Professional paper
Prince Eugene of Savoy in the Great Turkish War until the liberation of Belgrade (1683-1688)
Siniša Đuričić
Abstract
A few months after his escape from the French capital, Prince Eugene of Savoy entered into the military service of Habsburg Emperor Leopold and took part in the tumultuous events of the Ottoman siege of Vienna in the summer months of 1683. Having distinguished himself in the front lines at the battle of Kahlenberg for the relief of the imperial city, under the command of his cousin and mentor, Margrave Ludwig of Baden, the young exile was noticed by the emperor who commissioned him the rank of colonel (oberst) and command over the dragoon regiment in December of the same year. The first siege of Buda in spring 1684 went disastrously ill for the Imperials and the Prince himself was wounded in the fighting. The second attempt, carried out by the joined forces of Charles of Lorraine and Maximillian Emanuel of Bavaria, was far more successful. After that, Margrave and Prince Eugene made a brief foray with their forces into Baranya, a preparation for the fruitful campaign that followed. On the field between two Hungarian cities, Mohács and Siklós, in the vicinity of the Harsány hill, on 12 August 1687 the Ottomans were decisively defeated and their army scattered. Prince Eugene himself stormed the Ottoman entrenchments and pursued the fleeing enemy through the Baranya marshes. This earned him the privilege to personally bring the report of this great victory to Leopold, who promoted him to the rank of Feldmarschall-Leutnant (comparable with the present rank of general major). The task of capturing Belgrade had been taken up by Maximillian of Bavaria, who laid siege of this city at the end of August 1688 with the force of 50 000 men. Heavily involved in the fighting, Prince Eugene received a grave wound to the knee, which forced him to leave the siege.
Keywords
Baranja; battle of Harsány; prince Eugene of Savoy; siege of Vienna; siege of Buda; siege of Belgrade; Great Turkish War 1683-1699
Hrčak ID:
164530
URI
Publication date:
15.10.2015.
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