1.21: The Ottoman Revolution
XXI: The Ottoman Revolution
Siege of Belgrade (1687)
Siege of Belgrade (1687)
Following Max Emanuel’s victory at Sabac, the immediate question was whether the Christian army should continue its withdrawal to the safety of Slavonia and Hungary or if it turned around for Belgrade. With the army of Sheitan Ibrahim shattered, the Ottomans no longer had any major field army in the northern Balkans. In other words, no Ottoman army existed that could inhibit the siege of Belgrade or threaten a relief of it. Although Belgrade retained a strong garrison and stout defenses those alone could not ensure its safety against the zealous and large Christan army of Charles of Lorraine and Max Emanuel. Naturally, the young Elector of Bavaria was inclined to take advantage of this rare window. If the Christians postponed a siege until the next campaign season then certainly they got time to reorganize but so did the Ottomans. Even if Max Emanuel had just smashed Sheitan Ibrahim’s army to pieces, it had been a tough and unlikely victory. Just days before, Sheitan Ibrahim had chased the Christians away from besieging Belgrade. If the Christians gave the Ottomans time to rebuild their army then maybe next year the Ottomans would defend Belgrade and know not to chase any further. In Max Emanuel’s mind, the Christians needed to strike Belgrade immediately while the Ottomans remained in disarray and disorder. Any delay risked catastrophe. Max Emanuel’s superior, Charles of Lorraine held the opposite opinion. The Christians may have defeated Sheitan Ibrahim but the cost was great. Many soldiers were wounded and some supplies had been lost in the mess of battle. All of which added to the penalties of attrition that a campaign incurred. The Christian army although intact was battered and it needed to recover before attacking the citadel of Belgrade. A special concern of Charles’s was the lateness in the season. Charles feared that the Christians were risking starting a siege that they could not finish before the weather became unfavorable. In which case the Christians would be throwing away lives for progress that they would forfeit anyways. Finally, with Sheitan Ibrahim’s army broken and Sheitan Ibrahim in chains, Charles doubted that the Ottomans would be putting another grand army in the field within the next year. The Ottomans had lost three grand armies in the course of five years, it was unthinkable that they could muster a fourth grand army in so little time as half a year. This line of thought became the center of debate between the two commanders. Max Emanuel was inclined to think that the fact that the Ottomans had kept building and losing armies was evidence of their unending manpower. Charles understood these losses to be unsustainable and thought that they were at or close to the Ottoman breaking point.
In the end, the debate was resolved by the intervention of others. The majority of subordinate commanders sided with the hero who had just saved the Christian army at Sabac rather than the man who watched the battle from across the river. Even though Sabac had ended in victory for the Christian army, many officers took issue with Charles of Lorraine’s command heading up to and during the battle. Chief among these officers was Ludwig Wilhelm of Baden who had consistently drawn himself closer to Max Emanuel and in opposition to Charles of Lorraine. Facing pressure from below, Charles of Lorraine gave in and consented to turn the army around [1]. However, Charles made it clear that he was uncomfortable with the idea. Charles reminded his subordinates including Max Emanuel of the month, August. The season was late and the army could not maintain a siege into the winter this far from their supply bases. September was the latest that Charles was willing to stay on this side of the Sava. If Belgrade did not fall by then, then Charles would order the withdrawal. When the Christians returned to Belgrade, Charles first attempted to negotiate the capitulation of Belgrade. The governor of Belgrade, Ibrahim Pasha, refused. Sure, the Grand Vizier was in chains and there was no hope for relief, but Ibrahim Pasha cared not. He had been tasked by the Sultan with the defense of Belgrade and he would offer a strong and honorable one whether a relief army existed or not. With grunts of frustration, Charles of Lorraine instructed his soldiers to dig siege lines and set up their artillery batteries. With prayer, Charles hoped that this show of force would convince Ibrahim Pasha to surrender, but it did not. Instead, the governor did just as he promised by organizing an impressive defense of Belgrade. Although there was no chance of relief, Ibrahim Pasha just like Charles knew that time was on the side of the Ottomans. With each sortie that knocked down a cannon or filled in a trench, he stole a day away from the Christians. All he had to do was steal enough days to buy winter’s respite.
