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S'està carregant… The Enemy at the Gate: Habsburgs, Ottomans, and the Battle for Europede Andrew Wheatcroft
S'està carregant…
Apunta't a LibraryThing per saber si aquest llibre et pot agradar. No hi ha cap discussió a Converses sobre aquesta obra. The Enemy at the Gates is the retelling of the dramatic confrontation of the Ottoman Turks and the Habsburg Empire at Vienna in 1683. The author tells us that he wants to be objective, but if anything, he appears to be more enamored of the Turks than of the Christian powers that ultimately assembled to turn them back. Nevertheless, despite his efforts to portray the Turks as more organized and perhaps more civilized, one cannot read about the events described without realizing the Ottomans were clearly the aggressors. The Turks first laid siege to Vienna in 1529 when they were led by Sultan Suleiman I (“the Magnificent”), but they were defeated as much by the weather as by the Austrians. Nevertheless, they managed to conquer Hungary and most of the Balkan peninsula in that campaign. For the next 154 years, they persistently attempted to extend the boundaries of their empire into central Europe, only to be opposed with middling success by the Habsburg Empire. The constant pressure from the continual raiding instilled in the Christian inhabitants of the boundary lands a persistent fear of being killed or enslaved. It was standard operating procedure for the Ottomans to conduct military operations against Christian Europe nearly every year as soon as the weather permitted. By 1683, the Turks had extended their territory into the Balkans as far as Belgrade, and the extremely ambitious and aggressive Kara Mustafa had become Grand Vizier. Wheatcroft vividly describes Mustafa’s raising of a large army that set off from Constantinople to the northwest in the spring of 1683. The army’s goal was known to only a very few select intimates of the Sultan, Mehmed IV. In fact, it is not clear just when the decision was made to assault Vienna rather than some easier targets. Wheatcroft characterizes the struggle as only incidentally one between Islam and Christendom, with the principal aim territory along with the right to claim the legacy of the Roman Empire. Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, assumed the legacy belonged to the Habsburgs, but Mehmed IV also claimed to be the successor to the Roman Caesars by virtue of his family’s conquest of Constantinople. The Ottomans were formidable warriors who had little respect for their opponents. They were also experts a siege warfare, the principle technique of which was to dig tunnels under the fortifications of the enemy and set off large explosive charges, then rush through the breaches thus created and slaughter the defenders. Nonetheless, the Habsburgs had learned a great deal about fighting pitched battles while they opposed Protestants in the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). They hadn’t learned much about forging alliances, however, and it took them several months to obtain help from other Christian states, notably Poland and Bavaria. Both sides were near exhaustion by the time the (Polish) cavalry arrived, and in one climactic charge by mounted lancers (hussars), drove the unprepared Ottomans from the field. Wheatcroft’s description of the plight of the Viennese defenders, (surrounded, near starvation, and listening for the sound of sappers digging under their fortifications), is compelling. Their fear and dread is a major theme of the book. Also arresting are his descriptions of the Tartar light cavalry and the Polish Hussars. The final chapters of the book sketch in broad strokes the Habsburgs’ reconquest of most of the Balkans. Evaluation: This is a well written book and a fine introduction to the history of late 17th century Southeast Europe. (JAB) Sense ressenyes | afegeix-hi una ressenya
In 1683, an Ottoman army that stretched from horizon to horizon set out to seize the ?Golden Apple," as Turks referred to Vienna. The ensuing siege pitted battle-hardened Janissaries wielding seventeenth-century grenades against Habsburg armies, widely feared for their savagery. The walls of Vienna bristled with guns as the besieging Ottoman host launched bombs, fired cannons, and showered the populace with arrows during the battle for Christianity's bulwark. Each side was sustained by the hatred of its age-old enemy, certain that victory would be won by the grace of God.The Great Sieg No s'han trobat descripcions de biblioteca. |
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Google Books — S'està carregant… GèneresClassificació Decimal de Dewey (DDC)943.613031History and Geography Europe Germany and central Europe Austria and Liechtenstein Vienna, Lower Austria, Burgenland Vienna 1526-1815, House of HabsburgLCC (Clas. Bibl. Congrés EUA)ValoracióMitjana:
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Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys European history, or wonders why some Europeans have hang-ups about Turkish immigration. ( )