Battle of Vienna

This article is about the 1683 battle. For the earlier

Ottoman siege of 1529, see Siege of Vienna. For the
1485 Hungarian siege, see Siege of Vienna (1485). For
the 1945 battle, see Vienna Oensive.

Habsburgs gradually recovered and dominated southern Hungary and Transylvania, which had been largely
cleared of Turkish forces. The battle is also noted for
including the largest known cavalry charge in history.

The Battle of Vienna (German: Schlacht am Kahlen Berge or Kahlenberg; Polish: bitwa pod Wiedniem or odsiecz
wiedeska; Modern Turkish: kinci Viyana Kuatmas,
Ottoman Turkish: Be alas Muaras) is a battle that
took place on 12 September 1683[1][11] after the imperial
city of Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire
for two months. The battle was fought by the Holy Roman
Empire of the German Nation in league with the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth (Holy League) against the invading Muslim Ottoman Empire and chiefdoms of the
Ottoman Empire, and took place at Kahlenberg Mountain near Vienna. The battle marked the rst time Poland
and the Holy Roman Empire had cooperated militarily
against the Turks, and it is often seen as a turning point
in history, after which the Ottoman Turks ceased to be
a menace to the Christian world.[12] In the ensuing war
that lasted until 1698, the Turks lost almost all of Hungary to the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I.[12]

1 Prelude
Capturing the city of Vienna had long been a strategic
aspiration of the Ottoman Empire, because of its interlocking control over Danubian (Black Sea to Western Europe) southern Europe, and the overland (Eastern Mediterranean to Germany) trade routes. During the
years preceding this second siege (the rst had taken place
in 1529), under the auspices of grand viziers from the inuential Kprl family, the Ottoman Empire undertook
extensive logistical preparations, including the repair and
establishment of roads and bridges leading into the Holy
Roman Empire and its logistical centres, as well as the
forwarding of ammunition, cannon and other resources
from all over the Ottoman Empire to these centres and
into the Balkans. Since 1679, the plague had been raging
in Vienna.[15]

The battle was won by the combined forces of the Holy

Roman Empire of the German Nation and the Polish
Lithuanian Commonwealth, the latter represented only
by the forces of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland.
(The march of the Lithuanian army was delayed, and
they reached Vienna after it had been relieved.)[13] The
Viennese garrison was led by Ernst Rdiger Graf von
Starhemberg, an Austrian subject of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. The overall command was held by the
senior leader, the King of Poland, John III Sobieski, who
led the Polish forces.
The opposing military forces were those of Ottoman
Empire and those of Ottoman efdoms commanded
by Grand Vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha.
An Ottoman army of approximately 90,000[3]
300,000[6][7][8][9] men began the siege on 14 July 1683.
The Turkish forces consisted of 60 ortas of Janissaries
(12,000 men paper-strength) with an observation army
of c.70,000[14] men watching the countryside. The The Ottoman Empire in 1683
decisive battle took place on 11 September, after the
united relief army of about 46,000 men had arrived.
On the political front, the Ottoman Empire had been
Historians suggest the battle marked the turning-point providing military assistance to the Hungarians and to
in the OttomanHabsburg wars, a 300-year struggle be- non-Catholic minorities in Habsburg-occupied portions
tween the Holy Roman and Ottoman Empires. In fact, of Hungary. There, in the years preceding the siege,
during the sixteen years following the battle, the Austrian widespread unrest had become open rebellion against
Leopold I's pursuit of Counter-Reformation principles
1

1 PRELUDE
to Sobieski if the Ottomans attacked Krakw; in return,
the Polish Army would come to the relief of Vienna if it
were attacked.[10]:656, 659

The Ottoman siege of Vienna

Kuruc anti-Habsburg rebels in Hungary

and his desire to crush Protestantism. In 1681, Protestants and other anti-Habsburg Kuruc forces, led by Imre
Thkly, were reinforced with a signicant force from
the Ottomans,[10]:657 who recognized Thkly as King of
"Upper Hungary" (the eastern part of todays Slovakia
and parts of todays north-eastern Hungary, which he
had earlier taken by force of arms from the Habsburgs).
This support included explicitly promising the Kingdom of Vienna to the Hungarians if it fell into Ottoman
hands.[16]:129 Yet before the siege, a state of peace had
existed for twenty years between the Holy Roman Empire and the Ottoman Empire as a result of the Peace of
Vasvr.
In 1681 and 1682, clashes between the forces of Imre
Thkly and the Holy Roman Empire (of which the border was then northern Hungary) intensied, 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 movement of the Ottoman army. Mehmet IV
authorized Kara Mustafa Pasha to operate as far as Gyr
(the name during the Ottoman period was Yankkale, in
German Raab) and Komrom (in Turkish Komaron, in
German Komorn) Castles, both in northwestern Hungary,
and to besiege them. The Ottoman Army was mobilized
on 21 January 1682, and war was declared on 6 August
1682.

