Last month both Tom and Stuart visited for what was definitely our most challenging game to date. The 29th August 2026 will mark the 500 year anniversary of the fateful Battle of Mohács. Having gone to considerable effort to collect both Hungarian and Ottoman armies for the early 16th century we had to attempt to do the battle justice. Historically this was a large battle so we went for a stylised scenario with all three of us playing part of the Hungarian centre and attempting to break through the Ottomans to reach Suleiman.
The historical background which follows is taken largely from "The Battle of Mohács, 1526" an interdisciplinary study of the battle and the battlefield edited by Norbert Pap. I have also used a translation of the excellent Latin account of István Brodarics, the king's chancellor, who was present at the battle which can be found here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/390166251_The_Battle_of_Mohacs_in_1526_by_Istvan_Brodarics and is well worth a read. All of the 16th century quotes used in the following summary of the battle are of course translations.
The historical background which follows is taken largely from "The Battle of Mohács, 1526" an interdisciplinary study of the battle and the battlefield edited by Norbert Pap. I have also used a translation of the excellent Latin account of István Brodarics, the king's chancellor, who was present at the battle which can be found here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/390166251_The_Battle_of_Mohacs_in_1526_by_Istvan_Brodarics and is well worth a read. All of the 16th century quotes used in the following summary of the battle are of course translations.
The Battle of Mohács, August 1526
When the Ottoman Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, embarked on his 1526 Hungarian campaign it was clear his forces intended to move along the Danube, advancing to Buda. The fall of Belgrade (https://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-siege-of-belgrade-1521.html) in the summer of 1521 had opened up the route along the river and as the Ottomans advanced the 20 year old Hungarian King, Louis II, struggled to gather sufficient numbers to oppose them. This meant that the fortified towns of Petervarad, Ujlak and Eszek had fallen by the time to the two armies opposed one another on a water-logged plain in front of the village of Mohács.
With him Suleiman had brought an army of possibly 80,000 men. Of this army around 57,000-58,000 were mounted, the majority of the mounted troops being sipahis (see https://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2022/09/sipahis.html), of whom there may have been as many as 45,000. The household cavalry the "Sipahis of the Porte", (see https://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-kapikulu-suvarileri-and-more.html) probably numbered around 5,000 while the akinjis (see https://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-akinji.html) made up the remainder of the cavalry, numbering between 7,000-8,000. The most effective infantry were around 8,000 janissaries. The list of arms and munitions issued from the Imperial armoury on 13 April 1526 shows 4,000 handguns and 5,200 bows were issued but this does not mean all of the men issued with these were present four months later at Mohács. The other Ottoman infantry present at the battle were between 7,000-8,000 azabs and potentially other auxiliary troops such as voynuks from the Balkans. The Ottomans brought over 300 artillery pieces, the majority being what they termed "zarbzens", small to medium field guns whilst the whole force was supported by an Ottoman fleet of 100-120 river vessels, although it is clear far more boats had been involved in earlier stages of the campaign as the Turks advanced along the Danube.
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| Portrait of Suleiman the Magnificent, c.1520 by a follower of Gentile Bellini. |
Command of the Rumelian army, the Balkan portion of the Ottoman forces who formed the left wing during the battle, fell to grand vizier Ibrahim Pasha, whilst the right wing was taken by the Anatolian army, the Ottoman forces from the Ottoman Anatolian heartlands and further east, under the command of Behram Pasha. Perhaps as many as 150 Ottoman guns were positioned on the Ottoman left wing with the Rumelian army as well as a vanguard of some of the janissaries. The Sultan's traditional place was in the centre with his household troops, the janissaries and Sipahis of the Porte. The rest of the Ottoman guns would also be deployed in the centre in front of the janissaries with the azabs taking an unenviable position in front of the guns. One of the key commanders in the Ottoman army was the Sanjakbey of Semendire, Yahyapaşaoğlu Bali Bey, who being a frontline commander of the western part of the empire had much experience in fighting the Hungarians (see https://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2026/02/the-infidels-suffered-defeat-of-such.html). His opinion carried much weight in the Ottoman council of war and when fellow commanders were keen to attack the Hungarians at their camp Bali Bey argued that this was unwise due to the fact the space for deployment narrowed on the approach to the Hungarians. Along with the Sanjakbey of Bosnia, Gazi Husrev Bey, Yahyapaşaoğlu Bali Bey and his akinji were positioned on the extreme left of the Ottoman army, beyond the Rumelian army who held the left wing.
To face this vast Ottoman army was a Hungarian force of between 29,000-32,000 men. Like the Ottoman army this was a force comprised of many different nationalities; Hungarians, Czechs, Germans, Croats, Serbs, Poles and Moravians. The scholar and king's chancellor, István Brodarics, was present at the battle reported how, having left Buda in July, King Louis arrived at Tolna on 6 August 1526 with 4,000 cavalry, "When the King entered Tolna, he had about four thousand or more cavalry". Here the king was joined by the brother of John Zápolya, György Zápolya, Count of Szepes, who brought 200 heavy cavalry and 100 light cavalry with him, along with cavalry contingents led by the Palatine, Stephen Báthory, Pál Várdai, Bishop of Eger, and Ferenc Perényi, Bishop of Várad, as well as small contingents sent by other prelates and nobles. Pál Tomori, Archbishop of Kalocsa, had been in charge of 3,000 cavalry and 40 warships with which he had attempted to hamper and slow the Ottoman advance before it reached King Louis. Before the battle he joined the King's army along with Péter Perényi, Count of Temes, their joint forces numbering between 5-6,000 horse. In the final days before Mohács Ferenc Batthyány, the Ban of Croatia (Bans being being the military governors of the Hungarian Kingdom's outlying territories), arrived with 3,000 horse along with István Aczél, the Castellan of Pozsony, with 300 and Simon Erdödy, Bishop of Zargreb, with 700 horse. The number of heavy cavalry within the army was probably between 2,000-2,500 with the remainder being light cavalry including hussars.
