Chapter 1551: The Rise and Fall of the First Empire — The Emperor Attains Sainthood

March 30, 1675, dusk.

The battlefield of Győr.

"Ur! Ur!" The Turkish war cries swept from south to north like a mountain-tsunami, rolling toward Leopold I, the sole remaining Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

The Ottoman general assault had begun!

The Battle of Győr had started at dawn that day and had already been fought for six or seven hours. No — it would be more accurate to say the Holy Roman Empire's soldiers had been taking a beating for six or seven hours!

Victory and defeat had actually been decided in the first clash of line infantry between the two sides. Roughly 1,200 Ottoman long-riflemen formed into two very long, thin ranks, closed on the Holy Roman Empire's artillery position, and with a single volley killed or wounded seventy or eighty gunners and knocked out more than a dozen 6-pounder cannons. The Holy Roman infantry reacted quickly when they saw things going wrong, and twenty companies of infantry immediately launched a counterattack.

The brave Holy Roman infantry formed into the standard five-rank line (three ranks of them flintlock musketeers) and advanced at quick-march from three directions toward the Ottoman long-riflemen. Based on the Holy Roman infantry's understanding of rifled guns, some of them might be shot at once by the Ottoman rifles, some would die, and some companies would break, but most companies would get within effective smoothbore range and then use rapid fire to scatter the Ottoman riflemen.

But what happened next far exceeded their expectations!

The Ottoman riflemen seemed to have learned some kind of reloading magic, and were actually able to reload as quickly as if they were using smoothbores. No — their reloading speed was even faster than the Holy Roman infantry using smoothbores!

They could get off almost two shots every minute!

Out of confidence in their own marksmanship and to avoid smoke growing too thick and blocking their view, the Ottoman riflemen even opened up their formation, turning the two straight ranks into a loose half-ring of skirmishers, so that they could simultaneously bring fire to bear on the enemy advancing from three directions. And they no longer fired volleys either, but instead used accurate independent fire to strike the Holy Roman infantry advancing in formation.

Under the stern supervision of the Köprülü father and son, the training standards of the Janissaries had already improved enormously, and by 1674 almost every active Janissary had received at least six years of rigorous training! The 7,500 long-riflemen selected from 100,000 Janissaries naturally all possessed quite excellent marksmanship. If they had been using the old Turkish matchlocks, their shooting skills would have been hard to bring into play effectively — matchlock formations could not match the density of flintlock formations, loading was slow, and the match was easily blown out by the wind.

So once flintlocks began to spread, the Ottoman Empire, which had previously been able to beat the Europeans, inevitably went into decline. But now, the early appearance of the Minié ball and the production bottleneck for rifled guns allowed the Ottoman Janissary corps' training advantage to shine once more.

Before the twenty companies of Holy Roman infantry had covered the hundred and some tens of yards to get within effective smoothbore range, the 1,200 Ottoman long-riflemen each got off at least three wooden-plug bullets!

3,600 deadly bullets swept across the twenty Holy Roman infantry companies advancing in dense formation like a whirlwind of death, cutting down at least eight hundred men!

Such casualties completely exceeded what the Holy Roman infantry could endure. The survivors no longer dared advance, and most of the company officers had also been killed or wounded because they had led from the front.

Having lost command and with their spirits broken, the Holy Roman infantry companies disintegrated one after another, without even getting off a single volley!

Seeing that the flintlock attack was completely ineffective, Count Montecuccoli, who had already come forward to direct the battle in person, had no choice but to order the 12-pounder short guns in the rear to fire explosive shells at random, to create smoke and cover his own positions. At the same time, he reorganized the artillery that had just been attacked by the Ottoman rifles, and had all the 6-pounders resume firing, blasting the distant Ottomans with canister shot.

But these measures only temporarily stabilized the situation, and were not enough to beat back the Ottoman offensive. Fortunately, Count Montecuccoli still held one trump card: the cavalry of the Holy Roman Empire.

Taking advantage of the artillery's furious fire, Count Montecuccoli assembled ten squadrons of cavalry and, using the smoke that filled the battlefield, launched a charge.