On 31 March 1683, another declaration, sent by Grand

Vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha on behalf of
Mehmet IV, arrived at the Imperial Court in Vienna. On
the next day, the forward march of Ottoman army elements began from Edirne in Thrace. The Turkish troops
reached Belgrade by early May. They were joined by
a Transylvanian army under Prince Mihaly Apa and a
Hungarian force under Imre Thkly, laid siege to Gyr,
and the remaining army of 150,000 moved toward the
city of Vienna.[10]:660 About 40,000 Crimean Tatar troops
arrived 40 km east of Vienna on 7 July,[10]:660 twice
as many as the Imperial troops in the area. Emperor
Leopold ed Vienna for Passau with his court and 60,000
Viennese, while Charles V, Duke of Lorraine withdrew
his force of 20,000 towards Linz.[10]:660 The main Turkish army arrived at Vienna on 14 July, now only defended by Count Ernst Rdiger von Starhemberg's 15,000
men.[10]:660

The King of Poland Jan III Sobieski prepared a relief expedition to Vienna during the summer of 1683, so honouring his obligations to the treaty. He left his own nation virtually undefended when departing from Krakw
on 15 August. Sobieski covered this with a stern warning to Imre Thkly, the leader of Hungary, whom he
threatened with destruction if he tried to take advantage
of the situation which Thkly in fact attempted. Jan
Kazimierz Sapieha the Younger delayed the march of the
The logistics of the time meant that it would have been Lithuanian army, devastating the Hungarian Highlands
and arrived in Vienna only after
risky or impossible to launch an invasion in August or (now Slovakia) instead,
[13]
it
had
been
relieved.
September 1682 (a three-month campaign would have
gotten the Ottomans to Vienna just as winter set in). Immediately, tensions rose between Poland and the variHowever this 15-month gap between mobilization and ous German states, above all Austria, over the relief of the
the launch of a full-scale invasion allowed ample time city. Payment of troops wages and supplies while marchfor Vienna to prepare its defence and for Leopold to ing was predominant among these. Sobieski demanded
assemble troops from the Holy Roman Empire and set that he should not have to pay for his march to Vienna,
up an alliance with Poland, Venice and Pope Innocent since it was by his eorts that the city had been saved; nor
XI. Undoubtedly this contributed to the failure of the could the Viennese neglect the other German troops who
Ottoman campaign. The decisive alliance of the Holy had marched. The Habsburg leadership hurriedly found
Roman Empire with Poland was concluded in the 1683 as much money as possible to pay for these and arranged
Treaty of Warsaw, in which Leopold promised support deals with the Polish to limit their costs.[17]

Events during the siege

seriously disrupted the Ottoman plan adding almost another 3 weeks to the time to get past the old palisade. [20]
This combined with the delay in advancing their army after declaring war, eventually allowed a Polish relief force
to arrive in September.[10]:660 Historians have speculated
that Kara Mustafa wanted to take the city intact with its
riches, and that he declined an all-out attack, not wishing
to activate the right of plunder which would accompany
an assault.[21]

The Ottoman Army surrounds Vienna.

The main Ottoman army nally laid siege to Vienna on 14

July. On the same day, Kara Mustafa sent the traditional
demand for surrender to the city.[18]

The Ottoman siege cut virtually every means of food supply into Vienna.[22] Fatigue became so common that Graf
Ernst Rdiger von Starhemberg ordered any soldier found
asleep on watch to be shot. Increasingly desperate, the
forces holding Vienna were on their last legs when, in August, Imperial forces under Charles V, Duke of Lorraine
defeated Imre Thkly of Hungary at Bisamberg, 5 km
north-west of Vienna.