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| Portrait of Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia, Hans Krell 1526. Note the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Louis was married to the daughter of Philip of Habsburg, Mary, and was thus within the Habsburg sphere of influence. |
For the infantry component of the Hungarian army King Louis left Buda on 20 July 1526 accompanied by infantry contingents and German landsknecht. Around 4,000 Poles, Czechs and Moravians were recruited with Papal money for the battle with Brodarics stating "Also came other infantry troops – a total of four thousand – of His Holiness, they were powerful and elegantly equipped soldiers". Brodarics continues to explain how of this Papal contingent 1,500 Poles were led by Lenard Gnoienski, "the excellent pioneer Polish Gnoynsky, who commanded one thousand and five hundred infantry", whilst 1,300 were led by Annibale de Este di Padovana Cartagine who Brodarics referred to as a Cyprian. More Papal troops were under the command of Ambrus Sárkány. At Tolna János Szerecsen joined the Royal host with 2,000 archers, with Brodarics reporting "On the same day late evening arrived János Szerecsen with more than two thousand excellent archer infantry, who lived around the Drava and he recruited them partly on his own domain, partly in possessions of Pécs", whilst György Zápolya, Count of Szepes, brought 1,200 infantry with his 300 cavalry. Bishop Fülöp Csulai Móré of Pécs provided 400 men. Shortly before the battle the Croatian Ban Ferenc Batthyány arrived with nobles János Tahy and the Royal Cup-bearer János Bánffy and around 3,000 Slavonian infantry whilst the master of the Hungarian Treasury, Elek Thurzó, sent 200 infantry although he himself was not present. In total the infantry in the Hungarian army probably numbered between 12,000-13,000 men. To accompany this force 18 guns were sent with Louis from Buda whilst more were sent down the Danube by boat from Buda and Vienna. The Treasurer, Elek Thurzó, also provided guns. Lists of losses after the battle show 85 artillery pieces were lost and Brodarics reported "We had almost eighty cannons, but not at all comparable to the enemy’s quality" but it seems far less were deployed by the Hungarians in the battle as many of those from Buda and Vienna had not yet been moved from the camp or unloaded from the boats they had been transported on.
Notable by his absence was John Zápolya, voevode of Transylvania, who would later become king of part of Hungary. He commanded an army of up to 13,000 men and his responsibility for defending Transylvania meant his army did not reach that of the king in time. As John Zápolya did not arrive two commanders in chief were appointed to lead the Hungarian army along with King Louis II, one being György Zápolya, Count of Szepes, the brother of John, and the other being the Franciscan friar Pál Tomori, Archbishop of Kalocsa, who was a veteran of border clashes with the Ottomans (see https://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2021/07/szavaszentdemeter-august-1523.html). Command of the left wing of the Hungarian army fell to Péter Perényi, Count of Temes, whilst the right wing was under the Ban of Croatia, Ferenc Batthyány. A special cavalry unit was formed under the command of hussar captain Gáspár Ráskai, János Kállay and Bálint Török, (for Török's later actions see https://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2021/08/tarcal-1527.html, https://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2024/02/szina-1528.html and https://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2021/06/leobersdorf-1532.html ). The task of these three captains was to ensure King Louis could escape if things took a turn for the worse in the coming battle, with Brodarics explaining how they were appointed "guardians of the King just in case if something goes wrong. Furthermore, if the restoration of the King’s line cannot be hoped or it collapses, they can take him out from the line and lead him on. They entrusted him to three prominent and most loyal men: Gáspár Ráskay, Bálint Török and János Kállay, who had never ever been contradicted by the King. They were also given fast horses, if necessity so requires the King can use them to escape".
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| The Battle of Mohács, Johann Schreier painted c.1555. |
The Hungarian army would fight in two lines with the front line comprising some of the heavy cavalry with the Slavonian light cavalry under the Croatian Ban, Ferenc Batthyány, on the right flank with the cavalry who had helped hold up the Ottoman advance under Péter Perényi, Count of Temes, on the left flank. In the second line King Louis took the centre with his bodyguard under Gáspár Ráskai, János Kállayand and Bálint Török in front of 1,000 heavy cavalry with István Brodarics commenting "the beautiful corps of heavy cavalry with a thousand or so armoured men after the king and the magnates, because the rest of the cavalry belonging to this arm was scattered in the first column". There were also more light cavalry formed up within the second line. Most of the infantry were positioned amongst the cavalry units in the first line which was stretched out as far as possible across the plain to prevent the numerically superior Ottomans from being able to outflank the Hungarian army, returning to Brodarics "the battle line had to be arranged, extending as widely as possible, ... It was a good idea because the enemy should not encircle us. Next the whole army had divided into two columns". In the second line a smaller number of infantry units were positioned on the flanks whilst perhaps 2,000 were left to defend the Hungarian camp. There is still uncertainty as to where the Hungarian guns that the artillery commander Hans von Hardegg did manage to set up were positioned but it seems their most likely position was in the first battle line.
As the Ottomans advanced into Hungary there had been much debate amongst the Hungarian forces over how to face them. Initial ideas of holding them up along a river valley could not be put into practice as the Royal army took too long to assemble. Some wanted to await the arrival of reinforcements from John Zápolya, voevode of Transylvania, and thousands of troops still on the way from Slavonia and Croatia. The speed of the Ottoman advance soon meant this was not a possibility and pressure from the southern magnates in the Royal camp, who feared their lands being overrun, helped force the King's hand to bring the Sultan's army to battle. Even once this had been decided the experienced Polish captain Lenard Gnoienski and Serbian commanders Pavle Bakić and Radič Božić argued that if battle was to be joined the flanks of the army should be protected by wagonburgs but as Brodarics recounts this plan was never adopted: "There were many people – for example the Polish Gnoynsky – who proposed that the battle line has to be surrounded from every side by wagons, because the King had plenty of them...They said that the enemy would not be able to encircle us so easily, the surrounding was very scary. Radics Bosics and Pál Bakics also endorsed this setting up of the battle line, Bakics claimed about himself that he was involved in three regular battles against Suleiman. Thus, this plan was accepted and it was entrusted to Gnoynsky and others, but they started it late evening (the night before we were fighting with the enemy). Ergo, even this thing like so many others were neglected".
