Siege of Varaždin (1527)

Siege of Varaždin
Part of Hungarian campaign of 1527–1528
Varaždin in late 17th century
Date 27 September 1527 Location Varaždin, Kingdom of Croatia Result Withdrawal of Frankopan's army
Belligerents
Habsburg supporters	Zapolya's supporters
Commanders and leaders
Pavao Kečkeš	Christoph Frankopan  (DOW)
Strength
Unknown	10,000 Infantry 3,000 Cavalry
Casualties and losses
Unknown	At least one

The siege of Varaždin was a siege in the Kingdom of Croatia. The war came as a result of Croatian, Slavonian and Hungarian noble diets electing different candidates for their kings, following the death of Louis II of Hungary at Battle of Mohacs.

Background

Following the death of Louis II at the Battle of Mohacs, Croatian nobles gathered at Cetingrad in early 1527 in order to discuss the election of a new king. Their choice was the powerful Ferdinand I of Habsburg, whom Croats wanted to get more thoroughly engaged in their defensive efforts against expanding Ottoman Empire.^[1] In another part of the Kingdom, Hungarian nobles elected their own candidate – John Zapolya at their own noble diet in Szekesfehervar in late 1526. The same candidate was also elected on Slavonian noble diet, which happened in Dubrava, near Čazma, Croatia, under the influence of Simon Erdody, the bishop of Zagreb and count Cristoph Frankopan, the only Croatian noble who didn't attended the Cetingrad diet. This effectively brought the kingdom into a state of civil war between supporters of the opposing kings.^[2]

Ferdinand's campaign in Hungary

Ferdinand launched his campaign from Vienna as his 20,000-strong army marched into Hungary. Habsburg commanders soon successfully captured the towns of Győr, Komárom, Esztergom, Visegrád and Buda, while Zapolya's forces retreated towards river Tisza. They were nevertheless intercepted by Habsburg forces near Tarcal in Hungary, where Habsburg general Nicholas, Count of Salm decisively defeated them in the Battle of Tarcal. John Zapolya therefore invited his supporter, ban Cristoph Frankopan, to come to his aid.^[3]

Siege of Varaždin

Frankopan assembled his 13,000-strong army near Križevci, which according to Croatian historian Rudolf Horvat consisted of 10,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry. On the morning of September 24, Frankopan's army was approached by apparent emissaries from Varaždin, who declared their allegiance to him and handed him the town keys, however, once he actually came to Varaždin the town garrison turned out to be pro-Habsburg. Frankopan's commanders then ordered their troops to start digging trenches around town and prepare their siege engines. As he was scouting for weakpoints in town walls, a defending cannon opened fire and one of the missiles gravely wounded Frankopan. The wound was apparently so bad that his guts could be seen, hence his doctors gave up all efforts of even trying to save him. Dying Frankopan issued orders to carry on with the siege, however majority of the army he assembled began dispersing irretrievably.^[4] A handful of soldiers that remained by him, started carrying him to Koprivnica, however, he succumbed to his wounds upon reaching Martijanec.^[3] His death was a major blow for Zapolya's side, as they lost a powerful supporter in Croatia.

Sources

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Wars and battles involving Croatia

Medieval wars
and battles

8th/9th-century battles	Siege of Trsat Rebellion of Ljudevit Battle of Kupa Battle of Makarska (887)
Croatian–Hungarian wars	Battle of Drava River (925) Battle of Gvozd Mountain
Croatian–Bulgarian wars	Croatian–Bulgarian battle of 854 Croatian–Bulgarian battle of 927 Siege of Zadar (998)
Croatian-Venetian wars	Battle of Omiš (948) Battle of Lastovo (1000) Siege of Zadar (1345–1346)
High and Late Middle Ages wars and battles	Siege of Zadar Fourth Crusade Fifth Crusade Battle of Mohi Battle of Grobnik Field (legendary) Battle of Bliska War of Hum (1326–1329) Bosnian-Dubrovnik War (1403-1404) Battle of Samobor Crusade of Varna Battle of Una Battle of Vrpile Gulch

