Did the arquebus used in the Battle of Mohács penetrate the armor?

This is an incomprehensible question in many respects, so I must immediately use strong self-criticism. There are many components to this question, besides what was the calibre of the arquebus, what size, material, and shape of the projectile it fired, and what was its muzzle velocity. The penetration ability of the projectile depends on the distance, as it also depends on the thickness, quality, and angle of impact of the target material. We have to deal with many variables, which requires a more modern solution than simple shooting.

The pauldron from the battle of Mohács 1526

It has been a while since I posted updates to the experimental archaeological research related to the Battle of Mohács 1526 executed within the framework of the Janus Pannonius Museum Mohács 500 research group, but this will change now, as many new results have been produced in recent months that are worth sharing. We left our story somewhere, having established that at a distance of 50 meters, the arquebus made based on the Mohács finds, charged with a gunpowder charge and projectile corresponding to our period sources, had more than enough accuracy to hit the chest of an enemy soldier. We also now know the approximate trajectory of that projectile, so in terms of external ballistics – in the case of this weapon – our picture is clearer.

A 16. századi általunk beszerzett vértdarab. / The armour piece purchased by our team

The time has slowly come to deal with terminal ballistics, that is, what happens when the bullet hits the target. For this, we need a suitable medium to simulate the human body accurately, with appropriate covering layers. Ballistic gelatin blocks made according to the appropriate standard are only suitable for this to a limited extent, since they are set to an average density. In order to get a more authentic picture of the operation of the projectile, we need to reconstruct every element of the soldier’s equipment, and the gelatin block must also be covered with raw skin under the clothing, since even piercing it requires energy. Gelatin, raw pigskin, shirt, gambeson and armor will thus be the necessary layering.

In the early 16th century, both cavalry and infantry wore armor, but the type and quality of these could have varied greatly. In Hungarian museums, of course, we can find armor and armor elements from the era, but so far we have only one artefact that can truly be linked to the Battle of Mohács, as it was found in one of the mass graves.

The samples embedded in resin

The Sátorhely shoulder armor is not in very good condition, it is heavily corroded, but it is still able to give us a guideline. The element is most likely part of a lamellar system infantry armor, which was already produced in large quantities in general sizes for less wealthy soldiers of the time. We also managed to obtain a second piece of armor of the same age and shape as the element in order to expand the number of our samples. We examined these two pieces of armor with the help of Dr. Ádám Thiele, assistant professor, and Vilmos Nyáry, doctoral student, at the Department of Materials Science and Technology of Budapest University of Technology and Economics with the aim of preparing a target material that matches the quality and thickness of these pieces of armor for actual shooting experiments.

The researchers took two samples from each of the pieces, which, after careful preparation – grinding, polishing, etching – were subjected to microscopic examination and microhardness measurement. The results were quite surprising, as is usually the case. The Sátorhely armor contains almost no carbon, has not been heat treated, and its hardness is around 184 HV, which can be considered very soft.

A sátorhelyi vért mintája a mikroszkóp alatt / Texture of the sample from the pauldron from the battle of Mohács

The armor piece of similar age and shape that we purchased is also very soft, has a hardness of around 240 HV, is also not heat treated, but is not homogeneous: it consists of two layers fixed to each other by forge welding. The inner layer is low-carbon pig iron, just like the Sátorhely armor, while the outer layer has a higher carbon content. In this case, the properties of the armor could have been improved by heat treatment, but interestingly, this option was not used, even though the methods of hardening and tempering were known at the time.

The crack between the two layers of the arour piece purchased by us is clearly visible.

Why are these tests important to us? Because with this knowledge, we can develop the methodology that we will follow during the shooting experiments in order to get a real picture of the protective capabilities of the Sátorhely armor.

Of course, we are not only curious about whether this particular armor was penetrated by the projectile. Using this as a starting point, we can examine how increasing the carbon content and increasing the thickness and heat treatment changed the protective ability against the arquebus.

Exciting times are coming!

Balázs Németh

Janus Pannonius Museum Mohács 500 research group

MATE Institute of Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation