History UsefulNotes / SiegeOfVienna

-->''Venimus, vidimus, Deus vincit''[[note]]We came, we saw, God conquered.[[/note]]
-->-'''Jan III Sobieski'''

In 1683 the Ottoman Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa marched up the Danube with the objective of conquering the city of Vienna. They laid siege to the city in July. They battered and dug at the hapless city, slowly closing in on the defenders. Meanwhile the Hapsburg [[TheEmperor Emperor]] Leopold I assembled a coalition including several German princes and the Polish King Jan Sobieski. They attacked the Ottomans at Vienna on September 12, and routed the Ottoman army in a sudden and amazingly successful attack . This was to be the last time the Ottoman empire would attempt a major conquest in Europe and foreshadowed later offensives to be launched in turn by the Austrians and Russians which would severely reduce the Ottomans and gain these powers territory in the Black Sea region.

An earlier siege in 1529 by Suleyman the Magnificent is also important historically, and may sometimes be confused with the the later one. Together with the siege of Malta and UsefulNotes/BattleOfLepanto, it pretty much defined the limits of the Ottoman Empire's reach in Europe and the Mediterranean Sea.

!!Real Life Tropes of the Siege of Vienna Include

* TheAlliance: Poland, Austria, Royal Hungary, and others.
** In theory the Ottoman army as well, as it included Crimean Tatars, Moldavian, Wallachian and Transylvanian troops. In practice, however, the Moldavians, Wallachians and Transylvanians didn't take part in the battle, and [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere the Crimeans retreated as soon as the Poles started their charge]].
* BadassBoast: Jan Sobieski's quote, "Venimus, Vidimus, Deus vincit" (We came, we saw, God conquered).
* BlingOfWar: The winged hussars.
* TheCavalry: The allied army. Not the least of which was the [[UsefulNotes/PolesWithPoleaxes Polish Army]], famed for having some of the finest horses in Europe and therefore was literal as well as metaphorical cavalry. In fact, the cavalry charge at Vienna was the largest in history: ''eighteen thousand knights'' (including three thousand Winged Hussars) led by King Jan III Sobieski prompted the Ottoman army to do a good impression of a piece of drywall hit with a sledgehammer.
** To give an idea of how massive it was, that's ''three times'' the size of the Rohirrim Charge in [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings The Return of the King]].
* CavalryBetrayal: The Wallachians retreated from the battle because their prince Șerban Cantacuzino was secretly in league with the Holy League all along, feeding them about their plans, tactics and strategies in exchange for the throne of Constantinople. While the Habsburgs promised him the throne, he died before claiming it - presumably poisoned by his own men due to his unrealistic expectations.
* CoolHorse: See hussars.
* CurbStompBattle: Once the reinforcements arrived, that is.
* CrazyAwesome / ObfuscatingStupidity: Jan Sobieski. People took him a lot more seriously ''after'' he won the battle and saved the city.
* DudeWheresMyReward: King Jan Sobieski, who led the allied forces and is a legendary figure in Poland, is not commemorated much in Austria.
* EndOfAnAge: The battle marked the beginning of the Ottoman Empire's decline, as from that point on their expansion into Europe would be stopped and they would be on the back foot until their eventual collapse in World War I.
* EvenBetterSequel: The Ottomans also besieged Vienna in 1529 - a very significant battle in its own right but one which has been overshadowed by this one.
* TheEmpire: The Ottoman Empire ([[WrittenByTheWinners do remember that most accounts are given by Europeans rather than Turks]]).
** The Habsburg Empire, as well.
* TheFederation: The UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire.
* {{Folkhero}}: Legend has it that the first [[MustHaveCaffeine Vienna coffeehouse]] was opened by a merchant who found coffee while gathering {{plunder}} from the Ottoman camp.
* GloryDays: Ironically, the end of Poland's. The siege of Vienna was the Commonwealths last moment as an important player in European politics. It would spend the rest of its days being occupied, ruled or pillaged by Germans (several sorts), Swedes and Russians.
* {{Irony}}: The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ended Ottoman expansion into Europe. Later when Poland was partitioned between Austria, Prussia and Russia, the Ottoman Empire was the only nation besides Persia that didn't recognize the decision for a variety of reasons: they were at war with Russia so naturally they'd antagonize them, fear of setting a precedent of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the same could be done to them]] (since if Europeans were willing to tear apart another Christian state like them if it was vulnerable enough, what would they do to a ''Muslim'' state like the Ottomans?) or simply because [[WorthyOpponent they respected the Polish]].
* LastStand: Averted spectacularly.
* MustHaveCaffeine: Legend has it that the Viennese café culture began after a Polish general who had spent some time as a Turkish captive picked up the bags of roasted coffee beans the Turks had left behind during their retreat and opened a coffee shop that the Austrians went totally mad for.
* RealityIsUnrealistic: Unlike what people believe this to be simply a battle between Christianity and Islam, the Poles had ''Muslims'' on their side, namely the Lipka Tatars who descended from Islamicized Mongols that settled in Poland after their khans were defeated by emir UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame. The Tatars were considered extremely loyal and patriotic since one of their warriors, Samuel Mirza Krzeczowski, saved Jan Sobieski's life during the battle and was rewarded after their victory.
* RealMenLoveJesus: Jan Sobieski.
* WarriorPrince: Jan Sobieski.
* WhoWouldBeStupidEnough: According to some accounts, the Poles dragged their cannons over mountains to bring them to the battlefield. By ''hand''. The Turkish commanders refused to believe anyone would try something so foolhardy and dismissed these reports. Big mistake.
* WorthyOpponent: The Ottomans dubbed Sobieski "Lion of Lechistan" (literally Poland as it was referred by Muslims).
* YouHaveFailedMe: The Grand Vizier was executed for his defeat at the battle. A celebrated anecdote has him move his beard out of the way of the executioner's garrotte.

