Belgrade, Battles of

Three major battles of Christian forces against the Turks around Belgrade, for centuries an outpost of the West as a bastion against the Turks and other forces from the East. Mehmet II besieged the Hungarians under John Hunyadi in the city 1456, but failed to overcome the defenders and retired after 40 days; Austrian troops of the Holy Roman Empire defeated overwhelming Turkish forces besieging the city 16 August 1717; and October 1789 the Turks had again occupied the city and, after a brief siege, were driven out by the Austrians.

The Austrian victory of 1717 took place during the war between Turkey and the Holy Roman Empire. About 180,000 Turks, entrenched around the city, were attacked by some 40,000 Austrians under Prince Eugène who launched his assault at night in order to compensate for his lack of numbers. The Austrian right wing became detached, but Eugène was able to get them back into their proper place and drove the defenders out of their lines, capturing the city. The Turks lost about 15,000 killed and wounded and 166 guns, while Austrian losses were about 5,500.