In December 1704, after Érsekújvár fell to the Kuruc army, Rákóczi’s army began the siege of Lipótvár. The Imperial command could not allow another important stronghold to fall into the hands of the enemy, so Siegbert Heister led the attack from Pozsony in mid-December. On the 25th the Imperial troops were already near Nagyszombat (Trnava), at Rosindol. Rákóczi was aware of Heister’s movements, but he did not want to wait until he reached Lipótvár, and wanted to meet him in the open field. Under the command of La Mothe, he left a weak siege army at the fortress, and set off for Nagyszombat, taking with him Bercsényi’s corps, which was raiding the Moravian frontier.
On 25 December, he rallied his army at Farkashida, some 14-15 km from enemy troops. In total, the Kuruc army consisted of about 19-20,000 men, roughly the same number as the Imperial army. The numbers were therefore equal, but Heister had the superiority in artillery, with 24 guns to the Kuruc’s 6.
A council of war was held at Farkashida, where it was decided that they would begin the attack the next day, in the open fields southwest of Nagyszombat. The army camped in battle order and was scheduled to march towards Nagyszombat during the night. Bercsényi, however, dissuaded Rákóczi from marching at night, claiming that the troops could easily be confused. The prince agreed, but this put him at a disadvantage. The army, which had started at dawn, arrived on the battlefield just as the enemy was about to do so, leaving no time for rest or to survey the battlefield.
So at dawn on 26 December, the Kuruc army marched in the bitter cold. Heister also arrived on the battlefield just as the Kuruc army appeared. From a deserter, he was well-informed about the enemy’s forces and his intention to attack.
The Kuruc troops were lined up in a crescent, with the cavalry on the right flank under the command of Bercsényi and on the left flank under the command of Esterházy Antal. Unfortunately, only one line. The bulk of the army was lined up in a double line with the infantry, with the cannons placed between the two lines. The middle section was commanded by the French Colonel Fierville d’Herisy.
The Imperials formed a long rectangle in a double line, with most of the guns in the center and the rest on the flanks. In the center of the left-wing, Heister lined up the supply wagons.
At 1 p.m. a thick fog descended on the landscape, so Rákóczi lost his bearings when he went to inspect his troops. About this time the Kuruc cannons sounded. Heister’s guns replied immediately, and the smoke of gunpowder dispersed the fog. Rákóczi had ventured too close to the firing line and only drew back when an incoming cannonball next to him severed the leg of one of his servants.
Heister was astonished to find that the northern line of the Kuruc’s northern front was much longer than his own, but he hadn’t realized that it was only a single line. He feared that his army would be encircled and surrounded. He therefore moved his left flank to the north-west to lengthen his line. Bercsényi believed that the Imperials were retreating from the battlefield, and sent a messenger to the Prince, suggesting that the Imperials should be allowed to retreat. To the messenger, Rákóczi irritably replied, “We didn’t come here to crunch peanuts”.
Bercsényi sent only the regiment of Ebeczky István, who was on the right flank, into battle, and then galloped to Rákóczi. He left his corps behind. Seeing Ebeczky’s attack, the whole right flank moved. They overran the left wing of the Imperials, which stood still and took up the fight. However, they were quickly overrun by the dashing Kuruc cavalry, and the Imperial regiments were broken up. The Kuruc did not continue the attack but began to plunder the wagons.
At the same time, the Kuruc left wing, Esterházy’s cavalry, also went on the offensive and also achieved successes on the right of the Imperials. Fierville’s troops also moved up and marched in a closed order towards Heister’s center. They defended themselves against the Imperial guns by cutting themselves on their stomachs when they were fired, so that the bullets did little damage. They charged at the Imperial infantry, slaughtering a good part of the men handling the guns. The hajdús of Miskolc burst into the enemy with such force that they fought their way to the reserve, cutting both their front lines.
The brisk assault was initially successful, with the Kuruc in the upper position everywhere except on the right flank, where the looting continued. Heister himself was in mortal danger. A Hungarian hajdú from Miskolc fired a pistol at him, but the major general took his head aside. Then the Kuruc hajdú rushed at him with a sword, but Heister’s aide shot him in the chest.
Then the Field Marshal noticed that a gap had appeared on the right flank of the Kuruc front. Leading the Dragoon regiment of Fels, he directed his counterattack here, and breaking through the enemy, he was in the rear of the Kuruc. They attacked Bercsényi’s cavalry and the infantry of the central section and also silenced the guns. In addition, the German attack caused the German-crewed Scharudi battalion, fighting on the left of the Kuruc center, to raise the white flag and move to flank the Imperials, attacking the Nyárády battalion fighting alongside. The latter, under the effect of the sudden flanking attack, began to flee.
As a result of these circumstances, the Kuruc front collapsed. However, the cavalry on the left flank, under Esterházy’s command, was still holding their own. At this time, around 3 or 4 o’clock, they were still fighting. They also broke through but also spent their time looting.
Rákóczi, sensing the chaos created by Heister’s counterattack and the betrayal of the Scharudi battalion, wanted to personally gallop to the scene to lead his court riflemen in a counterattack. However, his entourage prevented the Prince from unwisely risking his life. Rákóczi was not lacking in personal courage, he would have sacrificed his life at any time, but his eventual death or imprisonment would have sealed the fate of the entire struggle for freedom.
So Rákóczi was surrounded and dragged away from the battlefield in the opposite direction. Thus the riflemen did not move. The prince, who had settled on the hilltop, gathered the runners around him, formed some regiments in order, and lined up in front of the city walls to prevent Heister’s possible advance. In the late evening, they withdrew from the battlefield towards Szered. Some Kuruc units did not join them for days, as did the hajdús from Miskolc, who arrived at the camp by a long detour. Ocskay, who was almost overwhelmed by the Hungarian-clad Labanc (anti-Kuruc) Simonyi and Babochay hussars, escaped at the last moment, with the help of Colonel Pongrác Gáspár, who was returning from his raid.
Around 180 Kuruc soldiers were killed, including the commander of Nagyszombat, Dúló Ádám, who ran out of the town when he heard the cannon fire, but was hit by a rifle bullet. Fierville, the commander of the middle army, was also taken prisoner. The Imperial losses, including the wounded, were over 600, which means that the Kuruc army was about 2 percent disabled and the Imperial army about 3 percent.
Heister invaded Nagyszombat, relieved the castle of Lipótvár, and retreated towards Pozsony. The battle ended in an Imperial victory, but they were hardly able to capitalize on their success. The Kuruc army remained almost untouched, its fighting spirit unabated, and the Imperials gained little ground. The success was undone by the raids of the Kuruc, who soon reappeared at the gates of Vienna. The Imperial command was unhappy with Heister, and this may have contributed to his replacement the following year.
Source: Szibler Gábor
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