As the Ottomans drew closer the Royal camp knew the huge Ottoman numerical superiority in cavalry meant that any chance of retreat had passed. As it became clear a battle would take place Brodarics reported how the young bishop of Várad, Ferenc Perényi, told King Louis "if it is already destined, the day of the battle will have to be dedicated to twenty thousand (for this strength has not been exceeded by the army yet) Hungarian martyrs, who are fallen for the Christian religion under the leadership of Friar Pál Tomori".
On the morning of 29 August 1526 the Ottomans were the first to move taking 6-7 hours to arrive in a position opposite the Hungarian lines. The experienced Sanjakbey of Semendire, Yahyapaşaoğlu Bali Bey went ahead first. Celâlzâde Mustafa Çeleb in the Tabakātü’l-Memâlik wrote "The governor of Semendire, Yahyapaşaoğlu Bali, a war-wise hero, a lion-like wolf, a guide and leader of the champions of the faith, was sent in advance by order of the world-conquering padishah to be the vanguard of the victorious army". Leading his men to higher ground above the Mohács plain Bali Bey was able to observe the Hungarian camp and the army deployed before it. Around midday the front of the Ottoman army arrived on the battlefield but it seems they expected to fight the following day. Under the orders of grand vizier Ibrahim Pasha this vanguard began to make camp and set up their artillery positions whilst the accompanying akinji and sipahis were ordered to the west of the plain.
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| Ottoman cavalry at Mohacs from the Hünernâme c.1588. |
At around 3pm this force of akinji and sipahis were attacked by hussar Captain Gáspár Ráskai, who was meant to be one of the captains in charge of the king's bodyguard. Being outnumbered by the akinji and sipahis Ráskai was quickly forced back. It seems that when it became clear the Ottomans would not attack that day the Hungarian command were forced to make a decision with Brodarics account explaining how Pál Tomori, "the Friar", urged King Louis to attack immediately before the entire Ottoman host was deployed: "There were some of the nobles who – had tired of the long wait, they – thought a recalling should be blown and order a return to the camp. As soon as the Friar had noticed it, he hurried up immediately with his colleague to the King and he warned His Majesty: there is no way to postpone the battle, now it is less dangerous to fight some of the enemy troops than to clash with the whole army tomorrow and, he has no doubt of our victory. The signal is suddenly blown by the King after this word and – as usual – ours are roaring, crying or singing with the sound of the trumpets and drum beats, and Jesus’ redemptive names of quotation has been requested aid".
The cavalry in the Hungarian front line launched an attack on the light cavalry of the Rumelian army who fled before them. This prompted the heavy cavalry of the second line to attack from their right flank but it seems by now some of the janissaries had deployed and were able to drive the attack back with their handguns. The king had been present in this charge but quickly withdrew as it began to fail. While this was taking place the wily Yahyapaşaoğlu Bali Bey had led his scouting force in an attack on the Hungarian camp, defeating the 2,000 infantry defending it before being able to turn and attack the Hungarian army from behind.
As Suleiman and his household troops, the janissaries and Sipahis of the Porte, deployed along with Behram Pasha and the army of Anatolia the King led a second charge, this time accompanied by the infantry, against the Anatolian army, which was on the Ottoman right. Comprised mainly of sipahis the Anatolian army fled but this led the Hungarians to crash into the Ottoman artillery and janissaries who opened fire on the attackers, causing terrible casualties. It seems that the Ottoman centre and right had not been able to fully deploy as some of the Hungarian cavalry were able to reach Suleiman and his guards. The contemporary Ottoman chronicler Kemalpaşazâde wrote:
"Three drunken heavy cavalry men of Ahriman's stature from the infidel army, with shining spears in their hands, broke through the rows in front of them, as a zigzagging thunderbolt is wont to cleave a cloud, and rose in a terrifying manner before the sun on the caliphate's sky. However the lion-toothed warriors surrounding the person of padishah, waiting for battle, wounded the legs of the horses of the foolhardy and blinded the bastion-like warriors, and threw them to the ground, where they slashed them with their swords".
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| The Hungarian army's centre is arrayed for battle. |
The Ottoman campaign diary of 1526,which records the day to day events leading up to the battle describes the Hungarian attack on the Anatalion army and the sultan's household as such: "The evildoer king and the rest of his desperate army attacked the felicitous ruler and the Anatolian army. Three or four times in all the Janissary corps, with gun fire, stopped, beat and drove back the despicable infidels. At last, by the grace of God the most high and the Prophet, and with the help of the hidden saints, the people of Islam, aroused and rallying their strength, turned back the wicked, and when they had no strength to attack again, they cut them down like dogs. It was a battle and slaughter so fierce that it cannot be described".
This attack failed and whilst some groups of the Hungarian cavalry regrouped and attempted repeated attacks against the Ottoman position some of the infantry began to flee to be then followed by the cavalry. Whilst the lighter cavalry could make good their escape the professional Polish, Czech, Moravian and landsknecht infantry knew they had no chance against the Ottoman horsemen. They formed a large square and were able to fend off attacks from the sipahis until the janissary handgunners were brought up against them. Soon after the battle, the Venetian diplomat Agostino da Mula wrote "Although six or eight thousand Bohemians and landsknechts retreated in a square, and were not broken by the Turkish cavalry, a good banderium of handgunners attacked them and they were killed instantly, as were the others". One of the Papal infantry captains, Annibale de Este di Padovana Cartagine, managed to escape by mounting a horse. He would become a bodyguard to John Zápolya when Zápolya was elected king later in the year.
