We Came, We Saw, God Conquered

Previous Polish experience from the war against the Ottoman Turks in 1672-1676 made their contribution vital for the coalition war effort in 1683. No surprise then, that Sobieski was chosen as commander of the joint forces. Many Polish researchers, like Jan Wimmer, Leszek Podhorodecki or Zdzisław Żygulski wrote extensively about the topic, unfortunately their works are not available in English. In this volume the author attempts to present to English-speaking readers the Polish point of view on the battle and the role of the Polish army in the conflict.

There are detailed information about organization and strength of the army that Jan III led to Vienna: structure, weapons and equipment of the units, even on the company level. All formations, from winged hussars to artillery, are covered. Command staff – from King to high ranking officers – will be presented as well. Book won’t focus solely on relief of Vienna though. Remaining actions of the 1683’s campaign are described as well, with both battles of Párkány and arrival of Lithuanian army, Polish and Cossack actions in Podolia and Moldavia, that were always in shadow of main events of 1683; finally organization and military actions of troops under command of Hieronim Augustyn Lubomirski, raised as Imperial auxiliary division in Poland.

Book is based on many primary and secondary sources, including diaries, letters and surviving muster rolls of the units and whole army. Many of them were not previously available in English, so they will provides interesting insight into 17th century view of the army and campaign.