Welcome !
I am offering for sale a medal with the image of the King of Poland, Jan III Sobieski.
JOHN III SOBIESKI, 300 YEARS OF VICTORY IN VIENNA.
Obverse: Bust of Jan III Sobieski three-quarters right. At the bottom of the date: 1683 - 1983. A floral ornament along the rim.
Reverse:
Equestrian statue of Jan III in profile to the left. Against the background of
the buildings of Gdańsk: canals, towers of St. Mary's Church, Crane, ships'
yards. Turkish trophies on the monument's pedestal. On both sides, along the
edge, the inscription ZRZESZENIE on the left and KASZUBSKO - POMORSKIE on
the right.
Signed on the
reverse: FAJLH. interwoven monogram.
Designed and made by: Henryk Fajlhauer..
Diameter:
70 mm
Weight: 155 grams
Metal: Bronze, silver plated. Rare !
The
battle started before all units were fully deployed. At 4:00 am on 11
September 1683, the Ottomans attacked, seeking to interfere with the deployment
of Holy League troops.[16]:661 The Germans were the first to strike back. Charles of Lorraine
moved forward with the imperial army on the left and other imperial forces in
the center and, after heavy fighting and multiple Ottoman counterattacks, took
several key positions, specifically the fortified villages of Nussdorf and
Heiligenstadt. By noon the imperial army had already severely mauled the
Ottomans and come close to a breakthrough.[29] Though shattered, the Ottoman army did not crumble at that moment.[30]
Mustafa Pasha launched his counterattacks with most of his force, but
held back some of the elite Janissary and Sipahi units for
a simultaneous assault on the city. The Ottoman commanders had intended to take
Vienna before Sobieski arrived, but time ran out. Their sappers had prepared a
large, final detonation under the Löbelbastei[31] to breach the walls. In total, ten mines were set to explode, but
they were located by the defenders and disarmed.In the early afternoon a great
battle started on the other side of the battlefield as the Polish infantry
advanced on the Ottoman right flank. Instead of concentrating on the battle
with the relief army, the Ottomans continued their efforts to force their way
into the city. That meant the Poles could make good progress, and by
4:00 pm they had taken the village of Gersthof, which would serve as a
base for their massive cavalry charge.[15] The Ottomans were in a desperate position, between Polish and
Imperial forces. Charles of Lorraine and John III Sobieski both decided, on
their own, to continue the offensive and finish off the enemyThe imperial
forces resumed the offensive on the left front at 3:30 pm. At first they
encountered fierce resistance and were stopped. This did not last long,
however, and by 5:00 pm they had made further gains and taken the villages
of Unterdöbling and Oberdöbling. They were now very close to the central
Ottoman position (the "Türkenschanze").[30] As they were preparing to storm it, they could see the Polish
cavalry in actionIt is recorded that the Polish cavalry slowly emerged from the
forest to the cheers of the onlooking infantry, which had been anticipating
their arrival. At 4:00 pm the hussars first entered into action, battering
the Ottoman lines and approaching the Türkenschanze, which was now threatened
from three sides (the Poles from the west, the Saxons and the Bavarians from
the northwest and the Austrians from the north). At that point the Ottoman
vizier decided to leave this position and retreat to his headquarters in the
main camp further south. However, by then many Ottomans were already leaving
the battlefield.[15]
The allies were now ready for the last blow. At around 6:00 pm the
Polish king ordered the cavalry attack in four groups, three Polish and one
from the Holy Roman Empire—18,000 horsemen charged down the hills, the
largest cavalry charge in history.[32][33] Sobieski led the charge[16]:661 at the head of 3,000 Polish heavy lancers, the famed "Winged
Hussars". The Muslim Lipka Tatars who fought on the Polish side
wore a sprig of straw in their helmets to distinguish them from the Tatars
fighting on the Ottoman side.[34] The charge easily broke the lines of the Ottomans, who were
exhausted and demoralized and soon started to flee the battlefield. The cavalry
headed straight for the Ottoman camps and Kara Mustafa's headquarters, while
the remaining Viennese garrison sallied out of its defenses to join in the
assault.The Ottoman troops were tired and dispirited following the failure of
the attempt at sapping, the assault on the city and the advance of the Holy
League infantry on the Türkenschanze.[16]:661 The cavalry charge was the final deadly blow. Less than three
hours after the cavalry attack, the Catholic Christian forces had won the
battle and saved Vienna. The first Catholic Christian officer who entered
Vienna was Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden, at the head of his
dragoons.[15] Afterwards
Sobieski paraphrased Julius Caesar's famous quotation (Veni, vidi, vici)
by saying "Venimus, vidimus, Deus vicit"- "We came, we
saw, God conquered"