The Other 9/11 Attack: Battle of Vienna in 1683

The Battle of Vienna (Die Schlacht am Kahlenberg; Bitwa pod Wiedniem)—one of Europe's most epic battles—began on the early morning of Sunday, the 12th of September 1683, after a 60-day siege of the city. The city walls were crumbling and the Ottomans were preparing to take the city, when on the night of 11 September Jan III Sobieski arrived, as if by Providence, with thousands of fresh troops. A few hours later, at 4 AM, the battle began.

During the battle, 30,000 Christian hostages were executed by the Ottomans. But the combined forces of the Holy Roman Empire and Poland-Lithuania (supported by various other European states and peoples) defeated the Ottoman Empire, inflicting 40,000 Ottoman deaths.  At the end of the battle, Polish General Jan III Sobieski led a charge of 18,000 horsemen—the largest cavalry charge in history—causing the Ottomans to finally retreat.

Vienna was saved. Sobieski, paraphrasing Julius Caesar, later said: "Veni, vidi, Deus vicit" ("I came, I saw, God conquered").

The battle marked the end of Ottoman expansion in Europe. Had the Ottoman's won, it would have meant the conquest of Central Europe, from which the Ottoman's would be able to conquer the rest of Europe. The victory was followed up by Prince Eugenio di Savoia's (Duke of Savoy) reconquest of Hungary, which had earlier been taken by the Turks.

To commemorate the victory at Vienna, 12 September was declared a universal feast in the Church – Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary.