John Sobieski: Lothian prize essay for 1881

by Edward H. R. Tatham

Losses of the two armies.The losses of the two armies in the action have been variously stated. Talenti, whom John sent to the Pope with what was believed to be the standard of the Prophet, informed his Holiness that at least 40,000 Turks had perished.[96] Voltaire, with as little truth, states the number at 600.[97] It is evident from the letters of the king, which speak of the slain as making the neighbourhood unhealthy, that nearly 10,000 must have been slain.[98] The loss of the Poles alone was estimated at more than 1,000, and the allies probably lost in proportion.

Entry of Sobieski into Vienna.About midday the king entered Vienna through the breach. He was received with acclamations. Multitudes thronged his horse, and in spite of the frowns of their superiors openly compared him with their fugitive monarch. He entered the church of the Augustine Friars, and, as there was no priest at hand, he himself chanted the Te Deum. Passing on to the cathedral of St. Stephen, he remained long prostrate before the altar, while the same ceremony was performed with greater pomp. Then a discourse was preached to the assembled crowds from the text—“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.” On leaving the building, he could scarcely pass through the masses of men who pressed upon him, and begged to kiss his victorious hands. Afterwards he dined in public with Count Stahremberg, and then returned to his quarters, declaring with truth that this was the happiest day of his life.

Joy of all Europe, excepting the French king.He took an almost malicious pleasure in writing at once to inform Louis XIV. of his success. He told him that he felt it his particular duty to report to the most Christian king “the victory which had been gained, and the safety of Christianity.” So disgusted was Louis at the collapse of his plans that he could not trust himself to answer the letter. The French civil journals, in noticing the raising of the siege, speak slightingly of the King of Poland, and try to attribute all the credit to the Count of Stahremberg.[99] But no one was deceived by these manœuvres. All Europe resounded with the praises of Sobieski. From every Catholic pulpit he was eulogised as the bravest defender of the Church. Filicaia and other Italian poets sang of his glory in rapturous strains. Innocent XI. received his envoys with the highest honours, and ordered the standard of the Prophet to be borne in triumph throughout Italy. Queen Christina, who was then resident at Rome, after complimenting the Pope, wrote Sobieski a remarkable letter, in which she declared that she now felt for the first time the passion of envy; she calls him emphatically the greatest king in the world, and displays by other insinuations her hatred for Louis XIV.[100] Ingratitude of Leopold.It is painful to relate the conduct of the Emperor. He, who should have been the first to thank and congratulate his deliverer, was in no hurry to meet him face to face. Entering the city on the 14th, he contrasted with anger the coolness of his reception with the enthusiasm shown to the King of Poland; and it was only when he heard that John was about to continue the pursuit that he was prevailed on to consent to the interview. His punctilious scruples as to his demeanour towards an elective sovereign disgusted his German allies, and the Duke of Lorraine declared that he ought to receive the king with open arms. At length it was agreed, on the proposition of Sobieski, that they should meet on horseback a few paces in front of the Polish army. His interview with Sobieski.Let us hear the king’s own account to the queen. “I will not draw you the portrait of the Emperor, for he is well known. He was mounted on a bay horse of Spanish breed; he had a close coat richly embroidered, a French hat with a clasp and white and red feathers, a belt mounted with sapphires and diamonds, and a sword to match. We saluted each other with politeness; I made him my compliments in a few words of Latin; he answered in the same tongue in choice terms. Being thus face to face I presented my son, who approached and saluted him. The Emperor merely raised his hand to his hat; I was astounded at it. He did the same with the senators and generals, and even with his connection, the Palatine of Beltz.[101] To avoid the scandal and the carping of the public, I addressed a few more words to the Emperor; after which I turned my horse, we saluted each other, and I rode back to the camp.” John here evidently conceals as far as possible the chagrin he felt at the awkward silence of the Emperor, and his distance towards Prince James, his prospective son-in-law. Another account says that he sternly reproved a Palatine, who advanced to kiss the Emperor’s foot, and that he said significantly as he turned away, “Brother, I am glad to have done you this small service.”[102] After the Grand General had shown him the Polish troops, the Emperor returned to Vienna; and two days later sent a jewelled sword to Prince James, and explained that his grateful emotions had deprived him of the power of speech.

Shameful treatment of the Poles.But the Emperor’s ingratitude did not stop here. A day or two after the battle, the Poles (like the French after the battle of St. Gothard) found it difficult to obtain forage or provisions, and they were not allowed to bury even their most illustrious dead in the cemeteries of the city. The king notices bitterly that, since the arrival of the Emperor, everyone shunned them as if they had the plague.[103] The Poles were furious at this studied neglect, and besought John to lead them back at once to Poland. “Our subalterns regret that we have succoured the Emperor; they wish now that the proud race had perished beyond hope of resurrection.”[104]

So seldom had the army served beyond the frontiers, that its discipline, never strictly enforced, was now scarcely regarded; and numbers left the ranks and took the nearest road to their homes. John sympathised with his soldiers, but he had the ardour of a crusading hero, and he felt himself bound by his oath to pursue the infidel, and “strike a second decisive blow.”[105] John’s anxiety to follow up the victory.His letter of the 13th of September to the Marquis of Grana, shows the high hopes with which his glorious victory had inspired him. He expresses his belief that the time had come for the collapse of the Sultan’s power, and urges that further successes in Hungary might produce revolts in the heart of his empire.[106] John has been most unjustly accused of finding a Capua in the Vizier’s tents.[107] The fact is, that during the whole of the campaign, the Poles were in the van. The king was disgusted at the backwardness of the imperial court, though his high and simple nature failed to discern its motive. “It is enough to make one die a thousand times a day,” he says, “to see so many opportunities slip away.”[108]

