Battle of Slankamen

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Battle of Slankamen
Part of Great Turkish War
The monument of the battle.

The monument of the Battle of Slankamen.
Date 19 August 1691
Location Slankamen (40 miles north of Belgrade)
Result Decisive Christian victory
Belligerents
Austria,
Holy Roman Empire,
Serbian Army in Vojvodina		 Ottoman Empire
Commanders
Margrave of Baden Mustafa Köprülü
Strength
50,000[1] 80,000
154 guns, 900 Turks
Casualties and losses
8,000 20,000
 
Ottoman-Habsburg wars

The Battle of Slankamen (also Battle of Szlankamen in some sources) was fought near Slankamen (in modern-day Vojvodina, Serbia) on August 19, 1691 between the Ottoman Empire, and the forces of Austria and states of the Holy Roman Empire as part of the Great Turkish War.

The Ottomans had suffered partial military collapse against the Austrians in the 1680s, most notably at the Battle of Vienna in 1683, and the loss of Belgrade to Maximilian II of Bavaria in 1688 and Bosnia in 1689. However, with the beginning of the Nine Years War in the west, the early 1690s were to see an end to Habsburg conquests in the Balkans and a partial Ottoman recovery.[2] Many German troops were withdrawn from the east to fight King Louis' French forces on the Rhine, encouraging the Ottoman Turks, led by Mustafa Köprülü, to continue the war.

The clash between the two forces took place on the west side of the Danube, opposite the outlet of the Tisa. Mustafa Köprülü and his ethnic Turkish troops of 900 men joined him into close combat, and managed to kill about 6,000 Christians. Mustafa Köprülü raised the morale, but he and his troops were outnumbered and killed. This led to unorganized charges; despite huge but poorly armed forces they were no match for the fire-power of Louis of Baden's German and Austrian infantry and field guns. Additionally, the Ottoman's supply system was incapable of waging a long war on the empty expanses of the Pannonian plain.[3]

Louis of Baden broke out of his position, besieged by the Ottomans, and turned their flanks with his cavalry, inflicting fearful carnage.[4] After a hard battle, the 20,000 men Austrian army with 10,000 Serbian militia was victorious over the Ottoman force, which was larger.

The Battle of Slankamen was the last battle in the Great Turkish War (1683-1697) that could have turned the war in favour of the Ottomans. Austrian victory was now inevitable. The Ottoman defeat at Slankamen eventually led to the signing of the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699.

An obelisk, 16 metres high, was built in Slankamen to commemorate the Austrian victory.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Chandler: The Art of Warfare in the Age of Marlborough, p.302: All statistics taken from Chandler.
  2. ^ McKay & Scott. The Rise of the Great Powers 1648–1815, p.75
  3. ^ McKay & Scott. The Rise of the Great Powers 1648–1815, p.75
  4. ^ Chandler. A Guide to the Battlefields of Europe, p.374

[edit] References

  • Chandler, David. The Art of Warfare in the Age of Marlborough. Spellmount Limited, (1990). ISBN 0-946771-42-1
  • Chandler, David. A Guide to the Battlefields of Europe. Wordsworth Editions Ltd, (1998). ISBN 1-85326-694-9
  • McKay, Derek & Scott, H. M. The Rise of the Great Powers 1648–1815. Longman, (1984). ISBN 0-582-48554-1
  • JAson Goodwin; The Ottoman Wars