In ancient Europe, from the world of 16 to the century of 18, although there are many famous places overseas, there is still an enemy close at hand that scares Europe, that is, the Ottoman Turkish Empire. By the17th century, Ottoman Turkey had waged jihad against Europe for more than 300 years. In these 300 years, there was a battle that made Europeans defeat the ambition of Ottoman Turkey, and that was the Battle of Senta.
The Battle of Magenta, in the Great Turkish War,1September 19971day, on the Tisza River east of Senta in southern Serbia, Plinz Eugen, a young Austrian general in Savoy, defeated the Ottoman army crossing the river with a decisive surprise attack, causing 25,000 casualties, less than 2,000.
In the 16 and 17 centuries, although Europeans have started a large-scale overseas colonial conquest in the world, only enemies close at hand have always frightened Europe. By the end of 17, Ottoman Turkey had waged a 300-year jihad against Europe, and a large area of Eastern Europe surrendered to the banner of the new moon. The holy Roman Empire under the Habsburg dynasty is also the center of Europe in a sense, directly exposed to the iron hoof and artillery fire of Turkey.
1683, after Habsburg and European Coalition forces successfully lifted the siege of Vienna, Western Europe lifted the danger of being conquered by Muslims forever, and Eastern Europe seemed to win the hope of returning to the embrace of Christ.
From 1683 to 1688, the Habsburg Empire won brilliant victories in a series of siege wars in Hungary, Serbia and Transylvania, occupied a large territory, and seemed to win a new crusade era for a time. ? But when the war between the empire and France transferred more Habsburg troops to the western front, the Turks made a comeback. They reconquered most of Serbia, Macedonia and Transylvania, then marched into Hungary again and occupied its capital Belgrade. 1697, with the end of the European Union War, the Habsburg royal family moved its troops to the eastern front, and the army was under the full command of the newly appointed Marshal Plinz Eugen of Savoy.
Prinz eugen assembled his troops in Hungary on July 5, 1997. Only 35,000 of his 70,000 soldiers are ready to fight. As the imperial war funds have been exhausted, prinz eugen has to borrow money to pay the salaries and medical security of soldiers (the Holy Roman Empire does not have its own standing army, and the army is all composed of professional mercenaries with superb combat skills but expensive prices). This Habsburg army consists of Germans, Austrians and Hungarians. The remaining kingdom of Hungary provided 20,000 troops at a critical moment. Excellent light cavalry from Serbia and Croatia also joined the imperial Coalition forces.
Upon learning that Turkish Sultan Mustafa II led an army into Belgrade, prinz eugen selected 50,000 men (1.6,000 cavalry and 34,000 infantry, 60 guns) to meet Osman's 80,000 troops (90 guns). On July 18, Prince Eugen trained and consolidated his army again in Croute village. In August, Eugen issued a challenge to the Turks. The gauntlet stipulated that the two sides should have a field battle in Petrovaddin, but it was rejected by the Turks. Turkey hopes to fight this war through a series of siege wars and city defense wars. This is the characteristic of 16 and 17 century western wars. Due to the revolution of western fortification technology in early modern times, castles are extremely difficult to conquer, and warring parties often hope to use fortified cities to weaken their opponents. Only when one side thinks it can win, will it take the initiative to seek a field battle, and at this time, the other side will inevitably hide in the city to avoid a field battle.
Although there are many classic field battles in this era, compared with numerous siege wars, field battles can be said to be a small probability event and become a very rare thing. Therefore, submitting the gauntlet, an ancient way, is an inevitable choice for every general who seeks war-although it will be directly ignored in most cases.
In a skirmish, imperial cavalry accidentally captured Turkish general Kafr Pasha. After learning that the imperial army was approaching, Mustafa II abandoned the siege of Segde Castle and decided to retreat to Temesh Castle. Prinz eugen boldly abandoned the trench and marched in a hurry, hoping to launch a field battle before the Turks retreated into the castle.
On September 1697, 1 1, the Ottoman troops retreating to the castle tried to cross the Tisse River (a tributary of the Danube) from the bridge. They didn't know that the imperial army was approaching at a speed several times as fast as usual. When the Ottoman army was halfway across the river, the imperial army suddenly appeared behind them, and 60 cannons rang and started fighting.
With the shelling, a large number of imperial dragoons rode to the Ottoman camp, then dismounted and opened fire. They lined up neatly, just like the infantry were going to volley. The Ottoman troops left behind the camp fired back behind the trench. Although the Turks had many guns, their free shooting could not resist the volley of imperial troops. They soon collapsed, squeezed on the bridge when retreating, and collided with reinforcements coming back from the other side of the river. It is difficult to move and the scene is chaotic. Prinz eugen ordered all the cannons to bombard the bridge, and in an instant, there were bloody pieces on the bridge deck, and the Turkish army suffered heavy casualties. Seeing that the time was ripe, Eugen charged the left-wing cavalry. They defeated the right wing of the Ottoman army, crossed the camp and occupied the bridge. This has led to the Turks' retreat being completely blocked, which has become a situation of catching turtles in a jar.
After the siege, the imperial infantry line was crushed and rushed into the Ottoman camp. The two sides launched a brutal hand-to-hand combat. The Ottoman Yeniseri Guards used to be the best infantry in the West, even at the end of 17. However, in the face of excellent infantry mass-produced in modern Europe, the limited Yeniseri is too thin, and other Turkish ordinary troops and affiliated troops are vulnerable to European soldiers. The fighting turned into a unilateral massacre, and in the center of the camp, Turkish officials who had no time to escape were also killed. In the end, more than 20 thousand Turkish troops were killed in the encirclement, and thousands of others drowned (swimming only) while crossing the river to escape. After the war, only 429 imperial soldiers were killed and 1598 were injured. The spoils include 87 cannons, the Sultan's harem, jewels and national seals.
Due to the defeat of the campaign, the Ottoman Turks were forced to make peace, and 1699 signed the Kalovics Treaty. The Ottoman Empire had to cede Transylvania, Moria, Portia and almost the whole of Ottoman Hungary, and almost lost the whole of Central Europe. This is the first time that the Turks ceded the occupied land. The defeated Mustafa II began to reform, but was deposed within five years. Prinz eugen was promoted to count and began his brilliant military career. This is a great victory, marking the supremacy of European military in the world. Since then, the Crusaders have not only confronted Islam, but also traveled all over the world.