Lethargy of the Poles.Meanwhile Ibrahim had copied the fault of the preceding year by wasting time in small sieges, and it was not till he received a threatening message from Köprili that he began to advance upon the Polish force covering Leopol, which hardly amounted to 15,000 men. No exertions on the part of the king could awaken Poland to a sense of its danger. Servitude had numbed the senses of the peasants, and the nobles were wearied with the length of the war. Ibrahim seemed unwilling to trust his fortune against that of Sobieski. Sitting down before Trembowla, a strong fortress in Podolia, he sent on the Tartar Noureddin with 40,000 men “to bring the king before him dead or alive.”
Battle of Leopol.It was late in August when this detachment[63]—the flower of the Turkish army—arrived at Leopol, and began to burn the suburbs. The Poles besought the king to retire, and not risk his life in so deadly a combat. “You would despise me,” said he, “if I were to follow your advice.” The ground in the vicinity was undulating and covered with vineyards, and John carefully made his dispositions in order to conceal from the enemy the smallness of his force. He planted several hills, which he could not occupy, with the spare lances of his hussars, and concealed squadrons in the valleys near the point of attack. Then, on the 24th of August, amidst a storm of snow and hail which beat in the faces of the enemy, he suddenly charged the infidels at the head of 5,000 cavalry, repeating thrice the name of Jesus. The impetuous bravery of the Poles spread terror in the Turkish ranks, and before nightfall the whole force, though at least eight times the number of their assailants, had fled in disorder. The storm was so unusual for the time of year that contemporary memoirs speak of it as miraculous; and it appears that this battle, more than any other, contributed to cause the superstitious fear with which the Turkish troops subsequently regarded John Sobieski.
Siege of Trembowla.Ibrahim was dismayed at the king’s success. He had captured the position of Podhaic, but he could not reduce the garrison of Trembowla, commanded by Chrasonowski, a man of determined courage. He now redoubled his assault upon that place, which must have fallen but for the arrival of John with the Polish army. The king posted his troops to advantage and prepared for the attack; but during the night (Oct. 6th) Ibrahim intercepted a letter to the besieged, which informed him that the king in person was at the head of the Poles. Retreat of the Turks.He at once raised the siege, and without striking a blow retreated precipitately to Kaminiec, and thence across the Danube. John would have pursued him beyond the outskirts of Podolia, but the Polish vanguard, dreading a winter’s campaign in the enemy’s country, set fire to the bridges, and compelled their king to suspend his march.
Return of the king.The whole country clamoured for his return, and the Diet was impatient to return thanks to its deliverer. The Vice-chancellor declared in the Senate that the king moved like a tortoise towards the throne, but like an eagle towards the enemies of the republic. He was now ready to gratify the general wish, and returning to Zolkiew received a number of foreign ambassadors sent to congratulate him upon his election,—among them Lawrence Hyde, Earl of Rochester,[64] whom Dr. South was attending as domestic chaplain. The French ambassador solicited John’s alliance against Brandenburg and the empire, and held out hopes of persuading the Turks to make peace. But the king deferred all fresh engagements for the present; his grand aim in life was to save Poland from the Ottoman grasp.
Cracow was, as usual, the scene of the coronation, which was fixed for the 2nd of February (1676). Burial of the two last kings.Two days earlier, according to the Polish custom, John followed to the grave the body of Michael, and the interest of the ceremony was deepened on this occasion by the obsequies of Casimir. The ex-king had died three years before, of grief, it was said, at the fall of Kaminiec.[65] The reigns of the two deceased kings, so fruitful in misfortunes to Poland, comprised the whole of Sobieski’s wonderful career, and it was fitting that their royal mourner should be he to whose prowess they were chiefly indebted for retaining the crown. Coronation.The coronation took place amid general rejoicings, broken only by a few murmurs when the crown was set upon the queen’s head. It was not long before she showed her unfitness to wear it.
Diet of 1676.Two days later (February 4th) the Diet met, and was conspicuous for its loyal enthusiasm. The king was entreated not to lay down the office of Grand General, but he wisely refused a privilege so invidious, and conferred the post upon his old enemy, Demetrius Wiesnowiesçki. He displayed the same generous spirit in his other appointments, offering the primacy to Olzowski, the favourite of Eleanor, and the Grand Marshalate to Lubomirski, son of his old rival. The brave Jablonowski was rewarded with the post of Second General. His elevation caused some trouble. The Diet proposed to make these dignities triennial, which, in the present reign at least, would have been a salutary enhancement of the royal power; but the queen, out of gratitude to Jablonowski, worked hard in secret to defeat the proposal. The king, though he favoured it at heart, appeared neutral; and the project fell through.
