate stress put on the lines the moment they arrived nonetheless. The cavalry on both sides gave up at the first sight of a major victory on their flank, and the melee soon looked to be no different. The cavalry on each side quickly charges the oppositions infantry flank, anvil and hammering with their infantry frontlines. The Hungarian knights once again show their shock value here and kill many of the Ottoman voynuks. The Sipahi are not nearly as effective, yet the high morale and strong voynuks on the left flank crush the Hungarians. The center, made up of the landsknechts with Hungarian support, hold strong against the Ottoman vanguard while the right flank is a bloodbath. The Hungarian knights make the most advantage with the casualties given to the Ottomans, though they lose many of their own in the process, and fold the flank. They are able to press into the Ottoman ranged center who threaten an open field against the Hungarians. Piri Pasha is able to order a well-organized withdrawal from the melee to oppose the Hungarian knights who are forced to also withdraw after a few short engagements. Giving up the field but not the battle, Piri maintains a near-constant degree of skirmishers against the Hungarians and remains near the field for a few days after retreating. Soon moving southeast to reach Szeged, the shadowing Hungarian army met them again in the month of June.

Battle of Szeged

The Ottomans having maintained their threat on Buda while ceding territory at the same time would force the Hungarians to meet them outside Szeged. Once more the cavalry would meet on the open field but this time Frankopan desired to crush the Sipahi who they had consistently defeated on the field of battle. He gathered his remaining mounted soldiers into one force and challenged their counterparts who would agree after some skirmishing. The tired infantry of both sides would observe in position as once more their fate would be tied to their noblemen and their first moves. The Sipahi eventually give way to the Hungarians yet again, incensing Piri Pasha, but they meet for battle anyways. At Szeged, the early tunes would sound much more in the favor of the Sultan. The Ottoman bombards killed many pike men as they marched in their squares while the Hungarians found their supply of powder and cannonballs dangerously short. Their arquebusiers, in particular their foreign allies and mercenaries, were capable of opposing the mass fire strategems of the janissaries and meant the Ottoman infantry would feel the pain of bullets all the same. The lightly armed bowmen of the Ottomans in their Azabs and other units served as key mobile units to oppose the enemy shorter-ranged arquebusiers and light cavalry, bringing respite to their infantry. The Ottomans and Hungarians then begin the grind of man against man, and while the Ottomans initially gain the advantage the Hungarian cavalry once more proves its worth by utilizing its earlier won positions to outflank the bristling lines of pikes and spears. The Sipahis, broken but not routed, counter-charge the Hungarian mass and put significant pressure on the Hungarian cavalry as well. While the Ottoman infantry begin to buckle, Frankopan orders a quick retreat and regroup before reengaging. As they regroup two lanes appear in Frankopan's visor, between attempting to charge the Ottoman mass of janissaries and then their archers or back into the infantry where they had fallen back from. Making the quick decision to avoid opening themselves up to a frontal fire of the janissary's gun, they charge back in. However, this time the Ottoman infantry line prepared and braced itself for the charge and it was catastrophic to the Hungarian core. John Zapolya, who had been riding alongside Frankopan, was thrown off his horse after it was impaled and soon surrounded and left on the battlefield by his fleeing compatriots. Frankopan was able to disengage but the same could not be said for many others. The Ottoman cannon and arquebus fire had rung out all battle as well and would serve to collapse Hungarian morale and structure. The Hungarians retreated from the field of battle and Piri's quick riposte from Kecskemét limited the impact of his earlier setback. With death high but supplies flowing in the Ottoman camp, they forced Vladislaus and Frankopan to avoid taking any risks in the wake of their army's dissipation. Vladislaus and his family were to flee to Bohemia, as Buda itself was no longer safe, and prepare to either entreat with the Sultan or continue the fight safely. Frankopan would maintain the defense of Buda in a possible siege, though he entreated that peace be made with the invader. Piri Pasha prepared a massive siege camp of Buda while Korkut worked to negotiate with his Hungarian counterpart, aware of his own army's deficiencies and the constant threat of typhus. Months go by in the vicious siege of Buda and harsh negotiations between the sides, and Buda would find itself with two major breaches in her walls and significant damage to the city as Christmas rolled by. The Ottomans also sent akinji and others throughout the Carpathian plain and down the Danube on riverboats, ravaging more of Hungary and taking its wealth home. Vladislaus would eventually sign peace before Buda itself fell to an assault, or surrender, and the war would be over.

TL;DR

• Sultan Korkut sacks Hadim Pasha and asserts Piri Pasha as commander, as well as comes personally to lead the campaign

• Piri Pasha improves the logistics and plan of the Hungarian campaign significantly, but Korkut fails to make a good impression on his subjects

• The Hungarians struggle with major food issues and low morale, and fail to capture Dozsa. Austrian and Polish support shores up their weaknesses

• The Hungarians and Ottomans fight two battles near and around Buda, with the battles being quick and decisive. The Hungarians win and take a chunk out of the Ottomans initially but a brutal second battle collapses Hungarian morale and cohesion

• Both sides are still tired and diseased by the summer and the siege of Buda begins along with rapid raids by the Ottomans throughout Hungary. Both sides make peace