But the Ottomans were no fools either. After fighting the Europeans so many times, did they not know their opponent's tricks? So when the Ottoman long-riflemen saw the enemy's cannons firing furiously, they knew the Holy Roman cavalry was about to come. They immediately ceased fire and fell back into their respective squares!

As a result, the Holy Roman cavalry charging at the risk of their lives slammed straight into the Ottoman squares. Although they scattered two or three of them, the remaining squares were intact, and the Holy Roman cavalry suffered terrible casualties!

While repulsing the Holy Roman cavalry charge, Ahmed Köprülü also ordered his artillery forward, concentrating more than twenty 6-pounders in front of his own first line, and at the same time drew off another fifteen long-rifle battalions to replace the ten long-rifle battalions committed earlier.

After completing this adjustment, more long-riflemen began firing at the Holy Roman artillery from over two hundred and some tens of yards away!

Although the smoke on the battlefield greatly reduced the accuracy of these Ottoman marksmen, the concentrated fire of nearly 2,000 rifles still mowed down the Holy Roman gunners patch after patch!

Left with no choice, Count Montecuccoli had to once again send infantry charging — no more shooting, just charge straight in with bayonets and pikes!

But they ran into the more than twenty Ottoman 6-pounders that had just been brought into position. After a blast of canister, more than a third of the twenty-plus infantry companies Count Montecuccoli had committed collapsed, and the remaining Holy Roman infantry broke one after another under the fire and shock of the Ottoman battalion squares!

To stabilize his own battle line, Count Montecuccoli had no choice but to commit cavalry once again, while ordering both flanks to press forward in an attempt to envelop the Ottoman flanks.

But the Ottomans held firm, using rifles and 6-pounders, along with the pikes of the square infantry, to completely shatter the Holy Roman army's attack.

By this point in the battle, Count Montecuccoli and Charles of Lorraine and the others all knew they had lost.

But they had no way to retreat!

Because Ahmed Köprülü still had twenty thousand cavalry in hand who had not yet entered the battle. If the Holy Roman army retreated, then under the pursuit of those twenty thousand cavalry, who knew how many men would make it back to Vienna?

As for falling back into the fortress of Győr — that was even less viable. Considering the Ottomans' "rifle magic," Louis XIV certainly would not dare come rashly — and even without the "rifle magic," he would not come to rescue a Holy Roman Emperor trapped in Győr!

Leopold I was, after all, the last male of the Habsburg family with the ability to produce heirs!

If he died — to whom would the Habsburg inheritance go? Louis XIV, who had married a princess of the Spanish Habsburgs, was without question the sole heir!

So Count Montecuccoli and Charles of Lorraine had no choice but to steel themselves and command their troops in a desperate resistance, hoping to hold out until dark and then withdraw.

But how could Ahmed Köprülü give Leopold a chance to escape?

Wave after wave of Ottoman attacks continued until four or five in the afternoon, when the tide-like general assault finally began!

The signal that the general assault had begun was the heavy cavalry of the Ottoman Empire, under cover of the smoke, surging like a tide in a furious charge at the center of the Holy Roman army, which had long been beaten to the brink of collapse.

"Your Majesty, flee! Your Majesty, we are defeated!"

Gazing at the scene of utter rout before him, Charles of Lorraine could only urge his Emperor to flee for his life.

Leopold I's face was ashen, his lips trembling. "Charles, wh-where can we flee to?"

Charles of Lorraine said, "Anywhere! In any case, we must not fall into the hands of the followers of the Arabian faith!"

Would falling into Louis XIV's hands be any better? Leopold I's brief moment of hesitation sealed a great disaster. An infantry regiment shielding him suddenly collapsed, and the soldiers who had been packed into a solid block scattered in all directions with wild shouts, as if something had smashed them apart in an instant.

With that infantry regiment no longer screening him, the Arabian-faith knights who had broken through came charging straight at Leopold I, who was surrounded by the Royal Guard.

The Holy Roman Emperor knew things had gone wrong, and was just about to wheel his horse and flee when he never expected that some Ottoman skirmishers had already pushed up along with their cavalry. A few of them, sharp-eyed, spotted the splendidly armored Holy Roman Emperor from afar.

Several long rifles were aimed at the Emperor, who was turning his horse, and then came several gunshots. Leopold I was struck on the spot — and attained sainthood!

(End of Chapter)