Sizes of Armies in the Hungarian-Ottoman Wars

[Aldarion]

This is list of sizes of field armies and military establishments alike during the Hungarian-Ottoman wars, from their beginning in the 14th century until early 17th century.

Hopefully it will provide a good overview of how large armies advanced medieval states could field. Still, two factors should be noted. Firstly, records will naturally be incomplete or uncertain. Nevertheless, while exact numbers cannot be established with certainty for most cases (with few exceptions), they should provide a general ballpark. Secondly, Hungary and Ottoman Empire were two fundamentally different states. Not only was the Ottoman Empire much larger, but it was also much more centralized and “modern” than the feudal Hungary. As a results, Ottomans found it easier to field large, organized armies, even during the early period when “raw” resources of two states were comparable. Of course, as the time progressed and the Ottoman Empire expanded in all directions, Hungary found itself increasingly outmatched. This was only gradually reversed during the Habsburg era, but that period goes way beyond the Middle Ages or even early modernity.

Sizes of Armies in the Hungarian-Ottoman Wars

This is list of sizes of field armies and military establishments alike during the Hungarian-Ottoman wars, from their beginning in the 14th century until early 17th century. Hopefully it will provi…

warfantasy.wordpress.com

 

[skip.knox]

I wonder, do we have any sense of whether estimates include non-combatants? Even in the camps of the soldiers there would have been cooks, hostlers, that sort of thing.

This also has to do with the nature of our sources. If we work from a decree that says every lord must provide X number of knights, or every village Y number of foot soldiers, I don't think either of those would include, say, engineers. I'm sure a serious military history work would address the methodology for making (modern) estimates, but I've never ventured so far into that particular forest.

 

[Aldarion]

I wonder, do we have any sense of whether estimates include non-combatants? Even in the camps of the soldiers there would have been cooks, hostlers, that sort of thing.

From the few cases where we do have more-or-less exact numbers, I would say it likely that numbers count combatants only. Generally, it seems that non-combatants were typically either mentioned explicitly or not mentioned at all.

This also has to do with the nature of our sources. If we work from a decree that says every lord must provide X number of knights, or every village Y number of foot soldiers, I don't think either of those would include, say, engineers. I'm sure a serious military history work would address the methodology for making (modern) estimates, but I've never ventured so far into that particular forest.

Indeed. Some of the numbers are basically rough estimates by contemporaries, while others come from logistical arrangements. So reliability varies widely, and Ottoman numbers are likely even less reliable than those for Hungarian, Croatian and Habsburg forces, as they are often taken from reports of scouts or even just fat friars writing chronicles.

 

[jovidepine]

Aldarion , I just found your blog through your posts here and man, I love it so much! Great work, you've found yourself a new reader. Keep it up!

 

[Aldarion]

Aldarion , I just found your blog through your posts here and man, I love it so much! Great work, you've found yourself a new reader. Keep it up!

Thanks!