Battle of Vienna

It’s simple: on this day in history, September 12th, 1683, Europe and Christendom was saved from the Turk (Ottoman Empire) at the Battle of Vienna, led by Poland’s King Jan Sobieski III. Later proclaimed the “savior of christendom” by Pope Innocent XI, Sobieski led a coalition of German and Polish forces numbering around 100,000 against the Ottoman forces estimated at up to 300,000 who had besieged Vienna for months. In a series of strategic and decisive moves and battles, the combined Polish forces routed the Turks and sent them fleeing. Historians in general agree that this decisive battle ended nearly 300 years of Turkish contention for Christian Europe. To read details of the battle and the events leading up to it, read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vienna. If you’d like to know more about Jan Sobieski III, arguably one of the greatest kings of Poland and perhaps the most brilliant military commander of all time, I highly recommend you read the book Jan Sobieski: The King who Saved Europe by Militiades Varvounis–it is a wonderful biography of one of the greats of history and well worth your time. But on this day in history, September 12th, , 1683, the course of modern history was decisively change, due in large part to Poland, her army, and the leadership of one of her greatest Kings, Jan Sobieski III. Never forget!