In 1682, the Ottoman Empire made its third and final attempt to seize the Habsburg capital of Vienna, which would have thrown open the center of Europe to the Turkish host. The Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha led an army of 170,000 men to march on Austria. Siege of the city commenced on July 14, 1683. Vienna was protected by substantial walls, but only 12,000 men garrisoned the city and as all food supplies were cut off, near famine conditions began.
Meanwhile, the Polish king Jan III Sobeski prepared a relief army. Jan was not motivated by mere Christian fervor to drive off the infidel, but also entirely practical reasons...if Austria fell, then Poland would also be exposed to the Ottomans. Some 80,000 Poles and Austrians marched to relieve the beleaguered city, with Jan Sobeski, already renowned in Europe as a battlefield tactician, in overall charge.
The relief army had to act quickly to save the city and prevent another long siege. Despite the binational composition of the army and the short space of only six days, an effective leadership structure was established, centered on the King of Poland and his heavy cavalry (Polish Hussars). The Holy League settled the issues of payment by using all available funds from the government, loans from several wealthy bankers and noblemen and large sums of money from the Pope. Also, the Habsburgs and Poles agreed that the Polish government would pay for its own troops while still in Poland, but that they would be paid by the Emperor once they had crossed into imperial territory. However, the Emperor had to recognize Sobieski’s claim to first rights of plunder of the enemy camp in the event of a victory.
Alexander Watson
On September 12, the battle was joined. With most of the Ottoman artillery facing Vienna, the troops confronting the allied army were left almost without any artillery support. After an infantry clash early in the day, the Polish hussars began their attack. With the Ottoman army surrounded on three sides, panic began to set in. In one of history's greatest cavalry charges, 20,000 allied horsemen, with Jan Sobeski personally leading his elite "Winged Hussars" in front, the Ottomans dropped their weapons and began to flee, the troops besieging Vienna reluctantly following behind.
The battle was described in contemporary Ottoman histories as "one of the worst battlefield defeats in our history" with at least 35,000 casualties and another 5,000 men taken prisoner. Allied casualties numbered about 19,000. It was the beginning of the end for Ottoman imperial dominance, and the dawning realization in Europe that their long-feared nemesis was not invincible. Over the next decade and a half, Hungary would be liberated from the Ottoman yoke, and the Treaty of Pressburg in 1699 confirmed these territorial changes.
Connor Hall
This has been a completely random history trivia post. Hopefully it was education for you, Sup Forums.
Oliver Evans
jokes on you i already knew that
Nathaniel Roberts
... And then Austria participates in the partition of Poland
Luke Baker
And then Poland got partitioned.
John Nguyen
Hey, we deserve credit too. My ancestors were in Holy League army as much as yours were.
Luke Peterson
>...only to have 400 later completely overtaken Europe through a century long breeding project lol
Leo Ward
That's really cute Czehia.
Ethan Flores
Poles should have joined the Turks.
Caleb Adams
>Hungary would be liberated from the Ottoman yoke And put into the Austrian one.
Bentley Foster
At least Austrians built up municipal buildings other than mosques and bathhouses, such as schools, Hajdarpašiću.
Ryan Ortiz
Yeah, I see many cities of ex-Austria-Hungary can be compared to the Ottoman ones, like Vienna to Istanbul or Ljubljana to Belgrade, Shmitt.
Anthony Jenkins
From everything I read, Hungary was depopulated wasteland during Ottoman occupation.
Gabriel Johnson
who cares
Chase Scott
The Austria-Hungarian empire was the third worst in Europe after the Ottomans and the Russian empire.
Brody Sanchez
The Hungarians went full cowboy and started raising beef for sale to Venice, which Slovenes played a role in as middlemen, which is why our languages contain some mutual borrowings.
Aiden Wright
And before. Ibrahim Pecevi stated that the sultan had to transfer 300.000 ducats each year from Egypt to Buda
