(The women of Eger, by Bertalan Székely)The women of Eger - Victory or deathIn June

(The women of Eger, by Bertalan Székely)The women of Eger - Victory or deathIn June 1552, the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent began a military campaign against the Habsurgs. In the path of the Ottoman troops was Eger Castle, Hungary. Its garrison, consisting of some 1,920 men, faced a vastly superior force of 27,000 troops. Captain Istvan Dobo was determined to fight to the death and a huge black coffin was placed on Eger’s ramparts to signal this commitment. Among the garrison were around 90 women, 40 of whom were ladies of nobility. The women refused to escape while it was still possible. They, too, wanted to fight. The Turks first bombarded the walls, but ran out of ammunition on September 29. Close combat ensued as they tried to breach the walls. In addition to nursing the wounded, the women actively repelled the assailants. They poured boiling water onto them and threw burning faggots soaked with tar. The ladies also fought the Turks in hand-to-hand combat. Tradition has highlighted some of their names: Margit Hommonay, Eufrozina Gyulafy and Mrs. Job Pasky. Katica Dobo, captain Istvan Dobo’s daughter, led the women on the ramparts “her long brown hair streaming from under her helmet”. The besieged thus repulsed attack after attack and the Turks had to give up. They lifted the siege on October 13, 1552.The women of Eger were thus remembered across the centuries as an example of determination and resistance.If you want to support me, here’s the link to my Ko-Fi.Bibliography:Hacker Barton, Vining Margaret (ed.), A Companion to Women’s Military HistoryLeisen Antal, “Eger, women in siege of”, in: Higham Robin, Pennington Reina (ed.), Amazons to fighter pilots, biographical dictionary of military women, vol.1 -- source link

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