Ernst Rdiger Graf von Starhemberg, leader of the remaining 15,000 troops and 8,700 volunteers with 370
cannons, refused to capitulate. Only days before, he had
received news of the mass slaughter at Perchtoldsdorf,[19]
a town south of Vienna where the citizens had handed
over the keys of the city after having been given a similar
choice. Siege operations started on 17 July.[10]:660
The Viennese had demolished many of the houses around
the city walls and cleared the debris, leaving an empty
plain that would expose the Ottomans to defensive re
if they tried to rush the city.[10]:660 Kara Mustafa Pasha
solved that problem by ordering his forces to dig long lines Turks before the walls of Vienna
of trenches directly toward the city, to help protect them
from the defenders as they advanced steadily toward the On 6 September, the Poles under Jan III Sobieski crossed
city.
the Danube 30 km north-west of Vienna at Tulln, to unite
with the Imperial troops and the additional forces from
Saxony, Bavaria, Baden, Franconia and Swabia. Louis
XIV of France declined to help his Habsburg rival, having
just annexed Alsace.

Sipahis of the Ottoman Empire at Vienna.

The Ottomans had 130 eld guns and 19 medium-calibre

cannons, insucient in the face of the defenders 370
cannons.[3] Mining tunnels were dug under the massive
city walls to blow them up with substantial quantities of
black powder.[10]:660 According to Andrew Wheateld,
the outer palisade was around 150 years old and mostly
rotten so the defenders set to work knocking very large
tree trunks into the ground to surround the walls. This

An alliance between John III Sobieski and the Emperor

Leopold I resulted in the addition of the Polish hussars
to the already existing allied army. The command of the
forces of European allies was entrusted to the Polish king,
who had under his command 70,000-80,000 soldiers facing a Turkish army of 150,000.[10]:661 John III Sobieskis
courage and remarkable aptitude for command were already known in Europe.
During early September, the experienced 5,000 Ottoman
sappers had repeatedly blown up large portions of the
walls between the Burg bastion, the Lbel bastion and the
Burg ravelin, creating gaps of about 12m in width. The
Viennese tried to counter this by digging their own tunnels to intercept the depositing of large amounts of gunpowder in subterranean caverns. The Ottomans nally
managed to occupy the Burg ravelin and the low wall in
that area on 8 September. Anticipating a breach in the

4 BATTLE

city walls, the remaining Viennese prepared to ght in bridges and refused to attack as they emerged from the
the inner city.
Wienerwald.[16]:151, 161

Staging the battle

The Ottomans could not rely on their Wallachian and

Moldavian allies. George Ducas, Prince of Moldavia,
was captured, while erban Cantacuzino's forces joined
the retreat after Sobieskis cavalry charge.[16]:163
The confederated troops signalled their arrival on the
Kahlenberg above Vienna with bonres. Before the battle a Mass was celebrated for the King of Poland and his
nobles.

4 Battle

Sobieski at Vienna by Juliusz Kossak.

The relief of Vienna on 12 September 1683

The relief army had to act quickly to save the city and so
prevent another long siege. Despite the binational composition of the army and the short space of only six days,
an eective leadership structure was established, centred
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.[17] 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 recognise Sobieskis
claim to rst rights of plunder of the enemy camp in the
event of a victory.[17]

Polish hussars armour, dating to the rst half of the 17th century,
Polish Army Museum, Warsaw.

The battle started before all units were fully deployed.

At 4 AM on 12 September 1683, the Ottomans attacked, seeking to interfere with the deployment of the
Holy League troops.[10]:661 The Germans were the rst to
strike. Charles of Lorraine moved forward with the Imperial army on the left, with the other Holy Roman Imperial forces in the centre and, after heavy ghting and
multiple Turkish counter-attacks, took several key positions, especially the fortied villages of Nussdorf and
Heiligenstadt. By noon, the Imperial army had already
severely mauled the Turks and had come close to break
through.[23] Though shattered, the Ottoman army did not
crumble at that moment.[24]

Kara Mustafa Pasha was less eective at ensuring his

forces motivation and loyalty, and preparing for the expected relief-army attack. He had entrusted defence of
the rear to the Khan of Crimea and his cavalry force,
which numbered about 3040,000. There is doubt as
to how far the Tatars participated in the nal battle before Vienna. Their Khan refused to attack the Pol- Mustafa Pasha launched his counter-attacks with most
ish relief force as it crossed the Danube on pontoon of his force, but held back some of the elite Janissary

Polish soldiers 1674-1696

their massive cavalry charge.[5] The Ottomans were in a

desperate position, between the Polish forces and the imperials. Charles of Lorraine and Sobieski both decided
on their own to resume the oensive and nish o their
King John III Sobieski blessing Polish attack on Turks in Battle of enemy.[24]
Vienna - Juliusz Kossak painting

Battle of Vienna, painting by Pauwel Casteels.

and Sipahi units for a simultaneous assault on the city.

