After having subdued Asia, Soliman II. determined to make Europe
tremble by the terrors of his constantly victorious arms. In 1529
this redoubtable conqueror entered Hungary with fire and sword; he
pillaged, ravaged, and destroyed everything in his passage, and marched
over these melancholy ruins to lay siege to Vienna, the capital of
Austria and of the whole Western empire, since the house of Austria
was said to occupy the throne of Charlemagne. The Ottoman army was
immense, and was composed of the brave Janissaries who had just subdued
Persia. But Vienna contained within its walls both warlike citizens
and intrepid soldiers. The sultan commenced his operations by mining
the walls. This immense labour was frequently interrupted by the
counter-mines of the besieged; but at length some of these concealed
volcanoes burst forth all at once, and threw down a great part of the
walls. In an instant the Viennese, men, women, and children, flew to
construct a new rampart; and when the infidels came to the assault,
they were surprised to find themselves stopped, at a few paces from
the breach, by this barrier, which twenty pieces of cannon and tens of
thousands of defenders rendered impregnable. They then turned their
attention to another side, where there had been only time to intrench
with palisades. At this point the bodies of the inhabitants served as
bulwarks. The combat here was terrible; rivers of blood and heaps of
slain rolled beneath the steps of the warriors. Twice the Turks were
repulsed with loss; twice the sultan and his officers rallied them
and led them back against the enemy, and twice were they on the point
of carrying the city. During four hours they fought and immolated each
other, without being able to imagine to which side victory would be
favourable. At length the thunders which were incessantly launched from
all quarters of the place crushed whole ranks of the infidels, and the
invincible courage of the inhabitants drove off an enemy who had more
than once shouted clamorous cries of victory. This first check only
seemed to inflame the valour of the Turks; on the 12th of October,
Soliman harangued them, and gave orders for a general assault. They
were preparing for it during a great part of the night; and on the
13th, at break of day, all the bodies of the Turkish army advanced in
good order, armed, some with blazing torches, others with muskets,
arrows, and axes, and a great number with ladders, and all sorts of
machines to force or to get over the walls. But they were expected:
the Austrians had placed on the walls all their artillery, all their
mortars, and all their soldiers. The city was attacked on more than
twenty points at once, and from every one the infidels were obliged
to retreat with great loss and disgrace. The fight lasted for twelve
hours, without either side thinking of food or rest, and night alone
put an end to the fearful slaughter. Soliman, in despair, sounded a
retreat: he had vainly consumed forty days before Vienna, and had
lost more than forty thousand men in his different assaults upon that
city. As a crowning misfortune, snows, frosts, and tempests made still
greater havoc with his army than the enemy had done. Even Soliman the
Great, the invincible Soliman, could not overcome these obstacles--he
raised the siege, and Vienna was saved.