King Louis attempted to flee but was drowned as his horse fell crossing a flooded tributary of the Danube with Brodarics reporting: "about half a mile above Mohács, under a village – which one is called Csele – and where – due to the flooding of the Danube – was more water, than usual. He was there with his horse and drowned in water in arms like others had died in that place". The friar, Pál Tomori, Archbishop of Kalocsa, was killed in the fighting with Brodarics explaining how the Ottomans beheaded the prelate and paraded his head around on a spear, "The Friar could die during bravely fighting in the front line and they cut off his head from his body, they put it to a long spear and the next day they carried it around the enemy camp in triumph, finally later – it is claimed – it was stuck up in front of the Emperor’s tent". The other commander in chief, György Zápolya, Count of Szepes, drowned as he tried to get in a boat and reach safety.
István Brodarics thought the battle lasted an hour and a half whilst the Ottoman campaign diary reported two hours. As the akinji hunted down the fleeing Hungarians the sultan and his household troops remained on the field until midnight in case of another attack. The Ottoman chronicler Kemalpaşazâde wrote "In the place where the river of battle flowed, the heads of men lay scattered like pebbles on the banks of the river. The surface of the plain, the tops of the mounds, the tops of the heights and the openings of the valleys were covered with mutilated corpses to the end". Perhaps 4,000-6,000 of the cavalry in the Hungarian army were killed, with the heavy cavalry suffering the worse losses, whilst as many as 12,000 of the infantry may have perished with very few of the men on foot being able to escape. On the Ottoman side between 1,200 and 1,500 are estimated to have been killed. The Hungarian army had been destroyed and Suleiman's route to Buda lay clear.
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| The cavalry and infantry of, György Zápolya, Count of Szepes. |
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| Some of the guns and light cavalry under György Zápolya's command. |
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| The cavalry and infantry of Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia. |
Scenario
Rather than play a standard "one player versus another" wargame we thought it would be more interesting for us to all play as the Hungarians desperately attempting to reach and defeat the Sultan before our army was completely overwhelmed by the numerically superior Ottomans. As three of us were playing each player represented either King Louis II, György Zápolya, Count of Szepes or "the Friar" Pál Tomori, Archbishop of Kalocsa. As always we used our modified Lion Rampant rules and each player had control of one infantry retinue and one cavalry retinue which combined to form the Hungarian centre in the battle. These were set up in front of the Ottoman forces. The Hungarian right and left flanks under Ferenc Batthyány and Péter Perényi were not represented on the table and neither was the army of Anatolia under Behram Pasha so this was very much a stylised version of the battle that focused on a specific part of the battlefield.
The Ottoman forces were played by a combination of static units and randomly controlled units and made up a total of four retinues. Facing the Hungarians on the table at the start of the game were the sipahis of the army of Rumelia and the light infantry azabs in one retinue with the other being the Kapikulu Corps, comprising the Sultan with the household cavalry and the janissaries.
Off table were the akinji under the "lion-like wolf" Yahyapaşaoğlu Bali Bey whilst to represent the other sipahis returning to the fight another retinue of sipahis was able to attack later in the game.
In order to win the game one of the Hungarian players had rout or kill the Sultan's unit of Kapikulu Süvarileri before the Hungarians were wiped out. If not victory would fall to whoever's commanders had managed to escape the field.
Turn Sequence
Each of the retinues in the game was represented by a coloured dice. At the start of the game 8 of these were placed in a bag to represent the six Hungarian retinues and the two Ottoman retinues on the table. Each turn a dice was be taken from the bag and the retinue whose dice was drawn would then act. This was done for all retinues every turn.
As soon as a sipahis unit on the table was destroyed or routed the dice for the Timariot Sipahis retinue was placed in the bag so the following turn that retinue could act and as soon as a total of three units of akinji or Balkan cavalry were destroyed or routed the dice for Yahyapaşaoğlu Bali Bey and the akinji was added to the bag so the following turn that retinue could act. See the special rules below for an explanation as to how they acted.
The randomly controlled Ottoman retinues
Whilst the units comprising the Sultan's household troops could all attempt to activate every turn the other three Ottoman units were controlled randomly and did not behave in this way. Each player started start the game with 5 playing cards. Before each turn each player would play a card and whoever played the highest card was able to choose the Ottoman retinue that was currently in play that they would take control of for that turn. If there were more than one randomly controlled Ottoman retinues in play then whoever got the second highest card could choose which retinue to take next or take the second one if only two were in play and if all three randomly controlled Ottoman retinues were in play then the player with the lowest card would take control of the remaining Ottoman retinue. The players would all then take another card. These randomly controlled Ottoman retinues behaved like a normal retinue and a failed activation would end their turn.
Of course the decision that fell to each of us when we were in command of the randomly controlled Ottoman retinues was whether to use that as an opportunity to hinder the other two Hungarian players or to aid them by playing the Ottomans in a way that made them less dangerous. As the game unfolded all three of us would play the randomly controlled retinues in both ways resulting in some interesting outcomes!
Of course the decision that fell to each of us when we were in command of the randomly controlled Ottoman retinues was whether to use that as an opportunity to hinder the other two Hungarian players or to aid them by playing the Ottomans in a way that made them less dangerous. As the game unfolded all three of us would play the randomly controlled retinues in both ways resulting in some interesting outcomes!
"the lion-toothed warriors surrounding the person of padishah"
The Sultan was deployed behind his janissaries and formed part of the Kapikulu Süvarileri unit. All units within this retinue could attempt to activate every turn and they acted as follows:
The janissary arquebusiers, janissary archers, artillery war wagons and janissary war wagons would all attempt to fire at the nearest enemy unit every turn. If they had fallen back and they had no other targets then the janissary arquebusiers and archers would move to return to their original positions.
The three batteries of guns would only open fire once an enemy unit was within 12" and would attempt to fire at an enemy unit within 12" after this.
The janissary infantry and armoured janissaries would charge the nearest enemy unit when it was within reach and would continue to charge the nearest enemy unit after this. If fired upon by an enemy unit they could also move towards that unit if no unit was within range of a charge.
The Sultan could not be challenged and his unit would never charge but would attempt to counter charge any attack.
If only the Hungarian infantry units were left on the table the janissary arquebusiers and archers would then attempt to move towards the nearest infantry unit in order to attempt to shoot it once it was within range.