The Ottoman commanders had intended to take Vienna before Sobieski arrived, but time ran out. Their
sappers had prepared a large, nal detonation under
the Lbelbastei[25] to breach the walls. In total, ten
mines were set to explode but they were located and
disarmed.[16]:169
In the early afternoon, a large battle started on the other
side of the battleeld as the Polish infantry advanced on
the Ottoman right ank. Instead of concentrating on the
battle with the relief army, the Ottomans continued their
eorts to force their way into the city.[16]:152 Hence, the
Poles could make good progress and by 4 pm, they had
the village of Gersthof, which would serve as a base for

The Imperials resumed the oensive on the left front

at 3:30 PM. At rst, they encountered a erce resistance and were stopped. This did not last long, however, and by 5 PM, they had made further gains and taken
the villages of Unterdbling and Oberdbling. They
were now very close to the central Turkish position (the
Turkenschanz).[24] As they were preparing to storm it,
they could see the Polish cavalry in action.
It is recorded that the Polish cavalry slowly emerged from
the forest to the cheers of the onlooking infantry, who had
been anticipating their arrival. At 4 PM, the Polish hussars rst entered into action, battering the Turkish lines
and approaching the Turkenschanz which was now threatened from three sides (the Poles from the west, the Saxons
and the Bavarians from the northwest and the Austrians
from the north). At that point, the Turkish Vizier decided
to leave this position and to retreat to his headquarters in
the main camp further south. However, by then, many
Ottomans were already leaving the battleeld.[5]
The allies were now ready for the last blow. At about 6
PM, the Polish King ordered the cavalry attack in four
groups, three Polish and one from the Holy Roman Empire. Eighteen thousand horsemen charged down the
hills, the largest cavalry charge in history.[16]:152 Jan III
Sobieski led the charge[10]:661 at the head of 3,000 Polish heavy lancers, the famed "Winged Hussars". The
Lipka Tatars who fought on the Polish side wore a sprig
of straw in their helmets to distinguish themselves from
the Tatars ghting on the Ottoman side. The charge easily broke the lines of the Ottomans, who were exhausted
and demoralised and soon started to ee the battleeld.
The cavalry headed straight for the Ottoman camps and
Kara Mustafas headquarters, while the remaining Viennese garrison sallied out of its defences to join in the

5 AFTERMATH

assault.[10]:661
The Ottoman troops were tired and dispirited following
the failure of both the attempt at sapping and the assault
on the city and the advance of the Holy league infantry
on the Turkenschanz .[10]:661 The cavalry charge was one
last deadly blow. Less than three hours after the cavalry attack, the Christian forces had won the battle and
saved Vienna. The rst Christian ocer who entered Vienna was Margrave Ludwig of Baden, at the head of his
dragoons.[5] At one point during the battle, Kara Mustafa
panicked and ordered the execution of 30,000 Christian
hostages.[26]
Afterwards Sobieski paraphrased Julius Caesar's famous
quotation (Veni, vidi, vici) by saying Veni, vidi, Deus
vicit I came, I saw, God conquered.[10]:661

Aftermath

Return from Vienna by Jzef Brandt, Polish army returning with

loot of the Ottoman forces.

The Ottomans lost at least 20,000 men during the siege

and between 8,000-15,000 during the battle with Sobieskis forces.
The loot that fell into the hands of the Holy League troops Chasuble sewn with Turkish tents captured by Polish Army in
and the Viennese was large in amount, as King John So- Vienna 1683
bieski vividly described in a letter to his wife a few days
after the battle:
executed in Belgrade in the approved manner, by strangulation with a silk rope pulled by several men on each
Ours are treasures unheard of... tents,
end, by order of the commander of the Janissaries.
sheep, cattle and no small number of camels...
it is victory as nobody ever knew before, the
enemy now completely ruined, everything lost
for them. They must run for their sheer lives...
General Starhemberg hugged and kissed me
and called me his saviour.[27]
Starhemberg immediately ordered the repair of Viennas
severely damaged fortications to guard against a possible
Ottoman counter-strike. However, this proved unnecessary.

