Battle of the Kahlenberg
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The relief army invades the Ottoman positions
| date | September 12, 1683 |
|---|---|
| place | Vienna , Austria |
| output | Victory of the German-Polish relief army |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
Johann III. Sobieski |
Kara Mustafa |
| Troop strength | |
| 80,000 men | about 100,000 men |
| losses | |
|
approx. 4,000-5,000 men |
8,000-15,000 men |
The Battle of Kahlenberg on September 12, 1683 ended the Second Turkish siege of Vienna . A German - Polish relief army under the leadership of the Polish King John III. Sobieski defeated the Ottoman army . The defeat meant the beginning of the end of Turkish hegemonic politics . On the Christian side, the combined fighting infantry and artillery of the alliance of Austria , Saxony , Bavaria , Baden and the Papal States and the Polish army of horsemen . Opposite her stood the Ottoman army besieging Vienna .
course
The battle did not come unexpectedly for the besiegers under the command of Kara Mustafa , as he had been informed by a prisoner on September 4th of the approaching relief army and its strength. Completely focused on taking the city, the Grand Vizier had neglected to have the Danube bank effectively monitored, thus making it impossible for the relief army to cross the river, or at least making it more difficult. On the other hand, the heights of the Vienna Woods were not fortified in order to block the relief army from marching on the city. From the unsecured ridge between Kahlenberg and Leopoldsberg , the allied Polish-German foot troops pushed into the rear of the Ottomans, who tried to take the city. The Ottoman warlords could not agree on tactics in this battle with two fronts. Duke Charles V of Lorraine smashed the weak right wing of the Ottomans. In the late afternoon the battle was decided when the cavalry , especially that of King John III. Sobieski led the elite Polish troops of the hussars ( Hussaria ) after a time-consuming descent down from the mountain in the slightly hilly plain was finally able to unfold and defeat the elite troops of the Sipahi and Janissaries and penetrate into the enemy camp. Vienna was saved, the Ottomans fled in a wild mess. It was only on the other side of the Schwechat , about 10 km from Vienna, that Kara Mustafa managed to collect some of his troops and return them to Győr (Hungary).
The relief army suffered losses of around 2,000 dead and 2,500 wounded. On the Turkish side, there were around 10,000 dead, 5,000 wounded and 5,000 prisoners.
Relief Army of the Holy Roman Empire and Poland
On 7./8. September 1683 the advancing relief army at Tulln on the Danube had the following strength:
 .svg){kind=small} troops |
infantry | cavalry | Guns | Overall strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Poland -Lithuania |
10,000 | 14,000 | 28 | 24,000 |
|
Imperial
|
8,100 | 12,900 | 70 | 21,000 |
 Bavaria
|
7,500 | 3,000 | 26th | 10,500 |
 Southwest German principalities |
7,000 | 2,500 | 12 | 9,500 |
 Saxony
|
7,000 | 2,000 | 16 | 9,000 |
 Total strength of troops |
39,600 | 34,400 | 152 | 74,000 |
Museum reception
In the Army History Museum in Vienna there is a large oil painting showing the battle of the Kahlenberg. The painting is a narrative battle picture . It shows two events that were actually six days apart: In the top center you can see the last Turkish attack on the Löwelbastei on September 6th ; the rest of the picture shows the battle of September 12th. In the lower center the Polish king is shown in victory pose, behind him his son Jakob Louis Heinrich Sobieski . A tactical map has been set up in front of the picture to make it easier for museum visitors to find their way around. Also on display are the sword of the defender of Vienna, Count Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg , a cuirass attributed to him and numerous pieces of booty from the Turkish army ( horse tails , reflex arcs of the notorious Sipahi , a Turkish standard ( Sancak-i Şerif ) and a storm scythe made from three scythe blades forged together).
On the façade of the Kahlenberg Church , to the left of the portal, there is a stone plaque attached in 1983, which commemorates the participation of Poland under John III. Sobieski remembers (see picture).
Also on the Kahlenberg is the base for a planned Sobieski memorial with the inscription "12 IX 1683". The associated memorial has not yet been erected and is currently being held back by the Vienna city government. It has also been the victim of acts of vandalism more often.
Cinematic reception
The Italian-Polish historical film The Siege - September Eleven 1683 illustrates - historically not always correct - the Battle of Kahlenberg.
See also
literature
- Peter Broucek , Walter Leitsch , Karl Vocelka , Jan Wimmer , Zbigniew Wojcik : The victory near Vienna 1683 . Österreichischer Bundesverlag, Vienna 1983, ISBN 3-215-04573-7 .
- Hans-Joachim Böttcher : The Turkish Wars in the Mirror of Saxon Biographies . Gabriele Schäfer Verlag Herne 2019, ISBN 978-3-944487-63-2 . SS 71-104 (IV. Elector Johann Georg III. 1683 outside Vienna).
Web links
References and comments
- ^ A b Spencer Tucker: Battles that Changed History. An Encyclopedia of World Conflict. ABC-CLIO., Santa Barbara 2010, ISBN 978-1-59884-429-0 , p. 216, gives the Christian losses as follows: around 2,000 dead and 2,500 wounded. On the Turkish side, he names around 10,000 dead, 5,000 wounded and 5,000 prisoners.
- ↑ See on this John Stoye: The Turks before Vienna. Fateful year 1683. Ares Verlag, Graz 2010, ISBN 978-3-902475-87-9 , pp. 215-218.
- ↑ Anna Ziemlewska, Simon Hadler: Vatican, Jan Matejkos "Sobieski pod Wiedniem" ("Sobieski near Vienna"). In: Turkish memory. Austrian Academy of Sciences , accessed January 26, 2019 .
- ^ Manfried Rauchsteiner , Manfred Litscher (Ed.): The Army History Museum in Vienna. Graz, Vienna 2000 p. 18.
- ↑ Johann Christoph Allmayer-Beck : The Army History Museum Vienna. Hall I - From the beginnings of the standing army to the end of the 17th century, Salzburg 1982 p. 30.