John availed himself of the favourable temper of the Diet to take exceptional measures for the national defence. He proposed a capitation subsidy upon all alike, clergy as well as laity, and strongly urged the necessity of forming a permanent infantry. Hitherto this branch of the service had been fixed at one-third of the regular army (16,000), but it had never reached this standard, and being composed only of the peasants and poorer nobles, commanded by foreign officers, its equipment was disgracefully inefficient.[66] The Diet voted that the army should be raised to 73,000 men, thus augmenting it by 25,000,[67] and that of these 35,000 should be infantry. No king had ever obtained such concessions from the nobility, but they were not granted without a violent opposition. The old expedient was tried of drawing out the Diet, but John defeated it by submitting to a continuous sitting, and presiding upon the throne for forty consecutive hours. He was able to announce that the Great Elector had promised him succours, and that he hoped for an alliance with Muscovy. The Diet did not rise before paying him the unusual compliment of a decree that all the starosties which he had held should remain hereditary in his family.[68]
The king fails to levy troops.Unfortunately their good resolutions were not carried into effect. Although the Dietines ratified their proceedings, it was beyond the king’s power to overcome the inertness and lethargy of the nobility. The patriotic spirit died out at once when the magic of his personal influence was withdrawn. Seizing upon a rumour which was industriously raised by Austria, that the king was treating in secret with the Turks and would use the money for his own purposes, they refused to pay the subsidy, and threw every obstacle in his way. John hastily assembled at Leopol those troops which had not been disbanded; but, although their number is variously stated, some even placing it as low as 10,000, it probably did not amount to one-half of the force that the Diet had decreed.
Armament of the Turks.Meanwhile, Köprili had not been idle. He assembled an army of 100,000 Turks, to be accompanied by a vast host of Tartars. But his aim was more pacific than in the former campaigns. He was beset by the proffered mediation of the European powers, especially of Louis XIV., who wished to evade his promise of sending armed assistance to Poland. Moreover, the condition of Asiatic Turkey distracted his attention; his allies, the Cossacks and the Tartars, inspired him with distrust; and he felt that his fortune was outshone by the star of John Sobieski. The name of the Polish hero was such a terror in the Ottoman ranks that threats alone could induce many of the officers to serve against him. Köprili looked out anxiously for a competent general. He chose Ibrahim, Pacha of Damascus, called “Shaitan” (Satan), from his combined bravery and cunning, and gave him instructions to procure an honourable peace.
Invasion of Galicia.Ibrahim secretly hoped to do more than this, for he was confident that he could drive the king to extremities. He pushed on at once into Galicia and crossed the Dniester, expecting that John would attack him; but finding that the king lay inactive at Zurawno, a small town on the left bank, he advanced against him without delay. John called in his squadrons of horse, which had been harassing the Tartars, and prepared to improve his position. It had been chosen with admirable judgment. He lay with the Dniester and the mountains behind it covering his rear, while his left rested on the town of Zurawno, and his right was protected by woods and marshes. In front of his lines ran a rapid torrent, called the Swiczza, which was easily fordable, and offered facilities for the construction of entrenchments. On this task John employed his whole army, and collected all the provisions within reach. When the seraskier appeared on the heights in his front, he left his lines and offered him battle (September 25th); but this was declined, for all the Turkish troops had not yet come up. Siege of Zurawno.Ibrahim, when he had assembled them, formed them into a vast arc, including the town of Zurawno, the Polish army, and the wood on its right, with each of his wings resting on the river. He then commenced a regular siege. His artillery was splendidly handled; and his miners rapidly approached the Polish entrenchments. John at once employed counter-mines, but the experience of the Turks in Candia gave them a vast superiority. The king was anxious to bring on a general action, and in a skirmish on the 29th of September the Poles had the advantage, but they lost heavily. John’s situation was becoming desperate; the Tartars who commanded the river prevented the arrival of provisions by that route; and the Turkish artillery made frightful havoc in his ranks.