October 9 in Military History — On This Day

⚔️📍 Flodden Field, Northumberland, England1513

Battle of Flodden — England Defeats Scotland

An English army defeated the invading Scottish army under King James IV — who had invaded to relieve pressure on France under the Auld Alliance. James IV was killed along with most of Scotland's nobility.

Flodden was the worst military disaster in Scottish history and effectively ended Scotland as a military threat to England for generations.

Outcome

English victory; King James IV and 10,000 Scots killed

Casualties

12,000

Battle of Párkány

Sobieski pursued the retreating Ottomans into Hungary and struck at Párkány (modern Štúrovo), across the Danube from Esztergom. A first Polish assault on October 7 was repulsed with heavy losses, but two days later the combined Polish-Imperial force attacked again and destroyed the Ottoman garrison. The fortress of Esztergom surrendered shortly after, reopening the Danube.

The first major engagement after Vienna confirmed that the Ottoman rout was not a fluke. The recapture of Esztergom gave the Holy League control of the Danube bend and opened the road south into Hungary. It was Sobieski's last great victory.

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