The Enemy at the Gate : Habsburgs, Ottomans, and the Battle for Europe

In 1683, an Ottoman army that stretched from horizon to horizon set out to seize the В“Golden Apple,” as Turks referred to Vienna. The ensuing siege pitted battle-hardened Janissaries wielding seventeenth-century grenades against Habsburg armies, widely feared for their savagery. The walls of Vienna bristled with guns as the besieging Ottoman host launched bombs, fired cannons, and showered the populace with arrows during the battle for ChristianityвЂTMs bulwark. Each side was sustained by the hatred of its age-old enemy, certain that victory would be won by the grace of God.The Great Siege of Vienna is the centerpiece for historian Andrew WheatcroftвЂTMs richly drawn portrait of the centuries-long rivalry between the Ottoman and Habsburg empires for control of the European continent. A gripping work by a master historian, __The Enemy at the Gate__ offers a timely examination of an epic clash of civilizations.

In 1683, an Ottoman army that stretched from horizon to horizon set out to seize the “Golden Apple,” as Turks referred to Vienna. The ensuing siege pitted battle-hardened Janissaries wielding seventeenth-century grenades against Habsburg armies, widely feared for their savagery. The walls of Vienna bristled with guns as the besieging Ottoman host launched bombs, fired cannons, and showered the populace with arrows during the battle for Christianity’s bulwark. Each side was sustained by the hatred of its age-old enemy, certain that victory would be won by the grace of God.

The Great Siege of Vienna is the centerpiece for historian Andrew Wheatcroft’s richly drawn portrait of the centuries-long rivalry between the Ottoman and Habsburg empires for control of the European continent. A gripping work by a master historian, The Enemy at the Gate offers a timely examination of an epic clash of civilizations.

The New York Times - Eric Ormsby

As Andrew Wheatcroft brilliantly shows in The Enemy at the Gate, the skirmishes and the pitched battles that raged for centuries between Habsburgs and Ottomans, and their numerous vassals on both sides, represented not so much a clash of civilizations as a collision of empires…Wheatcroft, the author of several earlier books on both Habsburgs and Ottomans, states that he set out here to portray the Ottoman face of battle, borrowing a phrase from the classic work by John Keegan, and in this he succeeds; his narrative is thrilling as well as thoughtful, a rare combination.

Contents......Page 8 Photo Section......Page 122 Maps......Page 9 Illustrations......Page 15 Acknowledgements......Page 16 Preface......Page 20 Introduction: The Terror in the East......Page 28 part one......Page 38 1. A Call to Arms......Page 40 2. Turks and Tartars......Page 62 3. A Plague on the Land......Page 82 4. Taking the Road to War......Page 104 part two......Page 130 5. The Adversaries......Page 132 6. 'Rise Up, Rise Up, Ye Christians'......Page 154 7. The Pit of Hell......Page 180 8. 'A Flood of Black Pitch'......Page 197 9. A Holy War?......Page 223 10. Storming Buda......Page 236 part three......Page 268 11. The Age of Heroes......Page 270 12. Myth Displacing History......Page 288 Coda......Page 309 Notes......Page 312 Bibliography......Page 344 A......Page 370 B......Page 371 D......Page 372 G......Page 373 H......Page 374 K......Page 375 L......Page 376 M......Page 377 P......Page 378 S......Page 379 V......Page 381 Z......Page 382 In 1683, an Ottoman army that stretched from horizon to horizon set out to seize the В“Golden Apple,” as Turks referred to Vienna. The ensuing siege pitted battle-hardened Janissaries wielding seventeenth-century grenades against Habsburg armies, widely feared for their savagery. The walls of Vienna bristled with guns as the besieging Ottoman host launched bombs, fired cannons, and showered the populace with arrows during the battle for ChristianityвЂTMs bulwark. Each side was sustained by the hatred of its age-old enemy, certain that victory would be won by the grace of God. The Great Siege of Vienna is the centerpiece for historian Andrew WheatcroftвЂTMs richly drawn portrait of the centuries-long rivalry between the Ottoman and Habsburg empires for control of the European continent. A gripping work by a master historian, The Enemy at the Gate offers a timely examination of an epic clash of civilizations.