After five weeks of siege, the Christians looked like they needed at least two weeks to break through Belgrade’s defenses. Those two weeks would take the siege into October, which Charles of Lorraine remained vehemently against. As it was, Charles wanted to leave already. The siege was not going to force Belgrade’s surrender anytime soon so Charles saw no point in wasting more time and resources. Max Emanuel refused to give up just yet. Charles had promised Max Emanuel until the end of September and Max Emanuel held him to that promise. However, the Bavarian had to accept the reality that Belgrade was not going to surrender before October and the siege was still some time away from breaking the walls down for an easy assault. But still holding on to the tingling of glory and triumph that he felt at Sabac, Max Emanuel could not bear to back down. If Belgrade would not surrender and if an easy assault was not at hand, then Max Emanuel would charge across the field and scale the walls by hand if he had to. He lusted for victory more than he ever lusted for his wife or any of his prettier mistresses. An inordinate desire to be great ebbed through the young man and that sensation drove him to request permission to launch an assault against Belgrade. Charles and even Ludwig Wilhelm were surprised by Max Emanuel’s request. Belgrade’s defenses were still too much intact for an assault. Thousands would die and even that did not guarantee victory. Charles shied from the thought of sending those men to death and did not wish to command any officer to lead such a horrific attack. But Max Emanuel was firm in his desire to have Belgrade assaulted. The citadel needed to fall. The Ottomans could not be given the opportunity to regroup and rebuild, Belgrade was the second city of B’s and its conquest would open the whole of the Balkans up to the introduction of Christianity. The Christians needed to take Belgrade, Max Emanuel needed to take it. And if Max Emanuel’s words were not enough evidence of his conviction then his request to personally lead the assault certainly was. Hesitantly, Charles of Lorraine gave in to Max Emanuel's unrelenting nature and authorized the attack.
At 4 am on September 25, 1687, the assault of Belgrade commenced at the command of Elector Max Emanuel. From three sides, the Christian soldiers attacked. One consisted of the Swabians led by Ludwig Wilhelm of Baden, another was a band of Austrians led by Jean Louis de Bussy Rabutin, and finally, there was Max Emanuel’s own Bavarians. The cover of darkness did not prevent the Ottomans from recognizing the attack and opening fire on all three divisions of the Christian assault. However, the earlier sermon of Marco d’Aviano combined with a speech by Max Emanuel gave the Christians the necessary fervor to push through the hail of enemy fire and reach the walls of Belgrade. Under the unrelenting volleys of Ottoman fire, the Christians scaled the walls of Belgrade and busted their way through the first line of Ottoman defenders. Through a force of will more so than anything else the Christians plunged through the Ottoman defenses and ripped them apart. However, just as the first Ottomans fell away and scampered backward, the Christians looked forward to discover a secondary wall that the Ottomans had built during the siege. At the sight of this second wall, the Christians' energy slackened, and then as the Christians were still processing their nearest obstacle the second wall’s defenders opened fire and tore through the Christians who were still scrambling over the first wall. Jean Louis de Bussy Rabutin had three bullets pass through his chest. As Rabutin and other orders were slain, the Christians grew disordered and Ibrahim Pasha ordered a counterattack determined to drive the Christians off Belgrade’s first wall. At that moment, the Christian assault might have fallen apart completely.
Instead, Max Emanuel charged to the very front of his soldiers and then jumped into a band of Ottomans after climbing up the rumble of Belgrade’s first wall. Surrounded by Ottomans, the Bavarian elector was unfazed. In a frenzy of Christian zealotry and individual glory-hunger, Max Emanuel cut through everyone around him and cleared the way for more of his men to reach the top of the wall and reestablish Christian control of it. Covered in cuts, Max Emanuel ignored his own blood and continued to lead his men from the front. Together, Max Emanuel and his soldiers stormed through the Ottoman counterattack and chased them onto the second wall. Ibrahim Pasha rushed more men to the second wall while pulling back his counterattacks against Rabutin and Baden’s divisions. Desperately, Ibrahim Pasha tried to stabilize his defense around the second wall. But desperation was not enough to stop the man in the blue coat. Max Emanuel continued to hack through Ottomans with his sword only stopping to throw punches and kicks. The fearsome elector was a sight of awe and inspiration for his men, just as he was during Sabac. The Bavarian soldiers simply overpowered and outmuscled the Ottomans in front of them. Eventually, the Ottomans broke and started to retreat through the city, but Max Emanuel was unrelenting and chased them through the streets. Only once Ibrahim Pasha had fallen behind the citadel’s walls did Max Emanuel have to pause. But that is all Max Emanuel was doing, pausing. Once his men had regrouped before the citadel’s walls, Max Emanuel gave the order for an assault against the untouched and unbroken citadel. Despite the rush with which Max Emanuel organized this assault, the Christians found their way onto the citadel walls. By this point, Ibrahim Pasha understood that nothing better than massacre awaited him if he continued to resist Max Emanuel. The governor of Belgrade hoisted a white flag to stop the fighting and then exited his hiding place to throw himself at the feet of Max Emanuel. Without condition, Belgrade surrendered to the Elector of Bavaria.