Croatian–Ottoman wars

Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War (1493–1593)	Battle of Krbava Field Battle of Dubica Siege of Knin Battle of Mohács Siege of Jajce Hungarian campaign of 1527–1528 Balkan campaign of 1529 Little War in Hungary Siege of Varaždin (1527) Battle of Belaj Siege of Kőszeg Siege of Klis Katzianer's Campaign Battle of Gorjani Siege of Đurđevac (1552) Battle of Hrastovica (1561) Siege of Szigetvár Siege of Gvozdansko Battle of Slunj Siege of Bihać (1592) Battle of Brest (1592) Battle of Sisak
Long War (1593–1606)	Battle of Brest (1596) Battle of Keresztes
Austro-Turkish War (1663–1664)	First Battle of Novi Zrin Battle of Otočac (1663) Second Battle of Novi Zrin Siege of Novi Zrin (1664) Battle of Saint Gotthard (1664)
Great Turkish War (1683–1699)	Siege of Virovitica (1684) Osijek Incursion (1685) Battle of Mohács (1687) Siege of Udbina Castle (1689) Siege of Bihać (1697) Battle of Slankamen Battle of Senta
18th-century Ottoman wars	Battle of Saint Gotthard (1705) Siege of Sinj (1715) Battle of Petrovaradin Battle of Banja Luka Relief of Drežnik (1788) Relief of Cetingrad (1790)

European 17th/18th-
century wars

Thirty Years' War	Uskok War Battle of Sablat Siege of Heidelberg (1622) Sack of Magdeburg Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) Battle of Lützen (1632) Battle of Nördlingen (1634)
Seven Years' War	Battle of Lobositz Battle of Kolín Battle of Breslau (1757) Battle of Hochkirch Battle of Meissen Battle of Landeshut (1760) Battle of Liegnitz (1760)

19th-century wars

French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars	Battle of Castiglione Battle of Bassano Battle of Ostrach Battle of Stockach (1799) Battle of Marengo Battle of Caldiero (1805) Battle of Austerlitz Battle of Landshut (1809) Battle of Neumarkt-Sankt Veit Battle of Sankt Michael Battle of Raab (1809) Battle of Graz Battle of Leipzig
Hungarian Revolution of 1848–49	Battle of Pákozd Vienna Uprising Battle of Schwechat Battle of Mór Battle of Kápolna Battles of Komárom First battle) Second battle Third battle Battle of Temesvár
Third Italian War of Independence	Battle of Custoza Battle of Vis
Austro-Hungarian – Bosnia-Herzegovinian War	Battle of Jajce (1878) Battle of Vitez (1878) Battle of Sarajevo (1878) Battle of Livno (1878)

20th-century wars

World War I	Adriatic Campaign Battle of Galicia Battle of Soča Battle of Caporetto Bombardment of Ancona Second Battle of the Piave River Battle of Vittorio Veneto
World War II	Invasion of Yugoslavia Battle of Kozara Battle of Livno Battle of Stalingrad Battle of Neretva Operation Otto Battle of the Sutjeska Raid on Drvar Syrmian Front Battle of Knin Battle of Mostar Battle of Lijevče Field Battle of Sarajevo (1945)
Croatian War of Independence (1991–1995)	Pakrac clash Plitvice Lakes incident Borovo Selo killings Operation Stinger 1991 Yugoslav campaign in Croatia Dalj massacre Battle of Osijek Battle of Vukovar Vukovar massacre Battle of Gospić Battle of Šibenik Battle of Zadar Battle of Kusonje Battle of the Barracks Siege of Varaždin Barracks Siege of Bjelovar Barracks Battle of the Dalmatian Channels Gospić massacre Siege of Dubrovnik Operation Otkos 10 Operation Orkan 91 Operation Whirlwind Operation Baranja Operation Jackal Battle of the Miljevci Plateau Operation Tiger Operation Maslenica Daruvar Agreement Operation Medak Pocket Operation Winter '94 Operation Flash Operation Summer '95 Operation Storm
War in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992–1995)	Battle of Kupres (1992) Siege of Sarajevo Siege of Bihać (1992–95) Operation Vrbas '92 Operation Koridor Battle of Žepče Siege of Mostar Operation Neretva '93 Operation Tvigi 94 Battle of Kupres (Operation Cincar) Battle of Orašje Operation Maestral 2 Operation Una Operation Southern Move

21st-century
conflicts

War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)	International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) (2003–2014) Resolute Support Mission Force (RS) (2015–present)
Golan Heights ceasefire after Yom Kippur War	United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) (2008–2013)

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