The Problems of the Military Provisions and Payouts and Their Consequences during the Upper Hungary Campaign of 1664

ZOLTÁN IGOR KOMJÁTI
Private researcher, Abasár, Hungary

Abstract: This study concentrates on the financial and alimentative problems of the Anti-Turkish Campaign of Upper Hungary in 1664, and on the military abuses derived from the shortage of the adequate supplying. Due to the often happening contemporary logistic shortages and the exiguousness of the Hungarian resources, the Imperial War Council supplied with difficulty the German–Hungarian Army led by General Louis de Souches and Stephen I. Koháry, General-Captain of Fiľakovo (who was commissioned twice to Commander of the Hungarian Troops during the campaign). The obtaining of the payout was always on the agenda in the agreements with the county magistrates, and by order of Palatine Francis Wesselényi, the magnates and the prelates were also obliged to surrender grain crops and other foods. In spite of the very often shortage of supplying, the commanders managed to solve the problems, and the Christian Army successfully re-captured Nitra and Levice, and were also victorious on the battlefield of Žarnovica and Hronský Beňadik. But the encamped soldiers were encouraged by the unsystematic paying and food supplying to pillage the inhabitants of the surrounding settlements. The campaign also gave an opportunity for the looting of the vagrant soldiers who often could not be called to account for their crimes, because they did not serve under the banners. To avoid the pillages and atrocities, the only solution was that trusted and disciplinable soldiers were recruited in the camp, and by means of issuing strict orders, the commerce of the stolen livestock were forbidden in all of free and royal towns. The magistrates of certain settlements and other owners asked for safe-conduct or safeguard garrison from the commanders trying to assure the protection for the inhabitants and their belongings.

Keywords: Military Provisions, Hungarian-Ottoman conflict, Upper Hungary, early modern period.