Battle of Petrovaradin

Battle of Petrovaradin
Part of Austrian-Ottoman war
Date August 5, 1716 Location Petrovaradin Result Decisive Austrian victory
Belligerents
Austria	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Prince Eugene of Savoy	Damad Ali †
Strength
~ 90,000	~ 100,000
Casualties and losses
5,000	10,000-30,000

The Battle of Petrovaradin or Battle of Peterwardein was a decisive victory for Austrian forces in the war between Austria and the Ottoman Empire (1716–1718), at Petrovaradin, now part of Novi Sad, Vojvodina, in Serbia.

History

In 1716, Grand Vizier Damad Ali gathered a 150,000 strong Ottoman army at Belgrade, at the core of which were 40,000 Janissaries, 20,000 Sipahi, and 10,000 Tatars. They crossed the Sava at Zemun at the end of July, and moved on the right bank of the Danube towards Sremski Karlovci.

The commander of the Austrian forces, Prince Eugene of Savoy, decided to engage the Turks at Petrovaradin. He had arranged for the construction of a fortified encampment within the fortress there, and set the 80,000 strong Imperial army on the march from their quarters in Futog.

On August 2, the first skirmish between the Imperial vanguard and Turkish horsemen occurred. By the next day, the Grand Visir had already reached Petrovaradin and immediately dispatched 30,000 Janissaries against the imperial positions. They dug saps and began to bombard the fortress.

The core of the Imperial army only crossed the Danube on the night of August 5 by two pontoon bridges after which they encamped.

The battle and its effects

At 7 o'clock on the morning of August 5, Prince Eugene began the Austrian offensive. While the right flank under Prince Alexander von Württemberg stormed an Ottoman artillery battery, the Imperials rode into trouble in the center: deployment through the small gate of the fortress proceeded slowly. The Janissaries went on the counter-attack immediately and forced the imperial army back into the fortress. Prince Eugene sealed off the central incursion with additional troops and sent his cavalry into the Ottoman flanks, by which means they were encircled. The Grand Vizier could not manage to break the encirclement with his Sipahis nor could he regroup his troops. The Tatars even pulled back without engaging in combat.

After the defeated Ottomans were wiped out, Prince Eugene personally led his troops against the Grand Vizier's encampment. Supported by the guns of six frigates of the Danube fleet, the battle had been won by two o'clock, with the Grand Vizier himself among the slain. Barely 50,000 Ottomans returned to Belgrade. Soon, from Istanbul came a messenger from the Sultan with order of execution of Damad Ali. He is buried at the Belgrade Fortress, Kalemegdan, in tomb known as Damad Ali Pašino Turbe.

An unusual event helped the Austrian forces. On the morning of August 5, the whole of Petrovaradin and its vicinity was covered in snow. This was considered by Prince Eugene as a blessing. After the war, a church commemorating this event was built on Tekije, on the hill over battlefield, and is dedicated to Our Lady of Tekije, also known as Snowy Mary. The church is special, because it has both Catholic and Orthodox altars and both Christian denominations use it. The site is place of pilgrimage on every August 5, and the victory is celebrated every year at Petrovaradin Fortress.

After Petrovaradin, Prince Eugene turned against Timişoara and captured it despite great resistance and desperate attempts by the Ottomans to relieve the town. Eventually, they admitted defeat and signed a treaty with Austria and her ally Venice.

See also

• Austro-Turkish War of 1716-18
• Ottoman wars in Europe
• Treaty of Passarowitz

Reference

• The information in this article is based on and/or translated from its German equivalent.