* In ''Quicksilver,'' first volume of Neal Stephenson's ''Baroque Cycle,'' "Half-Cocked" Jack Shaftoe and Eliza first meet at the Siege of Vienna, where he is serving as a mercenary and rescues her from the Sultan's harem.

* WhatAnIdiot: Sobieski, to the future generations of Poles. 100 years later Austria and Germany (and Russia) partition Poland, and Turkey is the only neighboring state that doesn't recognizes the loss of Polish Independence.
** It is hard to see how he could be responsible for that and Turkey was the chief threat at the time.
*** Actually, Stefan Batory (who was the king of Poland a while back) was trying to get ''Russia's'' help against Turkey (Russia wasn't really interested).
** Sobieski's real fault was that he was a good warrior, but a somewhat lousy politician, unwittingly preparing the ground for later Russian dominance over Poland. Plus, a reason why Turkey didn't recognise the Partitions was that they were [[WorthyOpponent quite impressed by Sobieski]] and Poles [[note]]Also, Turkey had its own war with Russia at the time.[[/note]].
*** The battle of Vienna elevated Sobieski to hero status in Poland. Unfortunately, it was his ''only'' success. His main concern was dynastic politics (he wanted to get his son elected as the next king of Poland and marginalize other magnate families to create a ruling dynasty) and while he wasn't the first in the succession of weak, decadent kings which ultimately led to the Partitions, his rule was the point of no return.
** Granted, "Austrian Poland" was generally benign (the Habsburgs are still recalled well OrSoIHeard).
** Kara Mustafa himself. By all accounts, the Turks should have captured Vienna. However, Mustafa decided to wait. This was probably because he gambled on the Austrians surrendering, which would have allowed him to claim all the city's possessions for the Sultan, whereas if the city was taken by force, its possessions would be divvied out between the army. Instead of attacking, he bid his time and was caught completely by surprise by the Polish and German reinforcements. Had he won, the Ottomans would have used Vienna as a bridge to Western Europe. Instead, it marked the stagnation of their holdings in Europe.

* GondorCallsForAid

* {{Irony}}: The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ended Ottoman expansion into Europe. Later when Poland was partitioned between Austria, Prussia and Russia, the Ottoman Empire was the only nation besides Persia that didn't recognize the decision for a variety of reasons: they were at war with Russia so naturally they'd antagonize them, fear of [[{{Foreshadowing}} setting a precedent]] of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the same could be done to them]] (since if Europeans were willing to tear apart another Christian state like them if it was vulnerable enough, what would they do to a ''Muslim'' state like the Ottomans?) or simply because [[WorthyOpponent they respected the Polish]].

* {{Irony}}: The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ended Ottoman expansion into Europe. Later when Poland was partioned between Austria, Prussia and Russia, the Ottoman Empire was the only state that didn't recognize the accept the partition for a variety of reasons: they were at war with Russia so naturally they'd antagonize their decision, fear of [[{{Foreshadowing}} setting a precedent]] of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the same could be done to them]] (since if Europeans were willing to tear apart another Christian state like them if it was vulnerable enough, what would they do to a Muslim state like the Ottomans?) or simply because [[WorthyOpponent they respected the Polish]].

* RealityIsUnrealistic: Unlike what people believe to be simply a battle between Christianity and Islam, the Poles had ''Muslims'' on their side, namely the Lipka Tatars who descended from Islamicized Mongols that settled in Poland after their khans were defeated by emir UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame. The Tatars were considered extremely loyal and patriotic since one of their warriors, Samuel Mirza Krzeczowski, saved Jan Sobieski's life during the battle and was rewarded after their victory.

* {{Irony}}: The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ended Ottoman expansion into Europe. Later when Poland was partioned between Austria, Prussia and Russia, the Ottoman Empire was the only state that didn't recognize the accept the partition for a variety of reasons: they were at war with Russia so naturally they'd antagonize their decision, fear of [[{{Foreshadowing}} setting a precedent]] of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the same could be done to them]] (since if Europeans were willing to tear apart another Christian state like them if it was vulnerable enough, what would they do to a Muslim state like them?) or simply because [[WorthyOpponent they respected the Polish]].

