Editing Battle of Mohács (section)

==Battle==
[[File:Battle_of_Mohács_1526.png|300px|thumb|Depiction of the Battle of Mohács.]]
The battle took place on the afternoon of 29 August 1526, on a wide and waterlogged plain near the village of Mohács. The Hungarian army, numbering around 25,000–30,000 men, was arranged in two lines: the first composed of mercenary infantry and artillery in the centre, with heavy cavalry on both flanks; the second consisted largely of levy infantry and reserve cavalry.<ref>"The Battle of Mohacs: The Fall of the Hungarian Empire", by Richard H. Berg, published in ''Against the Odds'', Volume 3, Number 1, September 2004.</ref> Opposing them was an Ottoman force of perhaps 45,000 fighting troops, including Janissaries, [[Timarli sipahi|Timarli]] cavalry, conscripted Balkan levies, and artillery, under the overall command of Sultan [[Suleiman the Magnificent]] and his grand vizier, [[Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha|Ibrahim Pasha]].<ref>Murphey, Rhoads. ''Ottoman Warfare, 1500–1700.'' Rutgers University Press, 1999.</ref>{{sfn|Overy|2014|pp=53—56}}

Leadership played a crucial role in the unfolding of the battle. Suleiman and Ibrahim, who had left Constantinople together in April with an army of 100,000 men and 300 guns, had prepared carefully for the campaign. While the Sultan remained at the centre of command, Ibrahim led the vanguard, ensured the bridging of rivers, and personally oversaw the advance through southern Hungary.{{sfn|Overy|2014|pp=53—56}} He commanded the Ottoman centre during the battle and was credited by contemporaries with orchestrating a tactical feigned retreat that drew the Hungarians into an encirclement.{{sfn|Overy|2014|pp=53—56}}

The Hungarian leadership, in contrast, was divided and under pressure from nobles who pushed for immediate battle rather than waiting for reinforcements. Confident in the strength of their heavy cavalry, they hoped to break the Ottoman line with a direct assault.{{sfn|Overy|2014|pp=53—56}} In the early afternoon, Archbishop [[Pál Tomori]] led a charge that initially drove back the Ottoman front line, causing disorder among the irregulars.{{sfn|Overy|2014|pp=53—56}} Ibrahim Pasha's centre fell back in a controlled manoeuvre, forming a crescent that exposed the flanks of the advancing Hungarian cavalry. As King Louis and the reserves moved in support, the Ottomans launched a counterattack with cavalry and light infantry from both wings, while Janissaries and artillery opened concentrated fire from prepared positions.{{sfn|Overy|2014|pp=53—56}}

According to some accounts, Suleiman himself was struck by Hungarian bullets that hit his cuirass during the charge.{{sfn|Overy|2014|pp=53—56}} The Hungarian army, having advanced too far and too fast, found itself encircled and subjected to concentrated musket and cannon fire. Within two hours, their lines collapsed. Ottoman tactics echoed those used by [[John Hunyadi]]  against the Ottomans in earlier campaigns, turning the Hungarian strategy back upon itself.<ref>David Nicolle and Angus McBride, ''Hungary and the Fall of Eastern Europe 1000–1568'', p. 14.</ref>
[[File:El descubrimiento del cuerpo del rey Luis II, por Bertalan Székely.jpg|left|250px|thumb|The Discovery of the Corpse of King Louis II]]
King Louis II attempted to flee but drowned in the marshy terrain near the Csele stream, weighed down by his armour.{{sfn|Agnew|2013|p=59}} His body was discovered weeks later, buried in the mud. Suleiman, on finding the corpse, is reported to have expressed regret for the young king's death.{{sfn|Overy|2014|pp=53—56}} Upon encountering the lifeless body of King Louis, the Sultan is said to have lamented: "I came indeed in arms against him; but it was not my wish that he should be thus cut off before he scarcely tasted the sweets of life and royalty."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Severy |first=Merle |date=November 1987 |title=The World of Süleyman the Magnificent |journal=National Geographic |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=National Geographic Society |volume=172 |issue=5 |pages=580 |issn=0027-9358}}</ref>

Among the dead were thousands of Hungarian soldiers and over 1,000 nobles, including seven bishops and twenty-eight barons. It is estimated that over 14,000 Hungarian troops died in the battle, including 4,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry, with a further 2,000 prisoners executed in the aftermath.<ref name = "Turner, Corvisier, Childs">Turner, Corvisier & Childs, ''A Dictionary of Military History and the Art of War'', pp. 365–366.</ref>{{sfn|Overy|2014|pp=53—56}} Ottoman chroniclers noted the scale of the loss, with one source claiming Suleiman was astonished that such a small force had been sent to oppose him.{{sfn|Overy|2014|pp=53—56}} Suleiman proceeded to Buda, which surrendered without a fight, though his troops looted and burned both Buda and Pest despite his orders.{{sfn|Overy|2014|pp=53—56}}