In 1715 the Turkish danger for the Habsburg Empire and consequently for all of Europe began to be felt again. Turkish ambitions had been revived since 1711, when Mehmet Pasha with 260,000 men defeated Tsar Peter the Great's 40,000 men at the Battle of Prutus.
Always following the same expansionist policy, the Turks, in violation of the treaty of Karlovic, attacked the Venetian possessions in Greece in 1714. The Venetian defense collapsed rapidly and soon the entire Peloponnese returned to the possession of the Ottomans.
It was obvious that their next target was the imperial territories in the northwestern Balkans. On May 15, 1716 the new war was a fact. Eugene, Prince of Savoy, had been named the best general in the army of the Habsburg Empire , fighting against the Turks and the French. Now assuming the chief strategy on the Turkish front he was called upon to face the Ottomans for the second time .
Eugene was from the beginning an advocate of the new war and immediately developed great activity. He secured the support of most of the German princes, even of Maximilian's former rival Emmanuel of Bavaria. Money was raised, new type of weapons and supplies were procured and from the summer of 1716 troops began to gather on the Austro-Turkish border.
Petrovardin
Evgenios took over the administration the same summer. His goal was the recapture of Belgrade. Eugene had only 60,000 men. But his men were highly trained and most of them experienced warriors, veterans of the War of the Spanish Succession.
The prince knew that the Turks had at least twice the army against him, while they had reinforced the garrisons of all their border fortresses, including Belgrade. Nevertheless, he did not hesitate to clash with them and crush them at Petrovaradin (now Novi Sad, Serbia ), causing them over 30,000 casualties.
Despite his victory, the prince did not have enough forces to attack Belgrade. The Turks still had more than 100,000 men around the Serbian capital . With these in mind, Eugene decided to attempt the possible, that is, to attack against the strong point of support of the Turks in Transylvania, Tamesvar – present-day Timisoara . Having therefore left a strong garrison at Petrovaradin, Eugene moved with 45,000 men against Tamesvar.
The siege began on September 1. Day by day Eugene's vanguards drew nearer and nearer to the ramparts, while his artillery pounded the city. The Turks attempted to lift the siege of the city. An army of theirs with 70,000 men moved against the besiegers.
Eugene moved against the liberating Turkish army with only 16,000 men. On September 23, he attacked the Turks in Kissoda and dispersed them. So it was only a matter of time before the fall of Tamesvar, which happened on October 14.
With the capture of Tameswar the imperial army retired for the winter. Eugene, always based in Petrovaradin, began to reorganize his forces , to gather supplies and weapons. His goal was Belgrade .
Meanwhile the whole empire was in an uproar. Volunteers came by the thousands to enlist under the flags to fight the Asiatic barbarian under the command of the glorious soldier. Eugene himself, despite his modesty, had now become a legend. His name had become a rallying cry, still chanted in the Austrian army, to the sound of which his men marched, fought and died.
By the early spring of 1717, Eugene had 70,000 highly trained, war-experienced soldiers at his disposal. It also had a strong flotilla of 10 river ships , some of which were particularly heavily equipped – one of them carried 56 guns. With these riverboats he would control the course of the Danube and cut off the supply of Belgrade from the river side. Everything was ready and on June 15 the imperial army set out for Belgrade.
The city was built on the confluence of the rivers Danube and Savo , on a triangular piece of land that was 2/3 covered by rivers. Only from the South could siege trenches be dug.
Belgrade also had a powerful garrison of 30,000 men and plenty of provisions to last a long siege. Despite these difficulties the imperial army managed to bridge the two rivers and begin the regular siege of the city.
Besieged by a besieger
Time was pressing and the information that a Turkish liberation army of 150,000 men was approaching was spreading anxiety in the imperial camp. But Eugene was not worried. With his army reinforced, he calculated that he was able to fight the liberating Turkish army and at the same time the besieged Turks in Belgrade.
The siege continued in various phases, with exits of the garrison and active defense. Although the Austrian artillery had done great damage to the city, nevertheless the garrison held out and the army of the new grand vizier was approaching.
In late July light cavalry patrols informed Eugene of the approach of the vast Turkish army. A few days later vizier Halil Pasha with 70,000 infantry, 80,000 cavalry and almost 200 cannons made his appearance. The Turks camped on a hill opposite the imperial camp and immediately began shelling it.
Khalil not having confidence in his forces, which, despite being more than twice as large as those of their opponents, lacked training and discipline, decided to besiege (!) the imperial camp . Hemmed in between the Belgrade garrison and his army, the Imperials, according to Khalil at least, would perish from lack of supplies.
Naturally the officers and men of the imperial army froze at the sight of the vast Turkish army . In fact, when the first shells of the Ottoman artillery fell inside their camp, their concern began to turn into fear. However, the experienced eye of Eugene and his superior officers was able to see the reality.
"The regular divisions formed only a small part of the army. The rest of the soldiers were nothing but an armed mob gathered from every corner of the Sultan's empire , who was ignorant of the meaning of the word discipline and had neither the proper armament nor the necessary training to face a regular army on an equal footing", said General de La Colony, who was then at Eugene's headquarters.
All who had fought the Turks knew that the secret to successfully dealing with them was not to be afraid of the size and number of their army. The truth, however, was that Eugene's army was in a very difficult position.
All over Europe there was talk of how he was trapped by the Turks. Everyone was waiting to hear the news of the disaster arriving from hour to hour. Perhaps indeed the ubiquitous "Cassanders" would be verified if the imperial army did not have Eugene as its leader. With such a leader, however, the Turks should probably be worried.
Attack under the Double-headed Eagles
On the evening of August 15, 1717, all the senior officers were summoned to Eugene's lodgings. As soon as they were all assembled, Eugene, with his usual impassiveness, announced to them that the next morning he intended to attack Khalil Pasha . Against the besieged Belgrade garrison of 30,000 men he would leave only 10,000 men. Led by him, the remaining 60,000 men would suddenly march against Khalil's 150,000.
Before dawn on the 16th of August the Imperial divisions had taken up their marching positions in the utmost secrecy. They were ordered to try at all costs to keep their formations intact. Although the distance separating the advanced Turkish positions from the corresponding imperial positions was less than 1,000 meters, the Turks nevertheless perceived nothing. . Covered by the morning dew, the Imperials advanced in silence.
But as soon as they were within striking distance the banners with the double-headed eagles and the Infant Virgin were unfurled and the trumpets and drums began to sound. Suddenly the Turks realized what was happening and started firing furiously but uncoordinated. But as soon as the imperials managed to leap over the Turkish bastions and enter the enemy camp, it was all over.
Most of Khalil's men made it on foot pursued by Eugene's Hussars (light cavalry) and Pandurs (light infantry). Those who resisted were mercilessly slaughtered.
The Turkish camp was sacked and enormous booty fell into the hands of the victors. More than 20,000 Turks died immediately. Many thousands more fell during the pursuit phase. But the biggest prize was the city of Belgrade itself, which was handed over to the victors two days after the battle. The defeat of the Turks was complete and absolute.