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| The troops of "the Friar" Pál Tomori, Archbishop of Kalocsa. |
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| A view towards the Ottoman lines from the heavily armoured gendarmes of King Louis II. |
Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha and the Army of Rumelia
At the start of the game the azabs from this retinue were deployed in front of the Sultan and the Kapikulu Corps, whilst the cavalry were deployed on the left of the the Sultan and the Kapikulu Corps.
"The governor of Semendire, Yahyapaşaoğlu Bali, a war-wise hero, a lion-like wolf, a guide and leader of the champions of the faith"
As soon as a total of three units of akinji or Balkan cavalry were destroyed or routed the akinji retinue of Yahyapaşaoğlu Bali Bey was able to arrive on the following turn. The retinue could enter from anywhere behind the Hungarian lines and the Delis unit containing Bali Bey had to be one of the first three units to arrive on the table. The units in this retinue could enter the table via move, skirmish or attack activations and every time an akinji or Balkan cavalry unit was destroyed or routed it was "recycled" back into the retinue of Bali Bey. This meant the retinue would never reach half strength although the death of Bali Bey would mean all units in the retinue would be required to take a morale check.
The Timariot Sipahis
To represent the huge numbers of sipahis in the battle this retinue was formed of "recycled" sipahis units. The retinue did not have a retinue leader and could not be reduced to half strength. When the units became available they could be deployed from either Hungarian flank and could enter the table via attack or via move activations.
"and where – due to the flooding of the Danube – was more water, than usual"
If any part of a unit had to move through a swamp area on the table then they would move at half move and roll a D6. On the roll of a 1 that unit would take D3 casualties from troops drowning. Swampy terrain did not give any cover advantage but it did count as rough terrain for fighting. A unit attacking into the swampy terrain would also have to roll a D6 to see if they suffered casualties. This rule would prove a nightmare for my light cavalry in the game!
Victory
The player whose unit routed or killed the Sultan would automatically win the game, however if this did not happen and all six retinues of the Hungarians had been reduced to half strength then all the players who still had retinues on the table had to attempt to get their remaining retinue leaders to safety. If this happened each player would get 1 victory point for each retinue leader, of the infantry or cavalry, who escaped. Once this point was reached any Hungarian units with wild charge would no longer have to test for this. The players would get an additional one point if they managed to kill or rout Yahyapaşaoğlu Bali Bey and an an additional one point if they managed to kill or rout grand vizier Ibrahim Pasha. If one player managed to kill or rout the Sultan whilst another player managed to kill or rout Yahyapaşaoğlu Bali or grand vizier Ibrahim Pasha before this then this would help to determine who came second.
The actual game ended up taking so long and there were so many appalling dice rolls that we had to apply our own judgment as to who had won as you will see below!
The actual game ended up taking so long and there were so many appalling dice rolls that we had to apply our own judgment as to who had won as you will see below!
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| Veteran hussars form part of the Hungarian army's light cavalry. |
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| Bohemian infantry in the ranks of the Hungarian army. |
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| The Papal infantry captain Annibale de Este di Padovana Cartagine. |
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| Hussars from the retinue of Pál Tomori, Archbishop of Kalocsa. |
The Armies
As discussed above this game differed from a normal wargame where the players take command of the two sides in that we were all playing as Hungarian commanders and racing against each other in an attempt to break into the Sultan's household troops and defeat him. As such Stuart took command of King Louis II's cavalry and Annibale de Este di Padovana Cartagine and the king's infantry, Tom took command of György Zápolya, Count of Szepes, and his cavalry and the Polish captain Lenard Gnoienski and his infantry whilst I took command of "the Friar" Pál Tomori, Archbishop of Kalocsa's cavalry and infantry under the Serbian captain Pavle Bakić.
As Mohács was a large battle we used more figures than normal to represent the units, so twelve figures formed a cavalry unit and two guns represented an artillery battery but in the rules the amount of "hits" each unit could take did not change. The game still took a very long time to play.
As discussed above this game differed from a normal wargame where the players take command of the two sides in that we were all playing as Hungarian commanders and racing against each other in an attempt to break into the Sultan's household troops and defeat him. As such Stuart took command of King Louis II's cavalry and Annibale de Este di Padovana Cartagine and the king's infantry, Tom took command of György Zápolya, Count of Szepes, and his cavalry and the Polish captain Lenard Gnoienski and his infantry whilst I took command of "the Friar" Pál Tomori, Archbishop of Kalocsa's cavalry and infantry under the Serbian captain Pavle Bakić.
As Mohács was a large battle we used more figures than normal to represent the units, so twelve figures formed a cavalry unit and two guns represented an artillery battery but in the rules the amount of "hits" each unit could take did not change. The game still took a very long time to play.
