Battle of Mohács (1526): When 25,000 Hungarians Faced 70,000 Ottomans

August 29th, 1526. A 20-year-old king. 25,000 men. And 90 minutes that destroyed a kingdom forever. King Louis II of Hungary stood on a scorching plain near the town of Mohács, staring at the impossible:

70,000 Ottoman soldiers under Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Professional Janissaries with firearms. 200 bronze cannons. 20,000 Sipahi cavalry. The most powerful military machine in the world. Louis had farmers with spears. Knights in outdated armor. Allies who never came. 

And a choice that would cost him everything. This is the complete story of the Battle of Mohács—the hour that ended medieval Hungary, killed a king in a marsh, and changed European history forever. The Battle of Mohács in 1526 remains one of the greatest military catastrophes in medieval European history: 

in less than two hours, the independent Kingdom of Hungary, which had existed for nearly 600 years, was effectively destroyed. The court’s refusal to undertake military reforms after the death of Matthias Corvinus, the disbandment of the professional Black Army, the failure to develop modern artillery, and above all the deep internal divisions (most notably János Szapolyai withholding almost 40,000 troops from the battle for his own political ambitions) all led to this tragic outcome. 

Yet paradoxically, the disaster at Mohács inadvertently set the stage for Suleiman the Magnificent’s next campaign in 1529 to be halted at the walls of Vienna. By that time the Ottoman army had to march over 1,500 km in the rainy season, their supply lines were dangerously overstretched, the element of surprise was lost, and they faced a well-prepared Vienna defended by Niklas Graf von Salm and a determined Austro-German garrison. 

The harsh late-autumn weather of 1529, combined with fierce counterattacks by the defenders and the courageous mining operations beneath the walls, inflicted devastating losses on the Ottomans (estimated 30,000–40,000 dead from combat, disease, cold and hunger), forcing Suleiman to order the first major retreat of his reign. Thus Mohács was the tragic prelude, while Vienna 1529 became the true turning point that halted the Ottoman advance into the heart of Europe.

I sincerely hope the channel will soon produce a dedicated episode on the 1529 Siege of Vienna with the same depth of research and wealth of primary sources as this outstanding video. Thank you, and continued support to Dark History Class!