Despite the victory of the Christian allies, there was

still tension between the various commanders and their
armies. For example, Sobieski demanded that the Polish
troops be allowed to have rst choice of the spoils of the
Turkish camp. The German and Austrian troops were left
with smaller portions of the loot.[28] Also, the Protestant
Saxons, who had arrived to relieve the city, were apparently subjected to verbal abuse by the Catholic populace
of the Viennese countryside. The Saxons left the battle
immediately, without partaking in the sharing of spoils
and refusing to continue pursuit.[28]

Soon, the Ottomans disposed of their defeated commander. On 25 December 1683, Kara Mustafa Pasha was Sobieski went on to liberate Grau and northwestern Hun-

7
gary after the Battle of Parkany, but dysentery halted his 7
pursuit of the Turks.[10]:662 Charles V took Belgrade and
most of Serbia in 1686, and established Habsburg con7.1
trol over southern Hungary and most of Transylvania in
1687.[10]:663664

Cultural legacy
Astronomical legacy

Signicance

Sobieski Sending Message of Victory to the Pope by Jan Matejko

Plaque at the Polish Congregatio Resurrectionis church on

Kahlenberg

Sobieski meeting Leopold I by Artur Grottger

The victory at Vienna set the stage for the reconquering

of Hungary and (temporarily) some of the Balkan lands in
the following years by Louis of Baden, Maximilian Emmanuel of Bavaria and Prince Eugene of Savoy. The Ottomans fought on for another 16 years, losing control of
Hungary and Transylvania in the process before nally
desisting. The Holy Roman Empire signed the Treaty of
Karlowitz with the Ottoman Empire in 1699.
The battle marked the historic end of the expansion of the
Plaque memorializing the 300th anniversary of successful deOttoman Empire into Europe.
fense against the Ottomans at the gates of Vienna

The behavior of Louis XIV of France furthered French

German enmity - in the following month, the War of the After the battle of Vienna, the newly identied
Reunions broke out in the western part of the weakened constellation Scutum (Latin for shield) was originally
Holy Roman Empire.
named Scutum Sobiescianum by the astronomer Johannes

REFERENCES

Hevelius, in honour of king John III Sobieski.[29] While

there are some stars named after non-astronomers, this
is the only constellation that was originally named after a
real non-astronomer who was still alive when the constellation was named, and the name of which is still in use
(three other constellations, satisfying the same requirements, never gained enough popularity to last).

ags. This version of the origin of the croissant is supported by the fact that croissants in France are a variant of Viennoiserie, and by the French popular belief that
Vienna-born Marie Antoinette introduced the pastry to
France in 1770.

the Kahlenberg hill north of Vienna.

The Battle of Vienna is commemorated on the Tomb

of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw, with the inscription
WIEDEN 12 IX 1683.

Another legend from Vienna has the rst bagel as being a gift to King John III Sobieski to commemorate the
Kings victory over the Ottomans. It was fashioned in the
form of a stirrup, to commemorate the victorious charge
7.2 Religious signicance
by the Polish cavalry. The veracity of this legend is uncertain, as there is a reference in 1610 to a bread with a
Because Sobieski had entrusted his kingdom to the pro- similar-sounding name, which may or may not have been
tection of the Blessed Virgin (Our Lady of Czstochowa) the bagel.
before the battle, Pope Innocent XI commemorated his
victory by extending the feast of the Holy Name of Mary, After the battle, the Viennese discovered many bags of
which until then had been celebrated solely in Spain and coee in the abandoned Ottoman encampment. Usthe Kingdom of Naples, to the entire Church; it used to ing this captured stock, Franciszek Jerzy Kulczycki
the third coeehouse in Europe and the rst in
be celebrated on the Sunday within the Octave of the opened [34][35]
Vienna.
There is no contemporary historical source
Nativity of Mary and was, when Pope St. Pius X intended
connecting
Marco
d'Aviano, the Capuchin friar and conto make room for the celebration of the actual Sundays,
dant
of
Leopold
I,
Holy Roman Emperor, with the intransferred to 12 September, the day of the victory.
vention of cappuccino.
The Pope also upgraded the papal coat of arms by adding
the Polish crowned White Eagle. After victory in the
Battle of Vienna, the Polish king was also granted by 7.5 Miscellaneous legacy
the Pope the title of Defender of the Faith (Defensor
Fidei).[30]
The train route from Vienna to Warsaw is also named in
In honour of Sobieski, the Austrians erected a church atop Sobieskis honour.

7.3

Musical legacy

When the Ottomans were pushed away from Vienna, their

military bands left their instruments on the eld of battle and that is how the Holy Roman Empire (and thus
the other Western countries) acquired cymbals and the
timpani.[31]
The Austrian composer Johann Joseph Fux memorialized
the battle in his Partita Turcaria, which bore the sub-title,
Musical portrait of the siege of Vienna by the Turks in
1683.[32]
It is said that the victors found in the Ottomans abandoned luggage the Trogat, a double-reed woodwind instrument that was to become the Hungarian national symbol for freedom after Racockzys defeat against the Ottomans in 1711.[33]

7.4

Culinary legends

Several culinary legends are related to the Battle of Vienna.

