Siege of Esztergom (1605)

Wilheim Öttingen, the captain of Esztergom, took command and was in charge of 5,000–6,000 soldiers. Before the siege, Öttinger let the Hungarian soldiers go because he didn't trust them. With nowhere else to go, these Hungarians joined Bocskai in the siege of Érsekújvár. On August 30, the Ottoman army arrived in Esztergom and began laying siege with a large army.

On September 8, the attack on Saint Thomas Hill was repelled by the Germans, who fiercely defended the fort. However, on September 16, the Ottomans ambushed the German soldiers and massacred every guard at the Saint Thomas fort, despite their valiant resistance. This important defense crumbled. The ramparts soon collapsed, along with the others. The rest of the garrison, around 5,000 men, retreated to the inner walls of the town.^[1][2]

The Ottomans then began bombarding the city walls. They then launched an assault on October 1. After suffering severe losses, the Germans left the city and retreated to the inner castle. In defending the town, about 1,000 of them perished. There, Öttingen perished in the fighting. Count Dampierre took command.^[1][2]

Numerous Germans were killed when the Ottoman miners buried mines beneath the castle's walls and set them on fire.^[1] Dampierre refused to give up the castle, despite repeated demands from the German guards. At last, the defenders were permitted to leave the town while retaining their weapons, and they surrendered the castle on October 3.^[1][2]

On October 3, Esztergom was handed over to the Ottomans. Part of the Germans remained in the castle and joined the Ottomans; Dampierre led the rest, about 1,000 men, to Komárom. The German guards were later brought before trial, and the main culprits were executed, though Dampierre was spared.^[1][2] The 22year old Albrecht von Wallenstein, who had been among the defenders, went on to become one of the most important generals in the Thirty Years' War.