Wars of the Turks with the Germans

Royal United Services Institution. Journal ISSN: 0035-9289 (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rusi19 Wars of the Turks with the Germans Lieut.-General F. H. Tyrrell To cite this article: Lieut.-General F. H. Tyrrell (1907) Wars of the Turks with the Germans, Royal United Services Institution. Journal, 51:358, 1500-1508, DOI: 10.1080/03071840709418779 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03071840709418779 Published online: 11 Sep 2009. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 2 View related articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rusi19 Download by: [University of California, San Diego] Date: 29 June 2016, At: 13:30 WARS OF THE TURKS WITH THE GERi\.IANS. By Lie&.-Generat F. If. TPBRELL, late Indian Army. Continued from November JOURNAL,p. 1397. THE Emperor and his councillors now thought of nothing short of the complete expulsion of the Turks from Hungary, and made great preparations for the campaign of 1684. Three armies weie put into the field: one mas to operate against Tekeli and the rebels in Upper Hungary; another, under Count Lesley, was to invade Southern Hungary and Sclavonia; while the main army, under the Duke of Lcrraine, was to reduce the frontier fortresses and march on Buda. As Shaitan Ibrahim, with the army dcstined for tlic campaign in Hungary, had not yet arrived, the new Pasha of Buda took the field with all the Turkish Militia of Hungary to interrunt the German operations; but Lorraino brought him to action and routed and practically destroyed his army, 15,000 Turks being killed or made prisoners. The Duke then marched on Buda-Pesth, took Pesth by assault after two days' siege, and, crossing the Danube, laid siege to Buda. While the siege mas in progress Shaitan Ibrahim arrived with his army and made every endeavour, short of fighting a pitched battle, ts relieve the town; but he could not draw off the Gpmans, nor seriously interrupt their operations. The Turkish garrison and inhabi- tants were forced to cvacuate the lower town and take refuge in the citadel; here they held out desperately under the command of old Abdi Pasha, a veteran who had been Kul Kiiiyii (Lieut.-General) of the Janissaries at the famous siege of Candia, and baffled all the attempts of the besiegers until the approach of winter had more efiect thasl the menaces of Ibrahim Pasha, and put an end to the siege which had lasted four months. Both armies retired into winter quarters. Next year (1685) the Duke of Lorraine opened the campaign by layiq siege to Neuliausel, which as still held by the Turks. Downloaded by [University of California, San Diego] at 13:30 29 June 2016 Shaitan Ibrahim advanced with his army to its relief, but he feared to give battle to the Germans and tried to draw them away from the siege by attackcng and capturing their frontier towns; at length he laid siege to Gran. This had the desired effect; the Duke of Lorraine fearing for the safety of Gran, left a division to blockade Neuliausel and marched against the Pasha, who promptly raised the siege af Gran and took up a strong entrenched position with his right resting on. the Danube, and his left upon a range of hills. The Turks had always been in the habit of assuming the offensive, but now they made a plain confession of inferiority by entrenching themselves against the attack of an enemy inferior in nnmbew, and this became henceforward their usual practice. The Duke of Lorraine made a feigned attack on the Turkish position, and then beat a hasty retseat. He sent some of his Hun- WARS OF THE TUIlRS \VITLI THE GERMANS. 1501 gariaa spies, disguised as peasants, to report to the Seraskier that the Germans were flying in great confusion. Shaitan Ibrahim fell into the obvious trap, and his troops quitted their entrenchments, and hurried in wild disorder after the retreating Germans, only fearful lest the enemy should escape. Lorraine led his troops in two columns along the only two roads which traversed an extensive morass, and the Turks followed him in hot haste. About half of their army had crossed the morass when the Germans wheeled round and formed in order of battle, and their field-pieces opened fire on the pursuing Turks. These, talien by surprise, fell back, and the Gcrmans advancing upon them they attempted to retire by the nprow causeways along which their rearmost troops were still advancing, and which were' now raked by the German guns. The Electcral Prince of Hanover, afterwards George I. of England, led a spirited charge, which drove the Turks headlong into the morass. The coilfusion was indescribable; and