The Army of Hungary
King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia
Cavalry
2 Units of Gendarmes (One unit includes King Louis II of Hungary, retinue leader)
1 Unit of Men at Arms
1 Unit of Lancers
1 Unit of Hussars
1 Unit of Balkan Cavalry
Infantry
1 Unit of Halberdiers (Unit includes retinue leader Annibale de Este di Padovana Cartagine)
2 Units of Landsknecht Pike
1 Unit of Landsknecht Arquebusiers
1 Unit of Pavise Infantry with Arquebuses
1 Battery of Culverins
György Zápolya, Count of Szepes
Cavalry
1 Unit of Gendarmes (Unit includes György Zápolya, Count of Szepes, retinue leader)
2 Units of Men at Arms
2 Units of Lancers
1 Unit of Hungarian Horse Archers
1 Unit of Balkan Cavalry
Infantry
1 Unit of Polish Halberdiers (Unit includes retinue leader Lenard Gnoienski)
1 Unit of Mercenary Pike
2 Units of Pavise Infantry with Arquebuses
1 Unit of Hungarian Archers
1 Battery of Culverins
Pál Tomori, Archbishop of Kalocsa
Cavalry
1 Unit of Gendarmes (Unit includes Pál Tomori, Archbishop of Kalocsa, retinue leader)
1 Unit of Men at Arms
2 Units of Lancers
1 Unit of Hussars
2 Units of Balkan Cavalry
Infantry
1 Unit of Serbian Infantry (Unit includes retinue leader Pavle Bakić)
1 Unit of Mercenary Pike
1 Unit of Pavise Infantry with Arquebuses
1 Unit of Hungarian Arquebusiers
1 Unit of Hungarian Archers
1 Battery of Culverins
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| The Ottoman army is in the process of deploying as the Hungarians threaten to attack. |
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| A view of the Sultan's household troops, the Kapikulu Corps. |
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| Suleiman the Magnificent directs his household troops. |
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| The Sultan is surrounded by his household cavalry, the Kapikulu Süvarileri or Sipahis of the Porte. |
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| A view of the Hungarian lines from Suleiman's position. |
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| Ranks of janissary archers and arquebusiers protect the Sultan. |
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| The janissaries. |
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| In front of the Ottoman guns and war wagons a line of azabs are deployed. |
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| On the Sultan's left flank is the army of Rumelia under the command of grand vizier Ibrahim Pasha. |
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| The Balkan cavalry of the army of Rumelia prepare for battle. |
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| The sipahis of the army of Rumelia. |
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| A view of the Sultan's position. Suleiman is surrounded by his Sipahis of the Porte and the janissaries who in turn are positioned behind the Ottoman guns and war wagons. In front of all this a line of azabs fans out. |
The Ottoman Army
The Ottoman army was comprised of four retinues as set out below.
Suleiman the Magnificent and the Kapikulu Corps
1 Unit of Kapikulu Süvarileri (Unit contains the Ottoman Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, retinue leader)
2 Units of Janissary Arquebusiers
2 Units of Janissary Archers
2 Units of Janissary Infantry
2 Units of Armoured Janissaries
1 Unit of Artillery War Wagons
2 Units of Janissary War Wagons
3 Batteries of Guns
Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha and the Army of Rumelia
4 Units of Sipahis (One unit includes grand vizier Ibrahim Pasha - retinue leader)
2 Units of Azab Infantry
2 Units of Azab Archers
3 Units of Akinji
Yahyapaşaoğlu Bali Bey, Sanjakbey of Semendire, and the akinji
The retinue starts with
1 Unit of Delhis (Unit includes the Sanjakbey of Semendire, Yahyapaşaoğlu Bali Bey - retinue leader)
2 Units of Akinji
but see the scenario rules above.
The Timariot Sipahis
Starts with no units but see the scenario rules above.
This was a marathon of a game featuring hundreds of figures and spanning two days. It was also full of some unbelievably bad dice rolls with disastrous results. Despite this a brief summary of what happened in the game follows and the photo captions are also a great way to follow the action.
This was a marathon of a game featuring hundreds of figures and spanning two days. It was also full of some unbelievably bad dice rolls with disastrous results. Despite this a brief summary of what happened in the game follows and the photo captions are also a great way to follow the action.
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| A view of the table from above. Starting from the top of the photo and working clockwise we have the troops under György Zápolya, then Louis II with his troops followed by those under the command of Pál Tomori in the bottom right. The bottom of the photo shows some of the flooding from the Danube. In the centre left we have the Sultan with his household troops with the army of Rumelia under grand vizier, Ibrahim Pasha in the top left. |
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| The armies face each other on the afternoon of 29 August 1526. |
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| Some of the Hungarian infantry and artillery move forward. |
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| The light cavalry of Pál Tomori advance. |
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| The battle hardened hussars from Pál Tomori's force prepare to lead the attack. |
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| Unbelievably just as the battle begins the Hungarian King turns his gendarmes around and leaves the field! With no time to react György Zápolya and Pál Tomori will have to continue the battle without him. |
It was mid afternoon when the Hungarian army began to move. Accompanied by "singing with the sound of the trumpets and drum beats" the Papal infantry under the command of Lenard Gnoienski and Annibale de Este di Padovana Cartagine advanced. Some of the Hungarian guns were also moved forward in the hope that they could be brought to bear on the war wagons of the janissaries. The first of the cavalry to move were "the Friar" Pál Tomori's veteran hussars and Balkan cavalry who raced forward eager to get to grips with the Sultan's household troops arrayed before them.
Hardly a shot had been fired and then inexplicably Louis II, King of Hungary and Bohemia made an about turn with his troop of gendarmes, "the beautiful corps of heavy cavalry", and left the field (Stuart rolled a double one in an attempt to move Louis II's unit which meant he had to roll on a blunder chart only to get the result that the unit made two full moves to the rear which took it off the table!). With the advance on the Ottomans already in full swing the two commanders in chief György Zápolya and Pál Tomori had no time to chase their young king and realised they would have to fight the battle without him!
Hardly a shot had been fired and then inexplicably Louis II, King of Hungary and Bohemia made an about turn with his troop of gendarmes, "the beautiful corps of heavy cavalry", and left the field (Stuart rolled a double one in an attempt to move Louis II's unit which meant he had to roll on a blunder chart only to get the result that the unit made two full moves to the rear which took it off the table!). With the advance on the Ottomans already in full swing the two commanders in chief György Zápolya and Pál Tomori had no time to chase their young king and realised they would have to fight the battle without him!
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| A view of the plain as the light cavalry of the two armies skirmish with each other. Pál Tomori's light cavalry and hussars have attempted to ride through the flooded area of the plain resulting in a considerable number of them being drowned! |
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| Grand vizier, Ibrahim Pasha orders the army of Rumelia to attack. |
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| The two armies prepare to engage. |
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| The janissaries watch on from their defensive position. |
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| German gunners in the Hungarian army open fire on the army of Rumelia. |
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| The massed cavalry forces of the two armies... |
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| ...charge towards each other across the plain of Mohács. |
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| As the light cavalry skirmish the Hungarian arquebusiers and azab archers exchange shots. |
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| The first hand to hand fighting breaks out as the sipahis of the army of Rumelia charge the troops of György Zápolya. |
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| Hungarian men at arms drive back the lighter equipped sipahis. |
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| György Zápolya leads his own heavy cavalry into the fighting and easily pushes back the sipahis. |
The Hungarian advance was matched by the army of Rumelia who rode out under a sea of fluttering pennons to face the Hungarian army. As the skilled horsemen on both sides skirmished with one another on the plain the light cavalry and hussars of the Franciscan friar Pál Tomori attempted to avoid the horsemen to their front by riding through the waterlogged ground to their left. This proved to be a disaster with many of the hussars and Balkan horsemen becoming caught in the flooded ground and drowning. Tomori's cavalry had taken significant losses and had not even engaged the enemy!
