The 1683 siege of Vienna is so famous that people forget about the 1529 siege of Vienna that was equally heroic and important, perhaps even more important. In both cases a bigger Ottoman army was stopped but in 1529 the odds were even more against the defenders!
In 1529 Vienna was a small medieval town with old fortifications. The Holy Roman Empire and Austrian lands in particular were bankrupt due to Italian Wars, with the unpaid Landsknecht mercenaries pillaging in Italy. The Archduke of Austria Ferdinand only got around 15000 men...
On the other side the Ottomans advanced with 125000 strong army led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent himself. What saved Vienna was the 70-year-old veteran warrior Niklas von Salm arriving from Italy with 2000 elite mercenaries. Salm organized defenses with his leadership.
One of the crucial things that Salm did was that he had houses with flammable shingle roofs destroyed, as well as around 800 buildings around the city to create a clear line of fire. He was a veteran who knew every trick of war (first fought at 17) and respected leader!
I will cover this battle in full one day, but just letting you know about it here briefly since many people totally forget about it due to 1683 siege of Vienna. Niklas von Salm was one of most crucial heroes of European history! He died a martyr in that siege, at the age of 70!

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More from @LandsknechtPike

12 Jul
One of the things that made historic European kingdoms and empires so powerful was their ability to learn from their defeats very quickly and come back stronger immediately. It was not rare in European history that the greatest days would come after the most bitter defeats!
This is why I'm also optimistic about the future. Europeans never get defeated, they learn lessons instead! What Europe is experiencing right now is a painful lesson, but people will learn a lot from it and come back stronger and wiser. Learn history and you will see what happens
For example Gonzalo de Cordoba and his Spanish forces humiliated at Seminara in First Italian War. Learns from it, comes back with a totally new pike and shot tactic that ensures Spanish dominance for 150 years.
Read 10 tweets
12 Jul
I continue with the Italian Wars with the 1509 battle of Agnadello, a disaster for the Republic of Venice defeated by the mighty French army! Machiavelli famously said of this battle that in one day Venetians "lost what it had taken them eight hundred years' exertion to conquer."
The previous Italian War had ended in 1504 with peace between France and Spain but during those days peace would last very short in Italy! In the previous wars, France had already conquered the Duchy of Milan and Kingdom of Naples, which eventually ended in Spanish hands.
The Papal States also managed to expand with the army led by Cesare Borgia, the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI, but when his father died, he lost the favor of the papacy. The territories of the Papal States began collapsing and Venice took the opportunity to expand.
Read 23 tweets
11 Jul
I already covered the first three wars of the Italian Wars in three threads with an emphasis on the crucial battles at Fornovo, Cerignola and Garigliano. My goal is to present this at times quite confusing conflict in the most simple manner I can. I will attach my threads bellow!
Battle of Fornovo (1495)

First Italian War (1494-95). French defeat a coalition of Italian states, but return back to France without any territorial gains.

Battle of Cerignola (1503)

Here I covered the Second Italian War (1499-1501) where the French established their dominance over Duchy of Milan and the city of Naples in the south. Third Italian War (1502-03) with Spain and battle of Cerignola followed.

Read 4 tweets
11 Jul
The Battle of Garigliano was the conclusive battle of the Third Italian War of 1501-03. The Spanish led by Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba triumphed over a larger French army again, winning the war and establishing their control over Kingdom of Naples which would last for centuries! Image
I wanted to continue where I left yesterday when I presented the 1503 battle of Cerignola where the Spanish have achieved a crucial victory in April. After this victory the Spanish army marched towards Naples and triumphantly entered the city in May after the French retreated. Image
The Third Italian War was fought exclusively in the Kingdom of Naples in south of Italy between France and Spain for control of that land. The French relied on Swiss mercenaries but weren't able to recruit them for an offensive war for which the Swiss weren't interested. Image
Read 13 tweets
11 Jul
Yes, in renaissance it was extremely brutal! The Italians called it simply as "bad war" The Greek war tactics of phalanx were different though, and I think less brutal. I'm not an expert of ancient Greek warfare but I can break down some key differences in a short thread...
Renaissance pike squares pioneered by Swiss and then evolved by Landsknecht and tercios were based on long pikes that had to be held with two arms in a tight formation which had to be prepared for heavy cavalry charges with long lances from all sides, trained to maneuver as one.
With the evolution of gunpowder weapons, the pikemen formation were increasingly used more and more as cover and protection for gunners from cavalry and other infantry. When pushes of pike occurred though, they included other units with different weapons such as halberdiers.
Read 7 tweets
10 Jul
I keep making threads about epic battles from European history every day and I will keep doing them entire summer like I promised! There's nothing better than forcing yourself to do something by making a promise and keeping it. This is a great source of discipline and motivation!
I didn't expect so many followers so soon and I thank you all! This just adds more pressure and I have to bring real quality and make solid research before I post, and I love this! Reading thousands of pages, making threads during headaches, staying up until 8AM in the morning...
This is real DISCIPLINE! Most importantly, we all learn through this! This is a learning project about this great European history that we all share and love. I encourage you too to maybe find a little time yourself and prepare a thread about some event that you find fascinating.
Read 4 tweets

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