Sep 11 - Battle of Vienna Begins - Europe Repels Islam

Note the date of September 11 . . .

The Battle of Vienna (German: Schlacht am Kahlen Berge or Kahlenberg, Polish: Bitwa pod Wiedniem or Odsiecz Wiedeńska, Turkish: İkinci Viyana Kuşatması) is a battle that took place on 11 and 12 September^[11] 1683 after the imperial city of Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months. It was a battle of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation in league with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Holy League) versus the MuslimOttoman Empire and chiefdoms of the Ottoman Empire, and took place at Kahlenberg Mountain near Vienna. The battle marked the beginning of the political hegemony of the Habsburg dynasty in the Holy Roman Empire and Central Europe.^[12]

The battle was won by the combined forces of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the latter being represented only by the forces of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (the march of the Lithuanian army was delayed; as a result they arrived in Vienna after it was relieved^[13]). The Viennese garrison was led by Ernst Rüdiger Graf von Starhemberg, an Austrian subject of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. The overall command was held by the commander of the Polish forces, the King of Poland, Jan III Sobieski.

The alliance fought the army of the Ottoman Empire and those of Ottoman fiefdoms commanded by Grand VizierMerzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha. The siege itself began on 14 July 1683, by the Ottoman army of approximately 90,000^[1]–300,000^[4][5][6][7] men. The besieging force was composed of 60 ortas of Janissaries (12,000 men paper-strength) with an observation army of c.70,000^[14] men watching the countryside. The decisive battle took place on 12 September, after the united relief army of approximately 84,000 men had arrived.

It has been suggested by some historians that the battle marked the turning-point in the Ottoman–Habsburg wars, the 300-year struggle between the Holy Roman Empire and the Ottoman Empire^{[citation needed][by whom?]}. Indeed, over the sixteen years following the battle, the Habsburgs of Austria gradually occupied and dominated southern Hungary andTransylvania, which had been largely cleared of the Ottoman forces. However, post-Orientalist historiographies shed light on the fact that the Ottoman Empire did remain strong and imposing in the Balkan - despite some administrative, economic and military turmoils - up until the late 18th century. Much of the Holy Leagues' gains would be recaptured by the Ottomans, such as the Morea and Azov, while the Balkan territories would fall back in parts to the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of Passarowitz ^[15]