Once again, Max Emanuel won a significant victory. In the course of six hours, Max Emanuel conquered Belgrade and gained for Christendom the most important fortress in the northern Balkans. Max Emanuel’s victory was not without bloodshed. More than 3,000 Christians were sent to Heaven, but in sacrificing their lives in the name of their lord, they killed 6,000 Ottomans and earned the surrender of 7,000 more. Among the lost Christian souls were Jean Louis de Bussy Rabutin, Feldmarschall Lieutenant Graf von Scharffenberg, Feldmarschall Lieutenant Count von Thurn-Valsassina, and Field Watch Master Count von Furstenberg. All of which were excellent soldiers. The wounded were even more numerous and just as illustrious in name and deed. Max Emanuel had put his body on the line to take Belgrade and it showed with the numerous wounds he took. Still, the victory was a triumph for the Christian cause. With Belgrade in hand, the Christians secured another immense depot of Ottoman war supplies. Belgrade’s was even greater than Buda’s because when the Grand Vizier Sheitan Ibrahim marched north he had brought enough food, ammunitions, and guns so that it could support his army of 60,000 men. These captured goods would be more than enough to feed the Christian army and answer Charles of Lorraine’s concerns about surviving the winter. Furthermore, after the news of the capture of Belgrade, the garrisons of Smederevo and Galamboc just abandoned their posts and fled. Neither garrison wished to be the next victims of the unstoppable “Blue King” as the Ottomans named Max Emanuel. The Christians occupied both towns in the absence of Ottomans. Even if Belgrade was a costly victory, it was a grand one that only added to the growing renown of the Elector of Bavaria.
In the weeks that followed Sabac and Belgrade, the Ottoman position in Slavonia, Hungary, and Transylvania, for the most part, completely collapsed. Ludwig of Baden was tasked with securing Belgrade and overseeing repairs to the fortress, General Johann Heinrich von Dunewald went west to sure up control of the region by conquering Petrovaradin, Sremski Karlovci, Ilok, and Zvornik. In each place, only minor Ottoman resistance was found. The destruction of Ibrahim Sheitan’s army and the capture of Belgrade were critical setbacks for the Ottomans in the Balkans. Meanwhile, Charles of Lorraine and Feldmarschall Count Aeneas Sylvius von Caprara returned to Hungary to clear away the last of the Ottoman garrisons at Palota and Eger. However, Charles of Lorraine chose against going northeast to restart the siege of Munkacs as Count Caprara wanted. Munkacs was a relevant fortress not only because of its strategic control of part of Upper Hungary but also because it hosted Imre Thokoly’s wife, Ilona Zrinyi. Even with Imre Thokoly in Ottoman chains, Thokoly remained an important symbol for the Hungarians, and possession of his wife and children would be important in controlling Thokoly. Despite this opportunity, Charles of Lorraine denied Caprara’s wishes to take Munkacs. Charles of Lorraine’s resources and energy had been worn thin by the long campaign in the south and Charles only had enough of each to focus on one more target in late 1687 - early 1688. For Charles of Lorraine, the target had to be the Principality of Transylvania [2]. While Belgrade guarded the Danubian highway into Hungary, Transylvania controlled the Carpathian highway. If Charles could master this second highway then Hungary would be closed to any Ottoman counterattack and any lingering Ottoman or Hungarian resistance to Austrian dominance would wither away. For this reason, Charles bore down on Transylvania with his army and threatened to overrun it. In Transylvania, the Hungarian patriot, Prince Mihaly Apafi recognized that the Ottoman cause was lost so unlike the custodian of Belgrade, Apafi did not attempt some futile defense. Instead, Prince Apafi agreed to come to terms with the Austrians. Under the condition that he and his son after him be allowed to rule Transylvania, Mihaly Apafi made peace with Emperor Leopold and permitted Charles of Lorraine’s army to enter Transylvania.