One legend is that the croissant was invented in Vienna,
either in 1683 or during the earlier siege in 1529, to
celebrate the defeat of the Ottoman attack on the city,
with the shape referring to the crescents on the Ottoman

8 See also
Ottoman wars in Europe
Great Turkish war
History of Vienna

9 References
[1] [Hitchens, Christopher (3 October 2001). Why the suicide killers chose September 11. The Guardian. Retrieved 17 March 2015.], It was on September 11, 1683
that the conquering armies of Islam were met, held, and
thrown back at the gates of Vienna
[2] Tucker, Spencer (2010). Battles That Changed History:
An Encyclopedia of World Conict. ABC-CLIO. p. 215.
[3] Bruce Alan Masters, Gbor goston: Encyclopedia of
the Ottoman Empire, Infobase Publishing, 2009, ISBN
1438110251, 584.
[4] Austrias Wars of Emergence, Michael Hochedlinger
[5] The enemy at the gate, Andrew Wheatcroft

[6] Harbottle, Thomas (1905), Dictionary of Battles, E.P. Sutton & Co, p. 262.
[7] Clare, Israel (1876), The Centennial Universal History: A
Clear and Concise History of All Nations, with a Full History of the United States to the Close of the First 100 Years
of Our National Independence., J. C. McCurdy & Co., p.
252.
[8] Drane, Augusta (1858), The Knights of st. John: with The
battle of Lepanto and Siege of Vienna., Burns and Lambert, p. 136.

[20] Melvyn Bragg, Andrew Wheatcroft, Dr Claire Norton and

Jeremy Black (historian) (14 May 2009). The Siege of
Vienna. In Our Time. 17:30 minutes in. BBC Radio 4.
[21] Bates, Brandon J. (2003). The Beginning of the End:
The Failure of the Siege of Vienna of 1683 (PDF).
Brigham Young University. Archived from the original
(PDF) on 22 August 2006. Retrieved 28 August 2006.
[22] Ripperton, Lisa. The Siege of Vienna. The Baldwin
Project. Retrieved 28 August 2006.
[23] The enemy at the gate, Wheatcroft

[9] ["American Architect and Building News. 29.767

(1890): 145. Print.]
[10] Tucker, S.C., 2010, A Global Chronology of Conict,
Vol. Two, Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, LLC, ISBN
9781851096671
[11] Tucker, Spencer (2010). Battles That Changed History:
An Encyclopedia of World Conict. ABC-CLIO. p. 215.
[12] Leitsch, Walter (July 1983). 1683: The Siege of Vienna. History Today 33 (7). Retrieved 19 December
2014. The defeat of the Ottoman Army outside the gates
of Vienna 300 years ago is usually regarded as the beginning of the decline of the Ottoman Empire. But Walter
Leitsch ask whether it was such a turning point in the history of Europe? ... However, it marks a turning point: not
only was further Ottoman advance on Christian territories
stopped, but in the following war that lasted up to 1698 almost all of Hungary was reconquered by the army of Emperor Leopold I. From 1683 the Ottoman Turks ceased
to be a menace to the Christian world. ... The battle of
Vienna was a turning point in one further respect: the
success was due to the co-operation between the troops
of the Emperor, some Imperial princes and the Poles. ...
However the co-operation between the two non-maritime
neighbours of the Ottoman Empire in Europe, the Emperor and Poland, was something new. ... Walter Leitsch
is Professor of East European History and Director of the
Institute of East and Southeast European Research at the
University of Vienna.
[13] Davies, Norman (1982), Gods Playground, a History of
Poland: The origins to 1795, Columbia University Press,
p. 487.
[14] Bruce, George (1981). Harbottles Dictionary of Battles.
Van Nostrand Reinhold.
[15] Nhere Untersuchung der Pestansteckung, Seite 42, Pascal Joseph von Ferro, Joseph Edler von Kurzbek k.k. Hofbuchdrucker, Wien 1787.
[16] Varvounis, M., 2012, Jan Sobieski, Xlibris, ISBN 9781462880805
[17] Stoye, John. The Siege of Vienna: The Last Great Trial
between Cross & Crescent. 2011

