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Ottoman-Habsburg wars
Part of the Ottoman Wars in Europe

From top-left clockwise: Austrian coat of arms, Ottoman Mameluke, Imperial Troops in battle, Flag of the Ottoman Empire.
Date 1526 (Battle of Mohacs) to 1791 (Treaty of Sistova)
Location Hungary, Mediterranean Sea, Balkans, North Africa and Malta.
Result Weakening of both sides.
Belligerents
Habsburg Dynasty:

 Habsburg Spain
 Holy Roman Empire

• Habsburg Austria
• Kingdom of Hungary
• Kingdom of Croatia

Non-Habsburg Allies:

Moldavia[1]
Transylvania
Wallachia
Tsardom of Russia [2]
Holy League Allies:

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

 Venice

 Ottoman Empire

Vassals:

Moldavia[1]
Transylvania
Wallachia
Barbary States
Crimean Khanate

The Ottoman–Habsburg wars refers to the military conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg dynasties of the Austrian Empire, Habsburg Spain and in certain times, the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary. The war would be dominated by land campaigns in Hungary. Initially, Ottoman conquests in Europe made significant gains with a decisive victory at Mohacs reducing the Kingdom of Hungary to the status of an Ottoman tributary.[3]

By the 16th century, the Ottomans had become a serious threat to Europe, with Ottoman Barbary ships sweeping away Venetian possessions in the Aegean and Ionia. The Protestant Reformation, the France-Habsburg rivalry and the numerous civil conflicts of the Holy Roman Empire served as distractions. Meanwhile the Ottomans had to contend with the Persian Shah and the Mameluke Sultanate, both of whom were defeated and the latter fully annexed into the empire.

Later, the Peace of Westphalia and the Spanish War of Succession in the 17th and 18th centuries respectively left the Austrian Empire as the sole firm possession of the House of Habsburg. By then, however, European advances in guns and military tactics outweighed the skill and resources of the Ottomans and their elite Janissaries, thus ensuring the Habsburgs to retake Hungary. The Great Turkish War ended with three decisive Holy League victories at Vienna, Mohacs and Zenta. The wars came to an end when the Austrian Empire and the Ottoman Empire signed an alliance with the German Empire prior to World War I. Following their defeat in that war, both Empires were dissolved and both Houses continue to claim the title of Caesar.

Origins

Main article in Byzantine-Ottoman wars and Ottoman–Hungarian Wars

The origins of the wars are clouded by the fact that although the Habsburgs were occasionally the Kings of Hungary and Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire (though almost always that of the Holy Roman Empire after the 15th century), the wars between the Hungarians and the Ottomans included other Dynasties as well. Naturally, the Ottoman Wars in Europe attracted support from the West, where the advancing and powerful Islamic state was seen as a threat to Christendom in Europe. The Crusades of Nicopolis and of Varna marked the most determined attempts by Europe to halt the Turkic advance into Central Europe and the Balkans.

For a while the Ottomans were too busy trying to put down Balkan rebels such as Vlad Dracula. However, the defeat of these and other rebellious vassal states opened up Central Europe to Ottoman invasion. The Kingdom of Hungary now bordered the Ottoman Empire and its vassals.

After King Louis II of Hungary was killed at the Battle of Mohacs, his widow Queen Mary fled to her brother the Archduke of Austria, Ferdinand I. Ferdinand's claim to the throne of Hungary was further strengthened by the fact that he had married Anne, the sister of King Louis II and the only family member claimant to the throne of the shattered Kingdom. Consequently Ferdinand I was elected King of Bohemia and at the Diet of Bratislava he and his wife were elected King and Queen of Hungary. This clashed with the Turkish objective of placing the puppet John Szapolyai on the throne, thus setting the stage for a conflict between the two powers.

Austrian advance

Ferdinand I attacked Hungary, a state severely weakened by civil conflict, in 1527, in an attempt to drive out John Szapolyai and enforce his authority there. John was unable to prevent Ferdinand's campaigning which saw the capture of Buda and several other key settlements along the Danube. Despite this, the Ottoman Sultan was slow to react and only came to the aid of his vassal when he launched a huge army of about 120,000 men on 10 May 1529.[4]

Siege of Vienna

The Ottoman Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, easily wrestled from Ferdinand most of the gains he had achieved in the previous two years - to the disappointment of Ferdinand I, only the fortress of Bratislava resisted. Considering the size of Suleiman's army and the devastation wrought upon Hungary in the previous few years it is not surprising that the will to resist one of the world's powerful states was lacking in many of the recently garrisoned Habsburg settlements.

The Sultan arrived at Vienna on 27 September the same year. Ferdinand's army was some 16,000 strong - he was outnumbered roughly 7 to 1 and the walls of Vienna were an invitation to Ottoman cannon (6ft thick along some parts). Nonetheless, Ferdinand defended Vienna with great vigour. By October 12, after much mining and counter-mining an Ottoman war council was called and on October 14 the Ottomans abandoned the siege. The retreat of the Ottoman army was hampered by the brave resistance of Bratislava which once more bombarded the Ottomans. Early snowfall made matters worse and it would be another three years before Suleiman could campaign in Hungary.

Little War

After the defeat at Vienna, the Ottoman Sultan had to turn his attention to other parts of his impressive domain. Taking advantage of this absence, Archduke Ferdinand launched an offensive in 1530, recapturing Gran and other forts. An assault on Buda was only thwarted by the presence of Ottoman Turkish soldiers.