Suspicions of the Emperor.The fact was that Leopold shrank from sending his victorious neighbour into a rebellious province of his empire. Yet he dared not stop him. His suspicions were increased when John received overtures from Tekeli, the Hungarian leader, and attempted to intercede for him. The Emperor’s coldness had so far alienated his German allies, that the Elector of Saxony withdrew his troops, and the Elector of Bavaria threatened to do the same. He did nothing to recognise the services of the Duke of Lorraine. He coveted the spoil, and even had the assurance to suggest, through his head groom, that John should present him with some of the Vizier’s horses. The gift was made and received as a due. The king also made such handsome presents to many of the German princes, that he gaily tells the queen she will have to be content with the buffaloes and camels.[109] His general distrust of the Austrians was such that he deposited his part of the spoil with the Jesuits.[110]

John advances into Hungary.At length (September 17), weary of waiting for the Imperial troops, he started for the Danube. His design was to attack Lower Hungary, which had been a Turkish province for a hundred and fifty years, and to invest Buda, its capital. Thither the Vizier had retired to rally the remains of his army, and was avenging his defeat by the execution of a crowd of pachas. The Turks could hardly believe that the Christians would retaliate at once by invading their territory, and Sobieski’s advance created the utmost alarm. But he was unhappily delayed at Presburg by a fever[111] which attacked his troops and produced such distress as to shake his resolution to proceed. Intrigues of the queen.Another cause of his chagrin was the scarcely concealed intriguing of the queen among the troops to force him to return. She tried to persuade him that she was in constant fear of the troops of Tekeli. In two admirable letters[112] he tells her the powerful motives which induce him to continue the campaign. He shows her that the Poles are crushing their national enemy without the cost of one sou to the republic, and declares that, since the Christian armies have elected him their generalissimo, he will remain even if his countrymen desert him to finish the campaign. “I have devoted my life,” he says, “to the glory of God and to this holy cause, and to that I will adhere.”

After a few days his troops were able to resume their march, and they were joined by the Imperialists on the 2nd of October. They crossed the second arm of the Danube, and followed its course on the left bank. The first Turkish fortress in their way was Strigonia, called by the Hungarians Gran, a place of great strength on the right bank, communicating by a bridge with the fortified suburb of Parkan on the opposite side. The vanguard of the Polish cavalry, always a march in advance of the infantry and the Imperialists, had descended the hills to reconnoitre this fort, when suddenly a large Turkish force issued from the works and appeared in their front (October 7th.) He is defeated at Parkan.Before the Poles could form in line they had to sustain a tremendous charge, and were put to flight. The king, who was close behind with the main body, could not rally the fugitives, and found himself obliged, with his 4,000 hussars, to charge the enemy in his turn. His onset was unsuccessful. The Turks opened their lines to enclose the Poles, and this caused a panic which ended in a rout. The king and his personal escort strove in vain to stem the rush of the Turks; they were swept along in the mêlée. The pursuit was hot; and the king, who was one of the last to turn his horse, was in great danger. A spahi raised his scimitar to strike him, but was hewn down before his blow fell. John was hurried along breathless, scarcely able to hold the reins, and jostled by the mad haste of his flying troops. At length the Imperialists appeared, and the Turks desisted from the pursuit. The king lay down upon a bundle of hay, sorely bruised, but more afflicted in mind than in body. It was the first defeat he had sustained, and it was embittered at first by the supposed loss of his son, who however escaped unwounded. When the Austrians came up, with sorrow in their faces and joy at their hearts, he raised himself with dignity, and said, “Gentlemen, I have been well beaten, but I will take my revenge with you and for you.” His Cossack infantry, who heard that he had perished, bewailed him as a father; and he was deeply touched by their devotion.[113] Several historians have asserted that he brought on this engagement in order to crown himself with glory before the arrival of his allies; but his letter to the queen after the battle shows beyond a doubt that his cavalry had orders not to fight, and that the vanguard were taken unawares.[114]

The Poles hastily buried their dead in order to conceal their losses, and were so dispirited that the king could scarcely persuade them to wipe out the defeat. Great victory of Sobieski at Parkan.Although three days after he says that his body is “as black as a coal,”[115] his exertions were unremitting to prepare his army for a grand attack. The Turks, as he had expected, were elated at their victory. A report spread widely among them, which even reached the European courts, that the hero had been slain; and they took a fresh lease of courage. The Vizier sent them reinforcements; and when, two days later (October 9th), the Christian army defiled into the plain of Parkan, they found a large force drawn up to receive them. The same morning the Turks commenced the attack, and repeatedly charged the left wing commanded by Jablonowski. They were beaten back with splendid courage; the steady advance of the king with the right wing upon the fort of Parkan threw them into confusion; and when the Christians charged in their turn, the Turks gave way on all sides. Storming of the fort.The fort was taken by storm, and no quarter was given;[116] numbers of fugitives were drowned in the Danube; several pachas were captured, and at least 40,000 Turks perished.

Writing to the queen on the following day, John speaks of the victory as “even greater than that of Vienna.” Flight of the Vizier.The Vizier was seized with dismay, and fled precipitately to Belgrade. His flight enabled the king to exclaim with pride that now at last, after two hundred years of slavery, Hungary was delivered from the infidel. He adds, “This has surpassed my expectation, and I believe that of my contemporaries.”[117]