Friedrich breaks with Corvin : 1474-1478
1474 was a peaceful and prosperous year for Austria, even the Italian and Croat regions were beginning to warm up to Habsburg rule so it seemed. Only the most stubborn and hateful resisted Austrian control, for 1474 that resistance seemed curiously quiet.
Leo Zangle and Archduke Friedrich were working on plans for an expanded naval fleet in the Adriatic. The goal was going to be superiority over Venice and to then control sea traffic even in times of war. This plan was going along nicely. Leo had also sent his best diplomat, Ulrich Mans, to negotiate with the Bohemian King about becoming vassal to the Archduke. During peaceful times, much needed to be done to plan for the future and both Friedrich and Leo were masters in this area.
The Serbian War.
Trouble began brewing in that summer when word reached Vienna that King Corvin of Hungary was moving his massive 120,000 man army in positions along his southern border with Moldova and Serbia. Though Corvin had not officially given any hint of his intentions to Friedrich, it soon became clear what was about to happen. Hungary was preparing for war.
Fearing being drawn into war that could damage his delicate diplomatic web of the past fifteen years, Friedrich sent messengers to King Corvins courts demanding information and peace. The only word that returned to the Archduke was Corvins request his allies join his armies against Serbia in war. Friedrich was enraged.
Knowing he would lose too much prestige and credibility if he didn’t, Friedrich agreed to aid Hungary. A 10,000 man Austrian led Croatian army entered into Serbia along with 60,000 Hungarians. In the four month siege that followed there were repeated clashes between the Croatian and Hungarian forces. After losing 2000 men to friendly combatants Friedrich had his army return to Austrian controlled soil. It was clear that Hungary was becoming very hostile towards anyone associated with Austria.
The Moldova War.
There was months of cold silence between the two nations following the war. Hungary annexed Serbia in fall of 1475 and then Immediately began moving more soldiers towards the Moldova border. By Spring 1476 the invasion had begun, Friedrich sent another Croatian army of 15,000 men not necessarily to help Hungary but to try and gain victory for himself against Lithuania and Moldova.
Signs that Austria’s army improvements were paying off showed when the Austrian army successfully sieged Krementjug in Lithuania with minimal losses. The winter of 1476 cooperated and this greatly helped Austrian forces but in Moldova it wreaked havoc on Hungarian forces. In Spring 1477 Austria had 14,000 men sieging Bujak in Moldova, Friedrich hoped to gain a peace of his own to take Bujak. Just before Bujak fell to Austrian forces, Moldova surrendered to Hungary and the war ended. Austria by honor was forced to withdraw. It had been a race that King Corvin won but was costly. In its war against Moldova from 1476 to 1478, Hungary lost over 60,000 men, more than half his army. Austria had lost only 2000 total men. Though Moldova surrendered to the Hungarian Crown, by and large it was Austria that proved superior in the war.
The fight for Bohemia.
While the war with Moldova and Lithuania went on in the east, Diplomats of both Austria and Hungary tried feverishly to gain the favor of the Bohemian King. The reason was because a split was about to happen in the alliance and each wanted Bohemia on their side. King Corvin used bully tactics by threatening Bohemia’s King with invasion if he did not break ties with Austria. Leo used peaceful diplomacy to gain the trust of Bohemia. By 1476 Bohemia agreed to become vassal to Archduke Friedrich, another major victory for the Habsburgs. The implications of this move was tremendous. Had Bohemia sided with Hungary it would have meant King Corvin would have a major ally if he invaded Austria. After such losses in the war with Moldova however, there would be no way Hungary could fight both Austria and Bohemia. Corvin was forced to give up any ambition of conquering land in Austria.
The Breakup.
In early 1478 revolts began to break out in Croatia. The revolts were crushed after a few months but a greater problem was found out. Half of the nobles of Croatia’s court had aligned with Hungary in a secret plot against the Habsburgs. The goal was to weaken Austrian defenses, to rouse Italian and anti-Hapsburg Bohemian nobles and to prepare for a major war where Hungary would invade. Austria would have been fighting on all sides. The plot was easily uncovered and it cost half of the treasury to get rid of the corrupt nobles. The stability that was lost in this corruption was soon regained.
Archduke Friedrich made official in winter 1478 Hungary was kicked out of the Alliance and left on her own. It was now the Austria-Bohemia alliance. The bitter breakup came after years of alliance between the two nations. Corvin and Hunyadi may have done well militarily but they had failed completely in diplomacy. Though they were no longer allied, the majority of Hungarian nobles liked the Habsburgs. The break up was not really with Austria and Hungary as much as it was Friedrich and Corvin.
Austrian prestige grows.
Favor among German princes grew after Austria’s showing against Hungary. Friedrich's son Maximillian was married to Mary of Burgundy in 1477. While enemies to Hungary grew in numbers, old enemies to Austria became friends. With the death of Emperor Dietrich that same year, Europe watched in anticipation to see if Archduke Friedrich would be elected next Emperor. Austria’s rise in Europe was only a vote away