75mm scale resin kit. Part Four includes a single mounted figure (fallen).
(The whole vignette will be part of a 5 part series released over the coming months).
Limited Edition of 200 units
The Battle of Vienna took place on Kahlenberg Mountain, near Vienna, on September 12, 1683, after the imperial city was besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months. The battle was fought by the Holy Roman Empire led by the Habsburg Monarchy and the Republic of the Polish-Lithuanian Republic, both under the command of King John III Sobieski, against the Ottomans and their vassal and tributary states. The battle marked the first time that the Commonwealth and the Holy Roman Empire cooperated militarily against the Ottomans. Historians claim that the battle marked the turning point in the Ottoman-Habsburg Wars, a 300-year struggle between the Holy Romans-Germanic and the Ottoman Empires. The opposing military forces were those of the Ottoman Empire and Ottoman fiefs, commanded by Grand Vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha. The Ottoman army numbered approximately 90,000 to 300,000 men (according to documents on the order of battle found in Kara Mustafa's tent, the initial force at the start of the campaign was 170,000 men). They began the siege on July 14, 1683. The Ottoman forces consisted, among other units, of 60 Janist ortas (12,000 men of paper force) with an observation army of about 70,000 men guarding the countryside. The decisive battle took place on September 12, after the arrival of the united relief army. The battle is known to include the largest known cavalry charge in history. They began the siege on July 14, 1683. The Ottoman forces consisted, among other units, of 60 Janist ortas (12,000 men of paper force) with an observation army of about 70,000 men guarding the countryside. The decisive battle took place on September 12, after the arrival of the united relief army. The battle is known to include the largest known cavalry charge in history. They began the siege on July 14, 1683. The Ottoman forces consisted, among other units, of 60 Janist ortas (12,000 men of paper force) with an observation army of about 70,000 men guarding the countryside. The decisive battle took place on September 12, after the arrival of the united relief army. The battle is known to include the largest known cavalry charge in history.
The main Ottoman army finally besieged Vienna on 14 July. Siege operations began on July 17th. The Viennese demolished many of the houses around the city walls and cleared away the rubble, leaving an empty plain that would expose the Ottomans to defensive fire if they tried to rush into the city. Kara Mustafa Pasha tried to solve this problem by ordering his forces to dig long lines of trenches directly towards the city, to help them protect them from the defenders as they advanced. During early September, approximately 5,000 experienced Ottoman sappers had repeatedly blasted large portions of the walls between the bastion of Burg, creating gaps about 12 m (39 ft) wide. The Viennese tried to counter this by digging their own tunnels to intercept the placement of large quantities of gunpowder in caves. The Ottomans finally managed to occupy the Burg ravelin and the low wall in that area on September 8th. Anticipating a breach in the city walls, the remaining Viennese prepared to fight in the center of the city.
The relief army had to act quickly to save the city and avoid another long siege. At 4:00 am on September 12th, the battle began before all units were fully deployed. Eleostomans attacked. The Germans were the first to strike back. Charles de Lorraine advanced with the imperial army on the left and other imperial forces in the center and, after heavy fighting and multiple Ottoman counterattacks, took several key positions, specifically the fortified villages of Nussdorf and Heiligenstadt. By midday, the imperial army had already severely attacked the Ottomans and had come close to an advance. Mustafa Pasha launched his counterattacks with most of his strength, but held back some of the elite Janissary and Sipahi units for a simultaneous attack on the city. The Ottoman sappers prepared a grand and final blast under the Löbelbastei to break through the walls, but were spotted by the defenders and unarmed. In the early afternoon, a great battle broke out on the other side of the battlefield as Polish infantry advanced on the Ottoman right flank. Instead of concentrating on the battle with the aid army, the Ottomans continued their efforts to force their
way to town. The Ottomans were in a desperate position between Polish and imperial forces. At 17:00 they were very close to the central Ottoman position (the “Türkenschanze”). They could see the Polish cavalry in action and it is recorded that the Polish cavalry slowly emerged from the forest to the applause of the moving infantry, who were anticipating their arrival. At 4 pm, the hussars sprang into action for the first time, obliterating the Ottoman lines, and approaching the Türkenschanze, which was now threatened from three sides (the Poles from the west, the Saxons and Bavarians from the north-west and the Austrians from the north). At this point, the Ottoman vizier decided to leave this position and retreat to his headquarters in the southernmost main camp. However, by then many Ottomans were already leaving the battlefield.
At around 6 pm, the Polish king ordered the cavalry to attack in four groups, three Poles and one from the Holy Roman-German Empire—18,000 horsemen carried over the hills, the largest cavalry charge in history. Sobieski led the charge in front of 3,000 Polish heavy launchers, the famous “Winged Hussars”. The Lipka Muslim Tatars who fought on the Polish side wore a branch of straw on their helmets to distinguish them from the Tatars fighting on the Ottoman side. The charge easily broke the lines of the Ottomans, who were exhausted and demoralized and soon began fleeing the battlefield. The cavalry went straight to the Ottoman camps and the headquarters of Kara Mustafa, while the remaining Viennese garrison came out of their defenses to join the attack. The Ottoman troops were tired and disheartened after the failed sacking attempt, the attack on the city, and the advance of Holy League infantry on the Türkenschanze. The cavalry charge was the final killing blow. Less than three hours after the cavalry attack, Catholic forces won the battle and saved Vienna. The first Catholic officer to enter Vienna was Louis William, Marquis of Baden-Baden, at the head of his dragons. Sobieski then paraphrased Julius Caesar's famous quote (Veni, vidi, vici) by saying “Venimus, vidimus, Deus vicit” – “We came, we saw, God conquered”. The first Catholic officer to enter Vienna was Louis William, Marquis of Baden-Baden, at the head of his dragons. Sobieski then paraphrased Julius Caesar's famous quote (Veni, vidi, vici) by saying “Venimus, vidimus, Deus vicit” – “We came, we saw, God conquered”. The first Catholic officer to enter Vienna was Louis William, Marquis of Baden-Baden, at the head of his dragons. Sobieski then paraphrased Julius Caesar's famous quote (Veni, vidi, vici) by saying “Venimus, vidimus, Deus vicit” – “We came, we saw, God conquered”.
Text courtesy of RP Models
