Guido Starhemberg, a cousin of Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg (1638-1701), the famous commander of Vienna during the Turkish siege of 1683, had acted as his ADC during the siege.

Guido had followed his cousin, and later Prince Eugene of Savoy, in battles against the Turks.

Starhemberg fights in the War of the Spanish Succession in Italy and Spain.

He has served between 1706 and 1708 as the commander-in-chief of the imperial army in Hungary, leading the operations against the insurgents of Francis II Rákóczi.

Rákóczi’s horse stumbles at the Battle of Trencsén (Hungarian Trencsén, German Trentschin, Latin Trentsinium, Comitatus Trentsiniensis, today in Slovakia), on August 3, 1708, and he falls to the ground, which knocks him unconscious.

The Kuruc forces think him dead and flee, resulting in a defeat that is fatal for the uprising.

Numerous Kuruc leaders transfer their allegiance to the Emperor, hoping for clemency.

Rákóczi’s forces become restricted to the area around Munkács and Szabolcs county.