While his colleagues were given a chance to add to their own legacies, the hero of both Sabac and Belgrade, Max Emanuel returned to Germany. Exhausted by months of successive campaigning and injured by repeated brutal fighting, Max Emanuel was in incredible need of recovery and time away from the front. Naturally, Max Emanuel stopped at Vienna on his way home. Besides being in need of convalescence, Max Emanuel also wanted to experience the praise and sit in the admiration of the Imperial court. After all, Max Emanuel was a veritable hero of Christendom. The Imperial court and foreign ambassadors doted on the Elector of Bavaria during his stay in Vienna. Hermann of Baden commended the general while the Comte de la Vauguyon lionized the elector. Practically everyone celebrated Max Emanuel, but only practically everyone. A select few offered only superficial thanks to Max Emanuel and chief among them was Max Emanuel’s own father-in-law, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold. Even after Max Emanuel had conquered the heart of Hungary and the bulwark of the Balkans for him, Emperor Leopold still kept Max Emanuel at a distance. The Emperor refused to give any credence to Max Emanuel’s thoughts of having sole command of the eastern war. Nor did Leopold entertain Max Emanuel’s hopes of completely independent command from Charles of Lorraine now that the Balkan front was openly opened up by Belgrade’s fall. Leopold could not even deign to award Max Emanuel with the title of Imperial Feldmarschall, a title that many of Max Emanuel’s subordinates held, or a recommendation to the King of Spain for induction into the Order of the Golden Fleece, which Prince Eugene of Savoy had been given. Emperor Leopold thanked his son-in-law for doing his duty and would do no more. Dissatisfied with Leopold’s ingratitude, Max Emanuel retreated to Munich with Leopold’s daughter, Maria Antonia, and chose to spend the winter there rather than at the vibrant Viennese court.
The reason that the Christians were able to push on all fronts while one of their foremost heroes went home was that the Battle of Sabac had terrible consequences on the Ottoman home front. Even though the defeated Grand Vizier, Sheitain Ibrahim, would surely have been executed upon his return to Constantinople, his survival until Constantinople would at the very least have ensured the army’s survival. Instead, with his capture and with Ibrahim Pasha being holed up in Belgrade, the remnants of the Grand Vizier’s army were disorganized and completely leaderless. Without a Grand Vizier to lead the army, the lower-level commanders stepped up and became responsible for regathering the army. Among these commanders, five colonels, Kucuk Mehmed, Mulazımbai Ahmed, Kethuda-yeri Colak Huseyin, Ebu Yusufoglu Hamza, and Baltaci Kurdish Huseyin, rose to become the most important. Throughout the army, men were complaining about the poor execution of the war by Mehmed IV and his Grand Viziers, but of greater concern to them were the months of pay that they had not yet received. All of that gold had been captured by Max Emanuel either at Sabac or Belgrade. The five colonels listened to these complaints and the solution that they purposed went beyond mere desertion or even mutiny. The five colonels suggested that the army march on Constantinople and make its voice heard by dragging Sultan Mehmed IV out of his palace and replacing him and his menacing advisers with a new sultan and a new Grand Vizier who could restore the glory of the Ottoman Empire. A revolution was at hand.
As these five colonels and the army descended on Constantinople, Mehmed IV realized their violent intent and commanded that they stop and return to the front. They did not. Instead, they continued their march as far as Adrianople. All that prevented them from going further and attacking Constantinople was their decision to name one of the pashas who was in the army, Abaza Siyavush Pasha, as their main leader. Abaza Siyavush was able to calm the army down by explaining that violence was not necessary, at least not as a first recourse. The army could present a petition to the Sultan of all their grievances and if they were not heard, then and only then might they need to take stronger action. The petition asked specifically for three things, first, all the owed pay would be given to the army immediately, second, the current advisers of the Sultan would be turned over to the army, and third, Abaza Siyavush would be named as Grand Vizier. When Mehmed IV received this petition his advisers pointed out the danger the army presented and urged him to send the gold for their back wages and to ask Abaza Siyavush to become Grand Vizier. However, the advisers pleaded for their own lives and Mehmed IV’s compassion prevented him from sending these men to their deaths at the hands of the army. Mehmed IV knew that his protection of the advisers would add to the aggravation of the rebels. He hoped that his other concessions would be enough to cool their tempers, but he knew that they might not. In need of protection, Mehmed IV reached out to the commander of the sekban (peasant levies) of Anatolia, Yegen Osman Aga. Mehmed IV gave Yegen Osman a marriage to his daughter and control of the Sanjak of Karahisar-i Sahib. In return, Yegen Osman brought 4,000 soldiers to Constantinople. However, once Yegen Osman arrived in Constantinople he became aware of just how dire Mehmed IV’s position was. Support for the Sultan was at a nadir and Mehmed IV was powerless against Yegen Osman. The Anatolian chieftain put his greed above his loyalty as he demanded more money and then successively coerced appointments as sercesme (security chief) of Karahisar-i Sahib and beylerbey of Rumelia. Yegen Osman was quick to abuse those posts and extort his subjects with ridiculous taxation.