* The story ''[[Literature/TheShadowOfTheVulture'' by Creator/RobertEHoward uses the earlier siege as the historical backdrop to tell its tale about a personal vendetta between the Sultan himself (carried out by his servants rather than him personally, of course) and a Christian knight who happens to end up ''in'' Vienna at the beginning of the siege. It also gives us the original Comicbook/RedSonja.

* The story ''The Shadow of the Vulture'' by Creator/RobertEHoward uses the earlier siege as the historical backdrop to tell its tale about a personal vendetta between the Sultan himself (carried out by his servants rather than him personally, of course) and a Christian knight who happens to end up ''in'' Vienna at the beginning of the siege. It also gives us the original Comicbook/RedSonja.

* YoungFutureFamousPeople: This was the first battle of Eugene of Savoy, who would go on becoming one of the greatest generals of his time. Max Emanuel of Bavaria also fought here. A generation later, the two of them would fight on opposite sides in the War of the Spanish Succession.

* WhoWouldBeStupidEnough: According to some accounts, the Poles dragged their cannons over mountains to bring them to the battlefield. By ''hand''. The Turkish commanders refused to believe anyone would try something so foolhardy and dismissed these reports. [[IdiotBall Big mistake.]]

* [[EvilChancellor Morally Ambiguous Chancellor]]: Kara Mustafa. ([[AwesomeMcCoolName That is a cool name though]]).

* TheKingdom: Poland.
** Also qualifies as TheRepublic--the King was [[ElectiveMonarchy elected by the nobles]] who constituted roughly 10% of the population.

* TheFederation: The HolyRomanEmpire.

* HolyRomanEmpire

* YoungFutureFamousPeople: This was the first battle of Eugene of Savoy, who would go on becoming one of the greatest generals of his time.

* FutureFamousPeople: This was the first battle of Eugene of Savoy, who would go on becoming one of the greatest generals of his time.

* TheCavalry: The allied army. Not the least of which was the [[PolesWithPatrolBoats Polish Army]], famed for having some of the finest horses in Europe and therefore was literal as well as metaphorical cavalry. In fact, the cavalry charge at Vienna was the largest in history: ''eighteen thousand knights'' (including three thousand Winged Hussars) led by King Jan III Sobieski prompted the Ottoman army to do a good impression of a piece of drywall hit with a sledgehammer.

* [[PolesWithPatrolBoats Poles With Lances]]

* TurksWithTroops

** Sobieski's real fault was that he was a good warrior, but a somewhat lousy politician, unwittingly preparing the ground for later Russian dominance over Poland. Plus, a reason why Turkey didn't recognise the Partitions was that they were [[WorthyOpponent quite impressed by Sobieski]] and Poles.

** Kara Mustafa himself. By all accounts, the Turks should have captured Vienna. However, Mustafa decided to wait. This was probably because he gambled on the Austrians surrendering, which would have allowed him to claim all the city's possessions for the Sultan, whereas if the city was taken by force, its possessions would be divvied out between the army. Instead of attacking, he bided his time and was caught completely by surprise by the Polish and German reinforcements. Had he won, the Ottomans would have used Vienna as a bridge to Western Europe. Instead, it marked the stagnation of their holdings in Europe.

* YouHaveFailedMe: The Grand Vizier was executed for his defeat at the battle. A celebrated anecdote has him move his beard out of the way of the executioner's garotte.

----

* [[EvilChancellor Morally ambigius Chancellor]] : Kara Mustafa. ([[AwesomeMcCoolName That is a cool name though]]).

* {{Folkhero}}: It is said that the first [[MustHaveCaffeine Vienna coffeehouse]] was opened by a merchant who found coffee when gathering {{plunder}} from the Ottoman camp.

** Also qualifies as TheRepublic--the King was elected by the nobles, of whom there were quite a lot.

* RealMenLoveJesus : Jan Sobieski.

** Granted, "Austrian Poland" was generally benign (the Habsburgs are still recalled well SoIveHeard).

* TheAlliance: Poland, Austria, France and others.

* TheCavalry: The allied army . Not the least of which was the [[PolesWithPatrolBoats Polish Army]], famed for having some of the finest horses in Europe and therefore was literal as well as metaphorical cavalry. In fact, the cavalry charge at Vienna was the largest in history: 3000 Winged Hussars led by King Jan III Sobieski prompted the Ottoman army to do a good impression of a piece of drywall hit with a sledgehammer.

* YouHaveFailedMe: The Grand Vizier was executed for his defeat at the battle.

An earlier siege in 1529 by Suleyman the Magnificent is also important historically, and may sometimes be confused with the the later one. Together with the siege of Malta and BattleOfLepanto, it pretty much defined the limits of the Ottoman Empire's reach in Europe and the Mediterranean Sea.