It happened on the day of 27 June 1578 that Nádasdy Ferenc and Pálffy Miklós suffered a defeat by the Ottoman Turks at Bicske, in the Kingdom of Hungary. (Please, note that I use the Oriental name order for Hungarians where family names come first.)

Nádasdy Ferenc and Pálffy Miklós and the army of the Captain of Érsekújvár (Nové Zámky), Fernando Samaria Spezie de Casa, met in Komárom and set out on 26 June from there. Captain Paksy György joined them at Tata Castle with his riders. There were altogether 700 cavalrymen and 900 infantrymen and they left the infantrymen behind at Bicske. (Bicske was not very far away from Buda Castle.)

The Hussars rode out and collected the Turks’ horses which were grazing on the fields around Buda Castle then they were heading home. Yet, Pasha Sinan rushed after them with his riders and Janissaries, bringing even cannons along with himself. Nádasdy and Pálffy wanted to withdraw from the overpowering enemy but the soldiers wanted to stand a battle. There was a daredevil among them, Huszár Mátyás of Berhida, the brother of the famous duellist, Berenhidai Péter. Mátyás would have attacked the Turks even with his 40 Hussars. Their devotion had an effect on Pálffy so they decided to fight the Ottomans. At once, they summoned the infantry from Bicske. They deployed them on the two wings and the cavalry took up its position in the center.

The enemy attacked, trusting in their superior numbers. The Hungarians tried to withdraw under the pressure of the enemy and they were fighting while retreating but they couldn’t break free from the Turks. When the Turks fired their cannons, the Hussars fled and Nádasdy and Pálffy couldn’t stop them. The runners dragged Nádasdy with them, too. Pálffy stayed with the infantrymen who were fighting hard and finally could get some breath in a forest.