as horse, foot, and artillery wero inextricably mised up on the narrow roads, the Janissaries shot and killed the Sipahis in order to seize their horses to escape upon; so that it is said that more Turks were slain in this battle by their own comrades than by the fire ok the enemy. Shaitan Ibrahim behaved well, and did all in his power to allay tho panic, but without avail; neither his threats nor his promises were regarded by the troops who took to flight in a most disgraceful manner, leaving tlicir cntrenchcd camp, with all their guns, baggage, stores, and treasurechest to the pursuing Germans. When the Seraskier, mho was badly wounded, found himself obliged to fly, in his rage and vcxation he plucked out his beard by the roots' It seems that the infamous behaviour of the Janissaries in this battlo was not an isolated instance, for Prince Kantemir writes a3 follows :-" Happy is that Christian General who sustains the first, second, and third onset of the Turks. For at tho third, or at the most the fourth repulse, he mill certainly see thcm turn their backs; and if he advances against them with a sloiv pace, which I have observed to be sometimes done by the Germans, he will perceive them not only to abandon their camp and cannon, and take to open flight, but also put the whole army in disorder by the confused cry of 'Giaour geldi,' 'The infidel is coming.' Once, indeed, in the year 1711, in a battle with the Russians, they renewed the attack seven times; but the reason was that the Generals of the Russian Army, not being used to an open fight with them, durst not pursue them when they gave way. For otherwise the Janissaries are not obliged to make above three charges, and if they are repulsed they abandon their camp and think of 'nothing but flight, pulling the Sipahis off their horses Downloaded by [University of California, San Diego] at 13:30 29 June 2016 and killing such as make any resistance, and so become the worst of enemics to the'~I1orse. For which reason the Turkish Horse, in a flight, and whenever they see their Foot giving way, never come near them, nay, avoid them mor'e carefully than the enemies themselves." This crushing defeat, the third they had experienced in three successive campaigns, quite demoralised the Turkish troops, and they abandoned most of the fortified towns in Hungary without attempting to defend them, and the Germans occupied the whole country up tn This incident'gnre l3y-011 the idcn for the line in '"The Corsair" describing the flight of Seyd Paslia :- "He tore his beard, and foniiiiiig, fled the tight.'' 4x2 1502 WARS OF THE TUIlKS IVITH TIIE GERMANS. the walls of Buda. The Duke of Lorraine resumed the siege sf Neuhausel ahd took it by storm. Meanwhile, General L‘esley had driven back the Turks in Sclsvonia, and thc Germans had pressed Tekcli so hard that he took refuge with a Turkish Pasha, who, for what reason does not appear clear, put him in irons and sent him as a prisoner to Constantinople. His adherents hastened to make their peaco with the Austrians, and the Hungarians generally now cspoused the cause of the Germans, and this further embarrassed thc affairs of the Turks. The Grand Vazir, Kara Ibrahim Pasha, put thc Seraskier Shaitan Ibrahim to death for having lost the battle, and recalled -Ainaji Suliman from the frontiers of Poland to take command of tho army in IIungaIy. But Suliman the Deceitful contrived to supplant his patron in the favour of the Sultan; Kara Ibrahim was deposed, and Suliman was appointed Grand Vazir in his stead. The Dukc of Lorraine had commenced the campaign of 1686 by renewing the siege of Buda, which was again most strenuously dofendod by old Abdi Pasha. Two general assaults verc repulsed, during which hundreds of the German stormeis were blown into the air by the springing of mines. But by the timo that Ainaji Suliman drew near with his army the numbers of the defenders had becn so reduced by the ceaseless fighting that it became imperatively necessary to reinforce them if thc place mas to be saved. The city was so closely invested that the only possible means of reaching it was to cut a way through the German lines, and the Vazir told off a force of two thousand picked Janissaries for the hazardous enterprise; they were escorted by four Paslias with eight thousand horsemen, wlio xere to amuse and distract the attention of the enemy while the Janissaries attacked the trenches. But the German cavalry intercepted them, when the Turkish horse shamefully took to flight, and left the Janissaries to be ridden dwn and cut to pieces by the hostile cavalry.

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