Battle of Vienna

The Battle of Vienna in 1683 (Turkish: ?kinci Viyana Ku?atmas?) (as distinct from the Siege of Vienna in 1529) was the first large-scale battle of the Habsburg-Ottoman Wars, yet with the most far-reaching consequences. The battle pitted a Habsburg army of about 100,000 troops and their allies, led by Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine, a 30,000-man relief force under Jan III Sobieski, King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, against the Ottoman army, commanded by Grand Vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha, which numbered approximately 140,000 men, although a large number of them played no part in the battle. The siege itself began in July 14, 1683, and the decisive battle took place on September 12, 1683.

Prelude

To capture the city of Vienna had long been a strategic aspiration for the Ottoman Empire, due to its inter-locking control over Danubean (Black Sea-to-Western Europe) southern Europe, and the overland (Eastern Mediterannean-to-Germany) trade routes. During the years preceding the second siege, under the auspicies of grand viziers from the influential Köprülü family, the Ottoman Empire undertook extensive logistical preparations this time, including the repair and establishment of roads and bridges leading into Austria, and logistical centers, as well as the forwarding of ammunition, cannons and other resources, from all over the Empire to these logistical centers, and into the Balkans. On the political front, the Ottoman Empire had been providing military assistance to the Hungarians and to non-Catholic minorities, in Habsburg-occupied portions of Hungary. There, in years preceding the siege, widespread unrest had became open rebellion, upon Leopold I's insistent pursuit of Counter-Reformation principles, and his burning desire of crushing Protestantism. In 1681, Protestants and other anti-Habsburg forces, led by Imre Thököly, were reinforced with a significant force from the Ottomans, who recognized Imre as King of "Upper Hungary" (eastern Slovakia and parts of northeastern present-day Hungary, which he had earlier taken by force of arms, from the Habsburgs). This support went so far as explicitly promising the "Kingdom of Vienna" to the Hungarians, if it fell into Ottoman hands.

Related Topics:
Vienna - Köprülü family - Hungary - Leopold I - Counter-Reformation - Protestantism - Imre Thököly - Slovakia

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Yet, before the siege, a state of peace had existed for twenty years between the Habsburgs and the Ottoman Empire, as a result of the Peace of Vasvár. In 1681 and 1682, clashes between the forces of Imre Thököly and the Habsburgs' military frontier (which was then northern Hungary) forces intensified, and the incursions of Habsburg forces into Central Hungary provided the crucial argument of Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha in convincing the sultan, Mehmet IV and his Divan, to allow the operation of the Ottoman Army. Mehmet IV authorized Kara Mustafa Pasha to operate as far as Gy?r (Turkish: Yan?kkale, German: Raab) and Komarom (Turkish: Komaron, German: Komorn) castles, both in northwestern Hungary, and to besiege them. The Ottoman Army was mobilized on January 21, 1682, and war was declared on August 6, 1682. However, the forward march of Ottoman Army elements did not begin until April 1, 1683 from Edirne, in Thracian Anatolia. This strategic mistake provided ample time (almost 15 months) for Habsburg forces to prepare their defense, and to set up alliances with other Central European rulers.

Related Topics:
Peace of Vasvár - Mehmet IV - Divan - Gy?r - Turkish - German - Komarom - Edirne

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