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Lotr siege of vienna6/17/2023 ![]() ![]() Frantic pleas for assistance were sent out to the leaders of Christian Europe, calling for men and arms to repel the invaders. “Count Ernst Rudiger von Starhemberg, the commander of Vienna’s garrison, scorned the ultimatum: ‘Let them come I’ll fight to the last drop of blood.’ As the siege dragged on and hunger and exhaustion began to fell the city’s inhabitants, it began to look as if the defenders might have to do just that. “They arrived to lay siege to the city, demanding surrender,” Van Maren writes. They made a second attempt in July of 1683, under the leadership of “Black” Mustafa, the Empire’s grand vizier. Fierce defenders and savage weather eventually drove the Ottomans back, and Christian Europe, for the time being, was safe.”īut the Ottomans didn’t give up so easily. When the date came and went, Vienna’s defenders, a coalition that included German Landsknechts, Spanish Musketeers, and Italian mercenaries, both Catholic and Protestant, sent the sultan a message to let him know that his breakfast was getting cold. Stephen’s Cathedral within two weeks of the siege. He boasted that he would be having breakfast in St. “He had been racking up victories across the continent, and decided that the first great conquest that would lead to his domination of Europe would be the magnificent city of Vienna. In 1529, Sultan Suleiman I the Magnificent was “riding high,” writes Jonathon Van Maren at his blog The Bridgehead. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings was an actual fighting force who fended off the Ottoman invasion of Europe in the 17th century. ![]() Sometimes, however, the model is well known.Īccording to at least one literary observer, the model for a band of soldiers in J.R.R. Often, the human being upon whom an artist bases his depiction of the human form is anonymous. This is also based on the approximate size of the garrison of Minas Tirith (after being reinforced from the fiefs) which I reckon at about 6,000 (3,000 from the fiefs and the estimate of 3,000 in the usual garrison.In art, especially in painting and drawing, the model is often an unsung hero. In Medieval armies the vanguard is almost universally 1/3 of the total force. ![]() Based on Imrahil's comment at the last debate (RK) that the size of the force they were sending against Mordor (seven thousand – including 1,000 Rohirrim) was scarcely the size of the vanguard of the army in the days of its strength. Apparently most of the 1,000 man garrison (aside from the 1,000 Riders Theoden brought) that fought at the Hornburg were infantry and not part of the muster of eoreds (which were mounted), also the 1,000 infantry reinforcements that arrived were also separate so sub-total for Rohan would be about 12,500 cavalry and about 2,000 infantry.Īrmy of Gondor. It also states that doubtless many more than 12,000 riders could be mustered so that Theoden would not leave his strongholds undefended even if he did ride with the full muster to Gondor (Theoden states that he might have sent 10,000 to the dismay of his Gondor’s enemies but he will ride with only 6000 because he will not leave his strongholds unmanned). UT states plainly that the full muster of Rohan was 100 eoreds each not less than 120 riders. My sources are the LOTR trilogy Ballantine paperbacks Fellowship of the Ring (FR), The Twin Towers (TT), Return of the King (RK), the Hobbit(H), Unfinished Tales (UT) and Lost Tales (LT1&2).Īrmy of Rohan. ![]() I would like to run my conclusions past the readers and participants of the forum to see if anyone has any additional information to add or suggestions to make. It has long been an interest of mine to determine the approximate size of the armies of Middle Earth around the time of the War of the Ring. ![]()
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