As the armies closed on one another the azabs of the Ottoman army shot arrows at the Hungarians whilst the ranks of the arquebusiers in the Hungarian army replied with a hail of shot. The Hungarian artillery opened fire killing sipahis and azabs. As the sipahis charged into his infantry György Zápolya order his heavy cavalry to counter charge and a chaotic melee developed.
As the armies closed on one another the azabs of the Ottoman army shot arrows at the Hungarians whilst the ranks of the arquebusiers in the Hungarian army replied with a hail of shot. The Hungarian artillery opened fire killing sipahis and azabs. As the sipahis charged into his infantry György Zápolya order his heavy cavalry to counter charge and a chaotic melee developed.
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| In the centre of the plain hussars ride down some of the azabs. |
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| A unit of lancers from King Louis II's guard are the first troops to test the janissaries field fortifications... |
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| ...the lancers are slaughtered in a hail of cannon and handgun fire. |
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| Ibrahim Pasha is repeatedly attacked in the swirling cavalry melee... |
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| ...and is slain by the light cavalry from György Zápolya's retinue. |
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| Hussars charge the janissary war wagons in an attempt to push through to the Sultan. |
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| György Zápolya's troops have fought bravely against the sipahis of the Rumelian army but the Ottoman numbers are vast and unit after unit of sipahis joins the fray. |
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| Infantry under the command of the Papal captain Annibale de Este di Padovana Cartagine drive forward accompanied by a unit of gendarmes. |
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| The Ottoman artillery fire into the attacking Hungarians. |
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| The janissaries on the right flank of the Sultan's position ready themselves... |
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| ...as Pál Tomori's Balkan cavalry charge their position. |
With fierce fighting taking place between the troops of grand vizier, Ibrahim Pasha and György Zápolya, Count of Szepes on the Ottoman left flank in the centre of the plain the Hungarian king's hussars and light horse rode down the azabs before attempting to break into the janissaries position. The attack failed dismally with the Ottoman cannons and handguns opening fire to "cut them down like dogs". But the battle did not go all the way of the Ottomans as in the fierce cavalry fighting Ibrahim Pasha was first attacked by hussars and then chased down by some of György Zápolya's light cavalry. The mighty grand vizier was unhorsed and slain in the melee as the army of Rumelia was driven back despite its huge numerical superiority.
Moments after the first attack on the janissaries and Ottoman cannon another charge hit home as the light cavalry under Pál Tomori's command, that hadn't been drowned, charged in to attack the janissaries on the Sultan's right flank. The initial charge was a success with some of the Ottoman gunners being ridden down before the cannon could open fire but a ferocious counter charge by the janissaries soon drove the light cavalry back in panic.
Moments after the first attack on the janissaries and Ottoman cannon another charge hit home as the light cavalry under Pál Tomori's command, that hadn't been drowned, charged in to attack the janissaries on the Sultan's right flank. The initial charge was a success with some of the Ottoman gunners being ridden down before the cannon could open fire but a ferocious counter charge by the janissaries soon drove the light cavalry back in panic.
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| .Some of the Ottoman gunners are killed but the janissaries counter attack fiercely and drive the horsemen back. |
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| Moments later Annibale de Este di Padovana Cartagine is killed as he attempts to breach the Ottoman field fortifications. |
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| In the centre of the plain a huge swirling cavalry melee takes place... |
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| ...and the Ottoman forces begin to fall back. |
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| "Three or four times in all the Janissary corps, with gun fire, stopped, beat and drove back the despicable infidels." |
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| Cavalry under the command of the Palatine, Stephen Báthory and the king's chancellor, István Brodarics drive back a unit of sipahis. |
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| "the lion-toothed warriors surrounding the person of padishah, waiting for battle, wounded the legs of the horses of the foolhardy and blinded the bastion-like warriors, and threw them to the ground" |
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| As the fighting continues "the excellent pioneer Polish Gnoynsky" is slain whilst... |
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| ...Stephen Báthory and István Brodarics are brought down in an attempt to break the Ottoman position. |
There was fighting all across the plain as the endless sipahis of the Ottoman army continued to attack György Zápolya's troops whilst in the centre the men that had been under the direct command of King Louis made repeated charges against the Ottoman wagons. The first commander to be slain was the Papal captain Annibale de Este di Padovana Cartagine who was shot as he lead his infantry against the janissaries. He was soon followed by another Papal captain, the Pole, Lenard Gnoienski, whose "powerful and elegantly equipped soldiers" were surrounded and overwhelmed by the sipahis.
Facing charge after charge the janissaries suffered casualties as gendarmes and hussars continued to attempt to break into the Ottoman field works. Bravely charging the guns it looked as if the Palatine, Stephen Báthory and the king's chancellor, István Brodarics might be able to get through but they too were slain by gun fire.
Facing charge after charge the janissaries suffered casualties as gendarmes and hussars continued to attempt to break into the Ottoman field works. Bravely charging the guns it looked as if the Palatine, Stephen Báthory and the king's chancellor, István Brodarics might be able to get through but they too were slain by gun fire.
