Battle of Orșova (1738)

The Battle of Orșova happened during the Austro-Turkish War of 1737–1739. The Ottomans defeated a relief Austrian force and captured Orșova in the end.

Battle
After the recapture of Užice, the Ottomans began mobilizing large enough forces to capture the Danube region. On 2 May 1738, the governor of Vidin, Ivaz Mehmed Pasha, was instructed to attack with 20,000 soldiers on the Banat and seize Orşova. Then, a few days later, on 8 May 1738, a corps of 4,000-5,000 Sipahis arrived at Orșova around 3 p.m. On hearing of the threat, the commander of Timisoara and Bánság, Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg, Count of Neipperg and Imperial Field Marshal, sent 22 battalions, 2 grenadier companies and 2 close regiments to the aid of Orsova. Colonel Misserony, the commander of the reinforcements on the way, went in to meet the Ottomans with a force of 430 cavalry, however; unaware of the size of their forces, he was surrounded, and he alongside 220 of his men were killed on the battlefield. Soon after this victory, the Ottomans laid siege to Orșova, garrisoned by an Austrian battalion. The Ottomans stormed Orșova and captured it. The defenders suffered 100 killed and were forced to retreat towards Ada Kaleh.