Battle of Vienna

Siege and Battle of Vienna
	Part of the Great Turkish War, the Ottoman–Habsburg wars, and the Polish–Ottoman War
	; Battle of Vienna, 12 September 1683
Date	Siege: 14 July – 11 September 1683; (1 month, 4 weeks and 1 day); Battle: 12 September 1683
Location	Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire (now Vienna, Austria)48°14′06″N 16°20′06″E / 48.235°N 16.335°E
Result	Christian coalition victory Beginning of the Great Turkish War;
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire Vassal states: Crimean Khanate; Upper Hungary; Moldavia; Transylvania; Wallachia;	Holy Roman Empire / Habsburg monarchy Archduchy of Austria; Poland–Lithuania Crown of the Kingdom of Poland; Wallachia (secretly)
Commanders and leaders
Kara Mustafa Pasha ; Ibrahim of Buda; Abaza Sari Hüseyin; Kara Mehmed of Diyarbakir; Pasha of Karahisar; Murad Giray; George Ducas; Șerban Cantacuzino	John III Sobieski; Stanisław Jan Jabłonowski; Mikołaj Hieronim Sieniawski; Charles of Lorraine; Julius Francis of Saxe-Lauenburg; John George III of Saxony; Georg Friedrich of Waldeck; Count Starhemberg (Viennese garrison); Șerban Cantacuzino (secretly)
Units involved
	see Order of battle
Strength
120,000 soldiers to 65,000 soldiers during 60 days of siege with around 60 guns ; 90,000 to 40,000 soldiers during 60 days of siege; ; 150,000 as of 10 September 1683, down from 170,000 at the start of the campaign, according to documents on the order of battle found in Kara Mustafa's tent. – alternative estimates Approximately 150 cannons	Viennese garrison: ; 11,000 soldiers + 5,000 volunteers ; 312 guns but only 141 operational ; (strength on 10 September 1683) Relief force: ; 70,000 soldiers with 140–200 guns According to Şakul: 18,500 Austrians; 28,500 Germans; 18,000 Poles; 5,000 Hungarians; According to Podhorodecki: 27,000 Polish army; 18,000 Imperial forces; 9,000 Saxon corps; 10,500 Bavarian corps; 9,500 Swabian corps; Total: ; 90,000 but some left behind to guard bridges near Tulln and camps, plus 2,000 Imperial cavalry (not included above) left behind the Danube. – alternative estimates
Casualties and losses
Total casualties:; 66,000–79,000 Casualties during the siege: 48,544 killed, 25% desertion and unknown number of deaths from diseases Casualties during the battle: 8,000–20,000; Captured: ~10,000	Total casualties:; 16,500–20,000 Casualties during the siege: 12,000 Casualties during the battle: 4,500; 3,500 dead or wounded (1,300 Poles)
	Heavy civilian casualties, with at least 57,220 civilians enslaved by the Ottomans

The Battle of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mountain near Vienna on 12 September 1683 after the city had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months. The battle was fought by the Holy Roman Empire, led by the Habsburg monarchy, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, both under the command of Polish King John III Sobieski, against the Ottomans and their vassal and tributary states.

The battle was won by the combined forces of the Holy Roman Empire and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, marking the beginning of their military cooperation against the Ottomans.

Some historians maintain that the battle marked a turning point in the Ottoman–Habsburg wars, a 300-year struggle between the Holy Roman and Ottoman Empires. It represented the culmination of 150 years of intense military tension following the failed 1529 siege of Vienna. The Ottomans would gain no further ground in Europe and never again challenge Vienna. In the ensuing war that lasted until 1699, the Holy Roman Empire consolidated territorial gains resulting in most of Ottoman Hungary being ceded to Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor.

The Viennese garrison was led by Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg, General of the Artillery of the Holy Roman Imperial Army and a subject of Emperor Leopold I. The overall command was held by the senior allied leader, the King of Poland, John III Sobieski, who led the relief forces. The Lithuanian army was delayed, and only reached Vienna after it had been relieved. The forces of the Ottoman Empire and its vassal states were commanded by Grand Vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha.

The Ottoman army numbered approximately 90,000 to 300,000 men, and according to the documents on the order of battle found in Kara Mustafa's tent, initial strength at the start of the campaign was 170,000 men. They began the siege on 14 July 1683. The battle is noted for including the largest known cavalry charge in history.