In 1682, the Ottoman Turks began preparations
for a second siege of Vienna (the first Turkish siege took place in 1529). With
Europe divided by the aftermath of the wars of religion and the Treaty
of Westphalia, and Louis XIV playing mischievous power games across Europe
and pitting the Ottomans against the Holy Roman Empire, the Hapsburgs
were not in an especially secure position. The insecurity was worsened
by Emperor Leopold I’s unwillingness to believe that that Ottomans
would break the current truce, which should have lasted until 1684.
But by April 1683, the Ottomans were clearly
moving against Vienna, and the Hapsburgs began to make serious preparations
of their own. Charles, Duke of Lorraine, was appointed overall
commander of the Imperial forces, and urgent appeals were sent to other
European powers, inside and outside the Empire, for help. By mid-July,
however, long before a coordinated response could be put together, Vienna
was besieged.
Under Count Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemburg,
the city put up a stiff resistance. Ottoman progress was slow,
but it was also inexorably steady, and it soon became clear that without
relief, the city would fall.
Fortunately for the Christians, relief
was forthcoming, in the nick of time. Critical support was provided
by the papal curia in the form of both money and also spiritual indulgences
for those who came to the Empire’s aid. A variety of Imperial
and German troops, including significant contingents from Saxony and
Bavaria, were joined by Polish and Lithuanian forces led by King John
III Sobieski, and this diverse army arrived outside Vienna on (ironically)
September 11, 1683. The next day the Christian allies, under Sobieski’s
overall command, drove off the Ottomans in the battle of Kahlenberg. Vienna
was never again seriously threatened by Muslim military attack.
Vienna 1683 is
a focussed account of these events, dealing primarily with military aspects
of the various campaigns and the siege itself. The book represents
another fine entry in Osprey’s formidable collection of surveys
of military campaigns across history.
Like Osprey books generally, Vienna
1683 is aimed at the “interested amateur,” not the
professional historian; also like Osprey books generally, it is not
a work of original scholarship, though it is nonetheless useful to
professionals, especially to those who teach. It contains a wealth
of maps, modern illustrations, and also paintings by seventeenth century
(and later) artists, all of which are potentially useful in a university
classroom, among other places. Osprey books usually conform to
high standards of presentation, and Vienna 1683 is no exception.
The volume provides an introduction; a
chronology; a sketch of the major opposing commanders, in which coverage
of Christian forces is limited to Imperial and Polish/Lithuanian figures—regrettable,
but understandable for reasons of space; an Order of Battle (though again
only for Imperial, Polish/Lithuanian, and Ottoman forces); discussions
of the opening moves in the campaign; the siege itself; the battle of
Kahlenburg between the relieving force and the besiegers; and the battle
of Párkány afterwards. A brief survey of the battlefields
today (for those who might wish to travel to Austria), a bibliography,
and an index complete the volume.
There are a few minor problems. The
abundance of noble commanders sometimes makes following their names as
potentially difficult for the reader as it made coordinating actions
difficult for the Christian side, and this is not helped by occasional
inconsistencies in choosing which name to employ as the default for a
given leader (Charles Sixte, Duke of Lorraine, is unpredictably referred
to as “Charles” or “Lorraine”
throughout, for example, and this is a problem with other leaders as well). A
thorough editing should have caught and repaired this problem, especially
given that the audience is not expected to be technically specialized in
the subject.
The author clearly places these events
in the context of Christian-Muslim conflict, correctly characterizing
the Turkish assault as an act of jihad. Unfortunately, he misses
a prime opportunity to emphasize just how far the ideology of crusading
extended on the Christian side. In many ways, John III Sobieski
may have been the last crusader king, and there were significant elements
(at the very least) of crusading in his campaigns. Some historians
have characterized the relief of Vienna as the “last crusade,” and
that may well be accurate. It is regrettable that this fact was
not given more attention.
But these are relatively minor complaints. All
in all, Vienna 1683: Christian Europe Repels the Ottomans is a
welcome addition to the literature of a subject that is too little treated
and too rarely remembered.