When the army received Mehmed IV’s response, Abaza Siyavush tried to tell them that this was what they wanted. However, the five colonels railed against the idea of the advisers remaining in place just so that they could send the army to its doom and defeat again. At their urging, the army broke camp and resumed its march toward Constantinople. Every step of the way, Abaza Siyavush tried to calm them down, but nothing could quiet their tempers now. Nor did Yegen Osman impede their march as he instead used his soldiers to loot his territories for all their worth. When the army finally reached the walls of Constantinople, Abaza Siyavush was able to stall its attack on the city. The soldiers agreed to give Abaza Siyavush one last opportunity to reason with the Sultan and secure their final demand. However, once Abaza Siyavush left the army, the colonels began to undermine him. They claimed that Abaza Siyavush was one of their enemies, that he was in league with the advisers, and that he would also have to be killed along with Sultan Mehmed IV. However, the army still wanted a veneer of support from the upper echelons of Ottoman leadership, so they tried to return to an old favorite, the Koprulu family. The army invited Koprulu Fazil Mustafa Pasha, to join them and advise them. Fazil Mustafa like Abaza Siyavush pointed out that there were alternatives to violence. However, Fazil Mustafa’s alternative still amounted to deposing and imprisoning Mehmed IV. Fazil Mustafa also worked very hard to restore the army’s favorable opinion of Abaza Siyavush, who was the brother-in-law of Fazil Mustafa.
With the army agreeing that the execution of the advisers and a peaceful deposing of Mehmed IV was enough, Fazil Mustafa entered Constantinople and met with the local garrison and several of the statesmen. Fazil Mustafa made it clear that if they failed to meet the demands of the army that Constantinople would be attacked and a violent overthrow of Mehmed IV was inevitable. Together, these soldiers and statesmen delivered the army’s request for Mehmed IV to abdicate. At this point, with soldiers at his door, Mehmed IV finally gave in and surrendered himself into their custody while turning over the official seals of governance. Mehmed IV was soon after imprisoned while his brother Suleiman was taken out of prison and proclaimed Suleiman II. Abaza Siyavush was allowed to keep his new title of Grand Vizier, but the old advisers of Mehmed IV were all summarily executed. Their heads along with news of Mehmed IV’s abdication were sent out to the army.
After Mehmed IV’s abdication, the army was led into Constantinople by Abaza Siyavush as if he was a glorious conqueror rather than an upstart rebel, in November 1687. While Abaza Siyavush went to the palace to convene with the new sultan, the army meet among itself. The Sipahis decided to get rid of their leader Kucuk Mehmed because he was no longer to their liking. After chopping Kucck Mehmed’s body up, the Sipahis looked to the other colonels for leadership. Meanwhile, the Janissaries named Fetvaci Huseyin as the representative of their issues. Together, the Janissaries, Sipahis, and other Ottoman soldiers spread out across Constantinople and forced their way into the manses of the rich elite. Those individuals who were smart paid the soldiers exorbitant amounts to avoid violence. Those who did not had their homes plundered and their families abused or even killed. This violence was only stopped when the new Sultan Suleiman II and his Grand Vizier Abaza Siyavush called for the army to assemble and receive culuc bahsisi, the customary gift of gold from a new Sultan to the army. For this purpose, nearly 8,000 bags of gold amounting to 1/4 of the treasury’s purses were distributed among the army in Constantinople and the border garrisons. For an empire that had built three grand armies in half a decade, this was an incredible expense that the treasury alone could not support. Suleiman II had to melt down much of the palace’s silverware, swords, and some thrones, as well as force a tax out of Constantinople's richest individuals to fulfill the culus bahsisi.
