11.9. 1697 Battle of Zenta

Prince Eugene decided to take advantage of the situation and called for an attack. He set out through the marshes of the Danube and Tisza. At the Battle of Zenta, he scattered the Turkish army, triggering the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

Marshal Eugene of Savoy tried with all his might to correct the mistake of his predecessor, who, on a vastthe army over a wide area so that nowhere was there sufficient force to attack, and in some places to defend effectively. He dispatched express couriers to all sides with orders directing the commanders to march immediately with their regiments on a diligent march to the camp at Koluth. His orders were reluctantly disobeyed...

They marched to the appointed rendezvous in the terrible heat and clouds of animal dust, and sun and thirst ...and Prince Vaudemont's cavalry regiments, which had just crushed the Thököly rebellion in Upper Hungary. Only General Rabutin, the Frenchman commanding the troops in Transylvania, disobeyed the order.

Immediately a courier arrives at his tent with a dispatch from the commander-in-chief, which says: "I categorically demand the immediate and unconditional execution of my order. You are hereby warned that in future I will draw disciplinary consequences for disobedience. General Rabutin understood that young Marshal Savoy would not be trifled with. He hastened to correct his counterpart. By September 2, 1697, the whole army was together, numbering about 77,000 men.

"Prince Eugene summoned the generals to his spacious main tent for a consultation over the map. A Turkish army twice as strong under the personal command of Sultan Mustafa reached Belgrade. Scouts report that the Turks are building an emergency bridge across the Sava from boats. It seems the Sultan intends to attack Petrovaradin after crossing. His Danube fleet, with ships loaded with provisions and ammunition, has anchored at the mouth of the Tisza. The latest report is that the Turkish army has already attacked Titel with strong troops and is pushing back the weak advance troops to Petrovaradin," says Karel Richter in his book on Eugene of Savoy.

It all culminated on 11 September 1697 in the Battle of Zenta, the last major clash between Christian Europe and the Ottoman Empire in the 17th century. and represents the most crushing defeat of the Ottoman Empire, marking the beginning of its decline. It was at Zenta that the Turks halted their advance. Prince Eugene was told by a reconnaissance patrol on the night of 10-11 September. He responded by sounding the alarm and immediately ordering the march.

The night was filled with the fluttering signals of trumpets. The half-dead soldiers struggled to wake up and struggled to get off the ground. "But the news that the Turks were at hand infused new strength into their veins. "Prince Eugene felt the Sultan's intentions. With an army at his back, he apparently refused to waste time in advancing on Szegedin and taking it, which would have put him between the fires," Richter writes.

Prince Eugene decided to take advantage of the situation and called for an attack. He set out through the marshes of the Danube and Tisza. He caught the Sultan by surprise in the most vulnerable situation, namely during the crossing of the Tisza. Mustafa's army could not put up much resistance and the infantry were swept away or drowned. 20,000 Turks were killed, another 10,000 drowned. The consequences were terrible for the Ottoman Empire, the Turkish army was scattered. In addition, Prince Eugene received rich booty in the form of the Sultan's tent and harem, the Ottoman war chest, the state seal and Turkish artillery.

Sources.