In 1683, an Ottoman army that stretched from horizon to horizon set out to seize the Golden Apple, as Turks referred to Vienna. The ensuing siege pitted battle-hardened Janissaries wielding seventeenth-century grenades against Habsburg armies, widely feared for their savagery. The walls of Vienna bristled with guns as the besieging Ottoman host launched bombs, fired cannons, and showered the populace with arrows during the battle for Christianitys bulwark. Each side was sustained by the hatred of its age-old enemy, certain that victory would be won by the grace of God. The Great Siege of Vienna is the centerpiece for historian Andrew Wheatcrofts richly drawn portrait of the centuries-long rivalry between the Ottoman and Habsburg empires for control of the European continent. A gripping work by a master historian, The Enemy at the Gate offers a timely examination of an epic clash of civilizations.
- ISBN10 0465013740
- ISBN13 9780465013746
- Publish Date 1 April 2009
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Out of Print 20 September 2012
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Basic Books
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 384
- Language English