When we think there is a lot of world conflict today, we only need to look back to the 17th century. It seems that turmoil was everywhere in the Western world with nations fighting each other on all fronts at one time or another.

In central and eastern Europe, it was a long on-going struggle between Islam and Christendom with the Ottoman Empire being the major power and the major aggressor in the area. Though the Empire had made inroads into eastern Europe, it wanted to move even further and so planned a campaign against the capital of the Holy Roman Empire in Vienna. This had been attempted more than a century before and had failed.  Sultan Mehmed IV had decided that he had the ability to succeed where Suleiman the Magnificent had failed, so sent his best general, Kara Mustafa to undertake this deed along with a huge army, drawn from all sectors of the Ottoman Empire.

On the other side of things, the Hofberg's used their small standing army and hired armies from other states to help defend Vienna and turn back the Ottoman army.

It is a tale of fierce battles, delaying actions, good luck on one side and bad on the other. A story that is most ably told by author Simon Millar. I found it a most fascinating look into how warfare was waged during this time period. I also found it interesting to note that a large army on the move was as much a curse to the people of the lands through which it moved as it was to the enemy. Foraging was the only way these armies had to provide food and that basically meant stealing and looting from the populace along the way. The vanguard of the Ottoman army forced its own civilian population to stay and cheer on the passing of the army before allowing them to escape with their lives and belongings in the face of the following hordes!

In addition to the excellent and highly readable prose, there is a considerable amount of period artwork in the form of drawings and paintings to show what life was like and what some of the leading personalities looked like. This is ably enhanced by the superb illustrations of Peter Dennis, who has illustrated a large number of Osprey books depicting this era in history.

Overall, a book I found to be quite engrossing and one that tells the story of the beginning of the eventual downfall of the Ottoman Empire.

March 2008

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