[24] idem
[25] Duell im Dunkeln (in German). 2DF. 6 November
2005. Retrieved 28 August 2006.
[26] Frank W. Thackeray, John E. Findling (2012). Events
That Formed the Modern World: From the European Renaissance through the War on Terror. ABC-CLIO. p. 267.
ISBN 1598849018.
[27] Letter from King Sobieski to his Wife. Letters from
King Sobieski to his wife. University of Gdansk, Department of Cultural Studies, Faculty of Philology. Retrieved
4 August 2011.
[28] Stoye, John (2007). The Siege of Vienna: The Last Great
Trial between Cross & Crescent. Pegasus Books. p. 175.
[29] Grzechnik, Slawek K. Hussaria Polish Winged Cavalry. Archived from the original on 15 June 2006. Retrieved 28 August 2006.
[30] http://www.pch24.pl/
chca-nam-odebrac-victorie-wiedenska-,17575,i.html
[31] Ukrainian Week
[32] Description of contents of album Alla Turca
[33] Henk Jansens 1thMUSE history of the Trogat (2005)
[34] Pendergrast, Mark. Uncommon Grounds, p.10. Basic
Books, 2000. ISBN 0-465-05467-6
[35] Millar, Simon. Vienna 1683, p. 93. Osprey Publishing,
2008. ISBN 1-84603-231-8.

10 Additional Reading
Stphane Gaber, Et Charles V arrta la marche des
Turcs, Presses universitaires de Nancy, 1986, ISBN
2-86480-227-9.
Bruce, George (1981). Harbottles Dictionary of
Battles. Van Nostrand Reinhold.

[18] The original document was destroyed during World War

II. For the German translation, see here

Cezary Harasimowicz VICTORIA Warsaw 2007,

novel ISBN 978-83-925589-0-3

[19] Palmer, Alan, The Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire, p.12, Published by Barnes & Noble Publishing,
1992. ISBN 1-56619-847-X

Alan Palmer, The Decline and Fall of the Ottoman

Empire, Published by Barnes & Noble Publishing,
1992. ISBN 1-56619-847-X.

10

11

Miltiades Varvounis, Jan Sobieski. The King Who

Saved Europe, Xlibris, 2012, ISBN 978-1-46288081-2.

11

External links

PolishLithuanian Commonwealth Army in 17th

century from kismeta.com
The Battle of Vienna at the Wilanw Museum
Palace
(German) German TV: Trken vor Wien
(German) Arte TV: Trken vor Wien

