Our excellent dinner at the historic Griechenbeisl restaurant had got me thinking. The Griechenbeisl was here during the siege of Vienna in 1683. It’s located next to a section of the ancient city wall that kept the attackers out. I was no longer hungry, but now I wanted to know more about the siege.
Nervous Time in Vienna
In the 15th century, the Ottoman Turks were on a roll, conquering lands in all directions. Vienna, due to its prime location on the Danube, became the empire’s most valued target. They had attacked the city once before, but they stretched their forces too thin, and didn’t make a very good go of it.
But then they got serious. After a year of planning and preparation, they would regroup and attack. They increased their numbers by recruiting soldiers from Balkan lands they’d conquered.
The Turks built roads and made improvements to support a force of 150,000 mameluke-swinging warriors that would make their way to Vienna. There would be no stopping them this time.
In June, the Turks started amassing troops near the city. Everyone in Europe knew what was coming. Viennese residents left their homes in the city, leaving behind 15,000 soldiers and 8,000 volunteers.
Viennese defenders would be outnumbered, but the wall surrounding Vienna was huge and fortified with 300 cannons. Vienna and Poland, now lying at the edge of Ottoman territory, had made a pact to support whoever the Turks attacked first.
High Stakes
The siege of Vienna would be a battle of the Christian world versus the Muslim world. No one north or west of Vienna wanted the ever-expanding Ottoman Empire at their doorstep.
By mid-June, the siege of Vienna was in full swing. The Turks couldn’t get in, and people inside could no longer get out. As expected, Turkish cannons were no match for the city walls, but the Turks weren’t depending on cannonballs.
They planned to use “black powder” explosives to blow up sections of the wall. They had brought tons of it. The plan was to blow through sections of the wall, then rush in. Once inside, there would be no contest.
The Turks dug tunnels under the wall, stuffed them with explosives, and let ‘em blow. The Viennese inside dug tunnels to try and get rid of the enemy tunnels. There was a lot of digging on both sides of the wall.
It took them three months, but the Turks finally managed to blow out a 40-foot section of wall. The Turkish attack was imminent when 70,000 Polish and European troops showed up at the top of the hills surrounding the city.
It’s Gonna Be a Big Day
The Turks, not wanting the rescuing forces to get organized, struck first. They attacked at 4:00 in the morning on September 11th. (That’s right, September 11th). And at the same time, they started their attack on the breached section of wall.
The rescuing forces included 3,000 Polish Winged Hussars – elite cavalry troops with big wings attached to their armor. Their lances were hollow, allowing them to be much longer than your average, garden-variety lance.
The Turks’ most seasoned fighters were tasked with breaching the wall. Their Balkan recruits, stationed at the rear, attacked the rescuing forces. But when the Balkan recruits saw thousands of Winged Hussars counter-attacking, riding at them with those super-long lances, they high-tailed it outta there. They didn’t really have much skin in the game, anyway.
Instead of regrouping to address the rescuing forces, the Turks kept up the attack on the wall. But they didn’t have much success. It turned out to be really hard to squeeze 150,000 mameluke-swinging fighters through a 40-foot wide opening.
After fighting all day, the rescuing Polish and European forces regrouped to attack Turks still trying to breach the city wall. Eighteen thousand cavalry troops and Winged Hussars charged on horseback. It was, and still is, the biggest cavalry charge ever made.
The charge was successful, and the city of Vienna was saved. Afterwards, they found ten new Turkish tunnels under the wall, each full of explosives. For whatever reason, they hadn’t blown. Whoa.
And now, with my history itch having been scratched, may we continue on to dessert?
To be continued….
