Vienna 1683: Christian Europe Repels the Ottomans

And a show of heroism and determination for both sides of the conflict. It definitively made a good book in this concise "essay" from Simon Millar. Competently he describes the background of the campaign, not only in the Imperial habsburg eastern front but also the western with Louis XIV France and how it influenced the reluctance of certain princes to be in the relief force. The author doesn't forget the Ottoman side of the border; the necessity of Mehmed IV to obtain a victory after a succession of deposed sultans (some murdered) and the near ending of the peace treaty with the Empire. There is a short summary of the troop types (complemented with a few very well portrayed black and white drawings), a short CV of the main characters (John III Sobieski, Starhemberg, Leopold, Kara Mustafa pasha, Rackoksi) a a discussion of strengths and weaknesses of both combatants, including Montecocculis reforms, the weak artillery science of the Ottomans (although they had good pieces) compensated by the excellent Turkish miners, etc. The campaign is well detailed with marching routes, skirmishes and supported by good maps. The Siege is divided by "main events" and well structured with the politic events outside Vienna. It culminates on the Kalehmberg confrontation outside the city, where the Imperial and Polish army fought and Routed the Ottoman army. The author doesn't forget the aftermath battles of Parkany and future implications of the failed siege. This work, although good, isn't perfect. The CV's should concentrate on the leaders of the siege and battle, not the political rulers. Although it has very good maps of the armies movements, it has only one birds-eye view map of the battle (it usually has 3)! The numbers involved aren't very well detailed. The art is very good! Both the three coloured plates like the black and white line drawings. Congratulations to the artist Peter Dennis. Recommended but can be improved.

Destroing, literally, turkich mitary surroudning Vienna, on urgent request of the Pope send to polish King Jan Sobieski , whilst the other european contries did almost nothing in that highly dramatic situation of Vienna, cannot be overestimated in respect of saving of european civilisation from barbarism. Yet, nor Austria, nor Pope, nobody, offered Poland some financial compensation of the costs of the organizing the expeditionary force, and Poland's economy soon had been ruined by that, and ... Sweeden used the moment to attack Poland from the North and occupy it. Nobody helped Poland. Wiktor Nowicki, a polish-american.

In less then 100 pages, Simon Millar managed to write an excellent summary account of the last major military offensive conducted by Islamic Ottoman Empire against Christian Europe in 1683 when the Turks tried but failed to capture the capital city of the Holy Roman Empire, Vienna. The book follows the typical Osprey Campaign series format where the background information on the campaign, its leaders and the military forces involved were given in a brief summary. However, the author did a pretty good job making it informative but not too detail. The book comes with excellent maps and illustrations that convey the subject matter quite well. The narrative proves to be quite interesting and author writes with prose and insights that make the book easy to read as well as enjoyable. I thought it was pretty ironic that the Polish kingdom that saved Vienna in 1683 would be dismembered by the same political unit that they saved within the hundred years period. This also marked the long decline and fall of the Ottoman Empire that will end its existence after World War I and the last time an militant Islam wages a war against the Christian heartland until the current time. The Ottoman Empire's efforts against Vienna in 1683 is not a well known subject matter for many, including myself and I thought the book filled the void quite excellently along the basic level.