EXTERNAL LINKS

11

12
12.1

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

Text

Battle of Vienna Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vienna?oldid=676397158 Contributors: Joakim Ziegler, Bryan Derksen, Szopen, BlckKnght, Jsc1973, Roadrunner, Leandrod, Edward, Michael Hardy, John K, Franz Xaver, Pedant17, VeryVerily, Joy,
Mackensen, AnonMoos, Italo Svevo, Jason M, Dimadick, Gentgeen, Robbot, The Phoenix, Halibutt, SoLando, Lzur, Tobias Bergemann,
Tom harrison, Marcika, Paul Pogonyshev, Everyking, Curps, Joconnor, Varlaam, Kpalion, Mboverload, Matthead, Gugganij, Gdr, Kjetil r,
Albrecht, Piotrus, Emax, Gene s, PFHLai, Mrrhum, Neutrality, Quota, Freakofnurture, Reinthal, Rich Farmbrough, Vsmith, EliasAlucard,
Forbsey, SpookyMulder, Bender235, RJHall, Kwamikagami, Hayabusa future, Gershwinrb, CeeGee, NetBot, Polylerus, Pearle, HasharBot~enwiki, John Quiggin, Bart133, Lumberjack steve, Axeman89, Firsfron, Tominatrix, Woohookitty, Merlinme, James Kemp, Ardfern, BlackSea, BD2412, Behemoth, Rjwilmsi, Tim!, Coemgenus, Gryndor, Helvetius, Hiberniantears, Rillian, Himasaram, Ghepeu,
Schaengel89~enwiki, Miskin, FlaBot, KarlFrei, Fulcher, Elmer Clark, RexNL, Witkacy, Str1977, Quuxplusone, MoRsE, Jaraalbe, Bgwhite, Banaticus, Oldwindybear, RussBot, Jensboot, Eupator, Kirill Lokshin, Gaius Cornelius, Manxruler, The Ogre, Rupert Clayton,
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DVD R W, Attilios, SmackBot, YellowMonkey, Selfworm, Kupsztal, Lajbi, Deon Steyn, Herr Anonymus~enwiki, Peter Isotalo, Pzavon, Hmains, Skizzik, Underneath-it-All, Chris the speller, Bluebot, Je5102, Baronnet, Kelner~enwiki, Cplakidas, Ajdz, JRPG, Huon,
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CRO, The Anomebot2, KConWiki, Cardamon, Cgingold, Gabriel Kielland, MetsBot, 5 Elements Style, JaGa, Baristarim, Chapultepec,
WiiVolve, Bocianski.bot, Doodledoo, R'n'B, CommonsDelinker, AlexiusHoratius, Rpclod, J.delanoy, Rrostrom, Tina Cordon, A Nobody,
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Petre Bolea, AlnoktaBOT, W. B. Wilson, Philip Trueman, Tzahy, TXiKiBoT, Doctor France, Aryaman13, Seb az86556, CenturionZ 1,
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Jdaloner, Lightmouse, Doncsecz~enwiki, Aramgar, Vojvodaen, Squash Racket, Shtephan, ClueBot, Goethicus, Der Golem, Niceguyedc,
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, Tobby72, ClickRick, A.Gayevsky, Jack1755, Trk Svarisi, Moonraker, Dehma1, RedBot, Tlhslobus, Cliniic, PerV, Tim1357,
Orenburg1, TobeBot, Belchman, Paclaw, Gaius Octavius Princeps, PochTeKa, Dinamik-bot, The Catholic Knight, Neferkare, Dontbesogullible, Big Axe, Ivanevian, Antidiskriminator, DresdenBell, Bahramm 2, Chiton magnicus, A. Kupicki, Illegitimate Barrister, H3llBot,
LVY72, Palosirkka, ClueBot NG, Colapeninsula, Loginnigol, Omnisome, Broden, Alphasinus, Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, DerAdam, Koertefa, BG19bot, Erkistreet, Marcocapelle, The Almightey Drill, Nicola.Manini, Elijah falkner, Wilanow, Dourios, Cormag100, Tomh903,
Spital8katz, Choy4311, ChrisGualtieri, PantherBF3, Khazar2, Viennalove, Indiasummer95, DaltonCastle, Mogism, , KahnJohn27, Kcdlp, Ruby Murray, Afootnote13, Inglok, Saladin1991, Pi3.124, HeroOfVarna, Oliszydlowski, HendrikusBV, Pktlaurence, Globetrotter1918, Ahriman2014, ccnt g, Filedelinkerbot, LukasMatt, Tpsreport84, Spiderjerky, Pyotr88, Prinsgezinde, Cackyigit,
Ultronkickass123pacicrim2 and Anonymous: 354

12.2

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File:1684_Entsatz_von_Wien_anagoria.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/1684_Entsatz_von_

Wien_anagoria.JPG License: Public domain Contributors: anagoria Original artist: Unknown
File:August_Querfurt_-_The_Turkish_siege_of_Vienna.jpg Source:
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text' href='http://www.sothebys.com/de/auctions/ecatalogue/2012/old-master-paintings-n08869/lot.46.html'>Sothebys New York, 6
June 2012, N08869, lot 46</a> Original artist: August Querfurt
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Banner_of_the_Holy_Roman_Emperor_%28after_1400%29.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist:
N3MO
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PNG License: Public domain Contributors: http://www.google.pl/imgres?q=schlacht+wien+1683&um=1&hl=pl&sa=N&rlz=1C1DVCI_
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commons/thumb/1/1a/Valid_SVG_1.1_%28green%29.svg/132px-Valid_SVG_1.1_%28green%29.svg.png
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wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Valid_SVG_1.1_%28green%29.svg/176px-Valid_SVG_1.1_%28green%29.svg.png
2x' data-le-width='91' data-le-height='31' /></a>iThe source code of this SVG is <a data-x-rel='nofollow' class='external text'
href='//validator.w3.org/check?uri=https%3A%2F%2Fcommons.wikimedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpecial%3AFilepath%2FBlason_ville_fr_
Villejust_%28Essonne%29.svg,<span>,&,</span>,ss=1#source'>valid</a>.

12

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wikipedia/commons/5/59/Chasuble_sewn_with_Turkish_tents_captured_by_Polish_Army_in_Vienna_1683.JPG License: CC BY-SA
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C4%85giew_kr%C3%B3lewska_kr%C3%B3la_Zygmunta_III_Wazy.svg License: CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0 Contributors: Own work,
based on old painting - <a href='//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rolka_Sztokholmska_1.jpg' title='File:Rolka Sztokholmska
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