Battle of Slankamen

Infobox Military Conflict


caption=The monument of the Battle of Slankamen.
conflict=Battle of Slankamen
partof=Great Turkish War
date=19 August, 1691
place=Slankamen (40 miles north of Belgrade)
result=Decisive Christian victory
combatant1=Austria
Serbs
combatant2=Ottoman Empire
commander1=Margrave of Baden
commander2=Mustafa Köprülü
strength1=50,000 [Chandler: "The Art of Warfare in the Age of Marlborough", p.302: All statistics taken from Chandler.]
strength2=80,000
*900 Turks
*154 guns
casualties1=8,000
casualties2=20,000|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. [McKay & Scott. "The Rise of the Great Powers 1648–1815," p.75] Many German troops were withdrawn from the east to fight King Louis' French forces on the Rhine, encouraging the Ottoman Turks, led by Mustafa Köprülü, to continue the war.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. [McKay & Scott. "The Rise of the Great Powers 1648–1815," p.75]

Louis of Baden broke out of his position, besieged by the Ottomans, and turned their flanks with his cavalry, inflicting fearful carnage. [Chandler. "A Guide to the Battlefields of Europe", p.374] 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.

Notes

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"