On July 27, 1697, Eugene of Savoy was in front of the fortress of Petrovaradin on the north bank of the Danube. Some 30,000 Austrian, Saxon and Prussian soldiers were lined up outside the fort waiting to be inspected by their new commander on the Turkish front. As soon as Eugene arrived, 30,000 mouths simultaneously shouted the cry "live". A slim young man appeared before them. He wasn't even wearing the top officer's uniform. He wore only a frayed brown tunic. With a quick step, Eugene passed in front of the lined up regiments.
He looked with dismay at the overworked men whose only sign of pride were the fluttering flags with the two-headed imperial eagles and the Virgin. The men were also looking with surprise, perhaps even secret dismay, at their new commander. He looked like a caricature, a capuchin monk wearing a short cassock. The "little capuchin", as the soldiers called him, observed them with a quick glance. The situation that Eugene was called to face was much worse than he had imagined. To solve the army's food problem he asked his superior officers for the payment of a compulsory "loan". With the money he collected he bought food and distributed it to the men.
Despite Eugene's efforts, his superiors in Vienna did not believe that he could really take any form of action beyond static defense. The emperor himself had ordered him to act with the utmost caution and avoid any risky action. However, he himself, with constant work and strenuous exercises, kept the morale of the troops at a very high level. Everyone was waiting for the arrival of the Turk to "teach him his lesson", as they said.
It was August. Eugene, whose army had now been reinforced, after the suppression of the Hungarian rebellion, patiently awaited the enemy by strengthening his positions. He was sure that the Turks would not hesitate to take the next step forward. Eugene had understood the psychology of the opponent, who was distinguished for his audacity but not for his stability. So he was not at all surprised when, on August 19, 1697, hussar patrols informed him that a huge Turkish army had crossed the Danube at its confluence with the Tisza.
The Turkish army – 60,000 infantry, 40,000 cavalry and 200 cannons – was led by Sultan Mustafa II himself. Encouraged by the previous success, the insolent Turk brought with him special carriages loaded with chains with which he intended to chain the Christian captives! Hubris was displayed in all its glory. The Sultan was so confident of his success that he did not bother to send reconnaissance parties to gather information about the enemy. All he managed to learn was that Eugene and his army were stationed at Petrovaradin.
On the contrary, the elite light cavalry of the Austrians closely followed the Turkish movements and constantly informed Eugene about the Turkish movements. In the meantime the "brave" Sultan, on learning that Eugene is at Petrovaradin, although he had only half his own forces, decided not to attack the Austrians but to move east, attack Steged, and then invade Transylvania .
Of course, Eugene was informed by his tireless hussars of the change in direction of the Turkish advance. Evgenios suddenly jumped to his feet. The news electrified him. If only he had time to attack the Turks just as they were crossing the Tisza River he was sure to destroy them. He immediately assembled his army and rushed, at the head of divisions of hussars and dragoons, in pursuit of the Turks who had begun to build a floating bridge over the Tisza at the height of Zenda.
The sultan, trembling at the idea of being in danger of being caught between Eugene's army, Steged's garrison, and the river, hastened to cross the river first, as soon as the bridge was completed. In the meantime, Evgenos hastened with all possible speed to Zenda. The next morning - September 11 - and as the Austrian advance continued, a hussar presented before Eugene a Turkish pasha he had captured.
The Turk, literally trembling, saw Eugene in front of him, who told him sharply:"if you don't speak, I will cut you to pieces in a minute"! At the same time he ordered the hussar who had captured the Pasha to draw his sword and cut off the Turk's head. The pasha could not stand it. He fell into Eugene's heavy boots and hugged them, crying and begging, trembling for his life. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the glint of the hussar's bare sword. With tears in his eyes, with wishes that God bless Eugene, the Turk said that he knew.
He said that they had established a bridge made of 60 barges across the river and that the Sultan and the cavalry had already crossed the river and that at that time the artillery and transports were crossing the Tisza. The infantry led by the grand vizier Elmas Mohammed remained in the rear guard. The pasha also reported that their infantry positions were protected by a makeshift fortification made of transport carriages that had been left behind for this very reason.
Eugene wasted no time. He put himself at the head of the hussars and galloped towards the river bank. At the same time he ordered the officers to move with maximum speed towards the river. They should not miss such an opportunity. When Eugene with his few companions arrived opposite the Turkish positions, there were only 5 hours left before nightfall. An hour later the Imperial infantry also arrived in the area. Immediately Eugene ordered his forces into a menoid formation and ordered a direct attack to be launched. His divisions immediately followed his orders.
At the same time the commander of the left wing, General Guido Starenberg, discovered a shallow spot in the river and from there moved his infantry behind the Turkish wagon line, cutting off those Turks who had not crossed the bridge. What followed is hard to describe. The encircled Turks had no hope of escape and the Austrians did not seem at all philanthropic. When their outer line of defense collapsed, the Turks tried to rush to throw the Austrians out of the carriage line again.
With batons in hand and shouting "Allah - Allah", they rushed like a rushing wave against the imperialists. However, Eugene's highly trained men did not lose their cool. The infantry regiments took up positions. The men raised their weapons and aimed at the roaring barbarian mob. They let them approach within less than 30 meters. Abruptly and sharply the officers gave the order "fire". The barrels of the muskets thundered.
A death roar followed. Thousands of Turks fell. A macabre pile of corpses formed in front of the Austrian lines. The bank and the water of the river had turned crimson. Blood flowed profusely. Having repulsed the desperate Turkish counter-attack, the Austrians rose and with swords drawn and bayonets extended attacked in turn. The Turks were trying to escape. They rushed towards the bridge and dragging whoever was on the opposite side tried to cross. Few succeeded. Among the dead was the grand vizier.
The battle continued until 22.00 at night. Few prisoners were taken as, as Eugene himself reported, "the soldiers, enraged as they were, spared no one and slaughtered anyone who fell into their hands, despite the money offered to them by the Turkish pashas". More than 30,000 Turks lay dead on the river bank. However, the magnitude of the victory only became apparent the next day, when the victors crossed the opposite bank of the river.
Thousands of Turkish corpses were floating in the river. The infantry of the overzealous Sultan had literally been annihilated. The "brave" Sultan had already set foot with their horsemen, leaving behind their artillery and transports, including the chain-loaded carriages. 3,000,000 Turkish coins were found in the Turkish camp and 9,000 carriages, 21,000 animals and seven horses were captured. On the contrary, Eugene's army mourned only 300 dead and 1,800 wounded. It was a real triumph.