The Decisive Battles of World History

x The Turks had neglected to establish strong defenses against an

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through the Wienerwald to the outskirts of Vienna before dawn on

September 12. Kara Mustafa hurriedly assigned about half his army

to meet this new threat, orienting them into a battle line.

x The result became known as the Battle of Kahlenberg. It unfolded

in a confused series of encounters as the two sides advanced along

a four-mile front over rough terrain. By late afternoon, the allied

army had nosed forward onto the plains leading to Vienna, and both

Charles on the left and Sobieski on the right sensed that the crucial

moment had arrived. Both ordered their men to the attack.

x Although the Turks resisted bravely, this charge proved decisive,

and the Ottoman lines disintegrated. Kara Mustafa escaped, taking

with him what was left of the army’s treasury, but most of his army

was destroyed. In the campaigns that immediately followed, the

Ottomans lost a chunk of their European territory, including, most

importantly, Hungary.

x Much of the previous 200 years of European history had been

dominated by Turkish attempts to expand their reach into Western

Europe, resulting in a series of epic sieges and battles. Vienna

decisively marked the end of these attempts and was the turning

point in Ottoman history.

Millar, Vienna 1683.

Stoye, The Siege of Vienna.

Wheatcroft, The Enemy at the Gate.

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