The Battle of Slankamen was fought on 19 August 1691, near Slankamen in the Ottoman

Sanjak of Syrmia Sanjak of Syrmia ( tr, Sirem sancağı, sr, Sremski sandžak/Сремски санџак, hr, Srijemski sandžak) was an administrative territorial entity of the Ottoman Empire formed in 1541. It was located in the Syrmia region and was part o ...

(modern-day

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

), between the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, and Habsburg Austrian forces during the Great Turkish War. The battle saw a Turkish-Transylvanian force led by

Emeric Thököly Emeric Thököly de Késmárk ( hu, késmárki Thököly Imre; sk, Imrich Tököli; ; tr, Tököli İmre; 25 September 1657 13 September 1705) was a Hungarian nobleman, leader of anti-Habsburg uprisings like his father, Count István Thökö ...

and Mustafa Köprülü suffer an overwhelming defeat by an Imperial army commanded by

Ludwig Wilhelm of Baden Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden (german: links=no, Ludwig Wilhelm von Baden-Baden; 8 April 1655 – 4 January 1707) was the ruling Margrave of Baden-Baden in Germany and chief commander of the Imperial Army (Holy Roman Empire), Imperial arm ...

. The Grand Vizir Mustafa Köprülü was killed by a stray bullet and the Ottoman army routed, leaving behind the war chest and their artillery. The battle was disastrous for the Turks and costly for the Austrians. The victory stabilized the Hungarian front and secured Hungary,

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and Transylvania for the Habsburgs.

Background

The Ottomans suffered a series of defeats against the

Archduchy of Austria The Archduchy of Austria (german: Erzherzogtum Österreich) was a major Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire and the nucleus of the Habsburg monarchy. With its capital at Vienna, the archduchy was centered at th ...

in the 1680s, most notably at the Battle of Vienna in 1683,

Buda Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...

in 1686,

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

in 1688 and

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

in 1689. However, with the beginning of the

Nine Years War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...

in the west, the early 1690s were to see an end to Habsburg conquests in the Balkans and a partial Ottoman recovery.McKay & Scott. ''The Rise of the Great Powers 1648–1815'', p. 75 Many German troops were withdrawn to fight

King Louis King Louis may refer to: Kings * Louis I (disambiguation), multiple kings with the name * Louis II (disambiguation), multiple kings with the name * Louis III (disambiguation), multiple kings with the name * Louis IV (disambiguation), multiple ...

' French forces on the Rhine, encouraging the Ottomans, led by the

Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...

Köprülü Fazıl Mustafa Pasha Köprülü may refer to: People * Köprülü family (Kypriljotet), an Ottoman noble family of Albanian origin ** Köprülü era (1656–1703), the period in which the Ottoman Empire's politics were set by the Grand Viziers, mainly the Köprülü f ...

, to counterattack. In April 1690 the death of

Michael I Apafi Michael Apafi ( hu, Apafi Mihály; 3 November 1632 – 15 April 1690) was Prince of Transylvania from 1661 to his death. Background The Principality of Transylvania emerged after the disintegration of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary in the sec ...

In April 1690 pushed the Sultan to nominate Hungarian

prince of Transylvania, Thököly at the head of an army quickly occupied much of the principality. When the Imperial army left Belgrade to defeat Thököly in September, Köprülü managed to retake Belgrade and massacre the garrison which the Ottomans had lost in 1688. In August 1691, Ludwig Wilhelm (Türkenlouis) marched down the Danube to provoke the Ottomans into another major battle, after gathering a new Imperial army of 33,000, including a 10,000 strong Serb militia, under the command of vice-voivoda

Jovan Monasterlija Jovan Monasterlija ( sr-cyr, Јован Монастерлија; fl. 1683–1706) was a Serbian ''vice-voivode'' (podvojvoda) and Austrian (Holy Roman Empire) imperial officer that led a Serbian Militia against the Ottoman Empire and other enemie ...

Battle

The clash between the two forces took place on the west side of the Danube, opposite the outlet of the

Tisa The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...

. Both armies deployed near

Zemun Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; hu, Zimony) is a municipality in the city of Belgrade. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown Belgrade. The developme ...

, but the superior Ottoman army did not attack for two days, the Ottomans lacked the vital Tartar component of their army, which was still travelling south. By withdrawing slowly to a fortified position near Slankamen Ludwig Wilhelm tried to provoke the attack. The Ottomans followed and surrounded the Imperial Army. By 19 August, heat, disease and desertion had reduced both armies to 33,000 and 50,000 able men. On that day the Ottoman cavalry finally attacked. These were unorganized charges, however; although huge, the Ottoman forces were poorly armed and no match for the firepower of Ludwig Wilhelm's German-Austrian infantry and field guns. Additionally, the Ottomans' supply system was incapable of waging a long war on the empty expanses of the Pannonian plain. Initially, the Ottomans were at an advantage, as they advanced and burned 800 supply wagons of the Imperial Army. Ludwig Wilhelm, in a desperate situation, broke out of his position, besieged by the Ottomans, and turned their flanks with his cavalry, inflicting fearful carnage. After a hard battle, the 33,000-man Imperial Army was victorious over the larger Ottoman force. The death of

during mid-battle caused the Ottoman morale to drop and the army to disperse and retreat.

Aftermath

The Battle of Slankamen was the last battle in the War that could have brought the war back in Ottomans' favour. The Austrians took Transylvania but were not able to press their advantage as they had gotten involved with France in the war of the Grand Alliance. The Ottoman defeat eventually lead to the

treaty of Karlowitz The Treaty of Karlowitz was signed in Karlowitz, Military Frontier of Archduchy of Austria (present-day Sremski Karlovci, Serbia), on 26 January 1699, concluding the Great Turkish War of 1683–1697 in which the Ottoman Empire was defeated by the ...

in 1699. For his victories against the Turks Ludwig Wilhelm of Baden earned the nickname ("Turkish Louis").

Legacy

A was built in Slankamen to commemorate the victory of the Imperial Army.

Images

File:Margrave of Baden ("Turk Louis"), 1677 - 1707, Medal 1691, Victory against Turkey, obverse.jpg, A Medallion by Georg Hautsch celebrating the Habsburg victory at Slankamen, portrait of Turk Louis 1691, obverse. File:Margrave of Baden ("Turk Louis"), 1677 - 1707, Medal 1691, Victory against Turkey, reverse.jpg, reverse of the medal

Citations

References

* David Chandler. ''The Art of Warfare in the Age of Marlborough.'' Spellmount Limited, (1990). * David Chandler. ''A Guide to the Battlefields of Europe''. Wordsworth Editions Ltd, (1998). * Derek McKay and H.M. Scott. ''The Rise of the Great Powers 1648–1815.'' Longman, (1984). * Christian Greiner: ''Der „Türkenlouis“ – Markgraf Ludwig von Baden-Baden (1655–1707).'' In: ''Militärgeschichtliche Beiträge.'' Bd. 3, 1989, * Jason Goodwin; ''The Ottoman Wars'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Slankamen 1691 Battles of the Great Turkish War Conflicts in 1691

Battle of Slankamen The Battle of Slankamen was fought on 19 August 1691, near Slankamen in the Ottoman Sanjak of Syrmia (modern-day Vojvodina, Serbia), between the Ottoman Empire, and Habsburg Austrian forces during the Great Turkish War. The battle saw a T ...

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Battles involving Serbian Militia