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| "the Friar" Pál Pál Tomori, Archbishop of Kalocsa is yet to commit to a charge but it is clear the Sultan's household troops will not break... |
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| ...meanwhile more and more sipahis continue to envelop the Hungarian centre. |
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| As the Serbian commander Pavle Bakić advances with his infantry... |
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| ...the akinji of "The governor of Semendire, Yahyapaşaoğlu Bali, a war-wise hero, a lion-like wolf, a guide and leader of the champions of the faith" arrive in the army's rear having encircled the Hungarian position. |
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| "Bohemians and landsknechts retreated in a square, and were not broken by the Turkish cavalry" |
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| The landsknecht form into a square and prepare to defend against the encircling akinji and sipahis. |
Having only launched one attack on the Sultan's right flank most of the troops of Pál Tomori and the Serbian captain Pavle Bakić remained unengaged as had the large block of landsknecht pike which had accompanied the Hungarian king from Buda. Tomori and Bakić closed on the shattered janissary war wagons but knowing there were thousands of as yet uncommitted janissaries waiting behind them and with more and more sipahis joining the battle they decided not to attempt any further attacks.
Whilst the landsknecht had been spared the horror of facing the janissary guns they were now suddenly surrounded as the "lion-like wolf" and Sanjakbey of Semendire, Yahyapaşaoğlu Bali Bey, arrived on the field with his akinji. As the light horsemen swirled around them the German mercenaries closed ranks knowing that the skirmishing cavalry would never be able to break their ranks. Pál Tomori and György Zápolya sounded the retreat and began to withdraw as did the landsknecht. Suleiman the Magnificent remained triumphant on the field, surrounded by his household troops.
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| Landsknecht arquebusiers defend against the Ottoman cavalry. |
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| The Ottomans will pay dearly if they attempt to break into the landsknecht ranks. |
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| The clash ends with , György Zápolya, Count of Szepes, Pál Tomori, Archbishop of Kalocsa and the Serbian captain Pavle Bakić still on the field and with the landsknecht infantry completely surrounded by akinji but unbroken and in good order. Many attempts have been made to break through to the Sultan but none have succeeded. |
This was the biggest game we have ever done and it certainly felt like it. After two days of gaming there were still lots of uncommitted units but we had to draw the game to a close as much for our sanity as due to time constraints! Whilst I would recommend having a go at loads of the scenarios we play on this blog I wouldn't recommend this one as the endlessly recycling units of sipahis and akinji make it maddening not to mention the fact it takes days to play and set up.
All that being said we had a lot of fun and some of the awful dice rolls and resulting consequences were hilarious. Louis II simply riding off on turn two was nothing any of us had counted on whilst me loosing as many cavalry to drowning in the flooded plain as I did to the Ottomans provided much amusement to Tom and Stuart. Normally we use an 8ft by 4ft set up with my gaming boards but this time we used an 8ft by 6ft set up and it was great to see the full Ottoman and Hungarian armies arrayed of course accompanied by some of Stuart's beautiful landsknecht and cavalry.
So who won? Well obviously the Ottomans won overall as none of us got that close to the Sultan although there was a brief moment when it looked like some of Stuart's gendarmes might reach him. Tom was the only player to score a victory point by slaying the grand vizier, Ibrahim Pasha, and his commander György Zápolya, Count of Szepes, was still on the field having fought an endless battle against the Ottoman sipahis. Both my retinue commanders Pál Tomori and Pavle Bakić remained on the field, however I failed to really achieve anything in my attacks, whilst Stuart lost the king in turn two, his entire cavalry force and his infantry captain. As such we awarded Tom the victory with myself just scraping second followed by Stuart. But saying that you could also argue that as Louis II decided against fighting right at the beginning of the battle and simply rode off then maybe Stuart was the real victor! I will leave that to you to decide.
We normally avoid doing massive battles but this was a great experience and I felt we had to try to do Mohács justice. I am sure we will try something equally ambitious and foolhardy in the future. Of course there are loads of other ways Mohács could be gamed. In fact other scenarios would probably give much better results that this one! It would be interesting to try and field forces to represent the entire Hungarian and Ottoman armies, so including contingents to represent the Hungarian left and right flanks and the army of Anatolia. Our next games will be more skirmish based although saying that Stuart and I already have an interesting idea for another go at Pavia, partly inspired by this game, which we may revisit later in the year.
All that being said we had a lot of fun and some of the awful dice rolls and resulting consequences were hilarious. Louis II simply riding off on turn two was nothing any of us had counted on whilst me loosing as many cavalry to drowning in the flooded plain as I did to the Ottomans provided much amusement to Tom and Stuart. Normally we use an 8ft by 4ft set up with my gaming boards but this time we used an 8ft by 6ft set up and it was great to see the full Ottoman and Hungarian armies arrayed of course accompanied by some of Stuart's beautiful landsknecht and cavalry.
So who won? Well obviously the Ottomans won overall as none of us got that close to the Sultan although there was a brief moment when it looked like some of Stuart's gendarmes might reach him. Tom was the only player to score a victory point by slaying the grand vizier, Ibrahim Pasha, and his commander György Zápolya, Count of Szepes, was still on the field having fought an endless battle against the Ottoman sipahis. Both my retinue commanders Pál Tomori and Pavle Bakić remained on the field, however I failed to really achieve anything in my attacks, whilst Stuart lost the king in turn two, his entire cavalry force and his infantry captain. As such we awarded Tom the victory with myself just scraping second followed by Stuart. But saying that you could also argue that as Louis II decided against fighting right at the beginning of the battle and simply rode off then maybe Stuart was the real victor! I will leave that to you to decide.
We normally avoid doing massive battles but this was a great experience and I felt we had to try to do Mohács justice. I am sure we will try something equally ambitious and foolhardy in the future. Of course there are loads of other ways Mohács could be gamed. In fact other scenarios would probably give much better results that this one! It would be interesting to try and field forces to represent the entire Hungarian and Ottoman armies, so including contingents to represent the Hungarian left and right flanks and the army of Anatolia. Our next games will be more skirmish based although saying that Stuart and I already have an interesting idea for another go at Pavia, partly inspired by this game, which we may revisit later in the year.
I will leave you with a picture of the three Hungarian captains, suitably attired with the aid of some kind of blasphemous artificial intellingence. I feel we look more like we have stepped out of Warhammer 40,000 than 1526!
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| The three Hungarian Captains. |