Having paid the army, Abaza Siyavush and Suleiman II expected that the army would finally quiet itself and submit obediently. However, throughout the end of 1687 and the beginning of 1688, the army continued to act as a hostile occupation force in Constantinople. In an effort to discipline the army, Abaza Siyavush captured and executed the leader of the rebellious Janissaries, Fetvaci Huseyin. Abaza Siyavush expected that this show of force would remind the army of who was in charge, but it did not. The army did not allow this execution to intimidate it and instead allowed the execution to rile its anger. The immediate retaliation of the army saw them attack the house of the loyal Janissary chief, Harputlu Ali Aga. After they slew him, the army continued to attack loyal members of the government, slaying Derferdar Huseyin Pasha a few days later. Finally, the army surrounded Abaza Siyavush’s new palace. After a day-long siege, the army broke in and shot Abaza Siyavush. In their ecstasy of violence, the army first mutilated Abaza Siyavush’s wife and the members of her harem before looting all the rich homes around them. Anyone caught in the streets became a victim of violence. Murders, rapes, and looting occurred all over Constantinople and Suleiman II had to fear for his life.
The army’s abusive behavior continued until religious leaders of the Ottoman Empire, the Ulema met and raised the Sacred Standard in the late spring of 1688. The Ulema called on the good Muslims of the Ottoman Empire to unite and suppress the army. This religious call was heeded by the army itself and their leaders agreed to end their rebellion. With the rebellion presumably finished, the new Grand Vizier, Ayasli Nisanci Ismail Pasha, demanded that the army turn over the rebellion’s leaders so that they could be punished. The army responded by erupting into rebellion once again. At this point, Suleiman II had learned that firmness and edicts could never control the army. The only way to avoid his own deposing was to placate the army and give in to the army’s wishes. As punishment for Ismail Pasha’s failed effort to suppress the army, Suleiman had him removed and exiled. In his place, the meek and non-offensive, Tekirdagli Bekri Mustafa Pasha, was made Grand Vizier. Under Bekri Mustafa the rebellion of the army finally came to an end. Although the army was finally subdued, the Ottoman Empire’s problems were far from over. By this point, the months of insurrection and chaos at the heart of the Ottoman Empire had left its governance in complete disorder. Across the empire, local governors were acting insubordinately and some were even in open revolt against the Sultan. Chief among those governors was Yegen Osman Pasha. Throughout the revolution, Yegen Osman concentrated on plundering the lands awarded to him rather than helping his benefactor, Mehmed IV, or supporting the Sublime Porte. As things settled down, Yegen Osman, refused to recognize the new Sultan while obviously hinting at his desire for more titles, income, and powers. In this manner, Yegen Osman was not different from any other rebellious upstart. However, with his command of Rumelia and Sofia as well as more than 10,000 personal soldiers, Yegen Osman was the most dangerous of all the governors. Not even on the doorstep of Constantinople was the new Ottoman government safe. All the while, the Christian army had been given time to recover its strength from the difficult Battle of Sabac and the harsh Siege of Belgrade. While the Christians had expanded, recovered, and consolidated, the Ottomans had teetered and jumped from one crisis to the next.
[1] This is another episode where Max Emanuel's official role as second-in-command plays a role in creating a more aggressive Ottoman campaign than under Charles of Lorraine. In OTL, following the Battle of Mohacs in 1687, Charles of Lorraine refrained from chasing after Belgrade due to the casualties sustained in the reason, the supply situation of the army, and his confidence that he would take it anyways. In TTL, Charles of Lorraine has those same concerns, but Max Emanuel as second in command is able to champion a different viewpoint. He is aided in this confrontation mainly by Ludwig Wilhelm of Baden whose relationship to the President of Hofkriegsrat is vital in forcing Charles of Lorraine's hand.
[2] In OTL, Mohacs and Belgrade occurred in separate years with Caprara going after Munkacs and Charles going after Transylvania in the wake of Mohacs. In TTL, Belgrade occurs directly after Sabac, which has a marked effect on the resources of the Imperial army in 1687. Simply put the Imperial army does not have the resources and time to pursue both Munkacs and Transylvania as it did in OTL. Instead, Charles chooses to focus on Transylvania and ignores Munkacs, which has limited military value at this point. The result is that Munkacs limps on for at least another year.
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