Vienna 1683

In 1664, the Hapsburg general Montecuccoli caught an Ottoman army in the midst of a river crossing at Saint Gotthard and secured a major victory. That led to the Ottomans and Hapsburgs agreeing to a 20-year truce. Both empires were largely concerned with other affairs during the meantime. The Hapsburgs were facing off against the aggressive young King of France, Louis XIV. Likewise, the Ottomans would be busy fighting elsewhere. One of their foes in this time frame was Poland, as they fought in the far southern reaches of Poland.

By late 1682 the truce was running out, and like many other truces, it hadn’t exactly been fully followed by either side. The Grand Vizier, Kara Mehmed, was convinced that there was great glory to be won by renewing the war along the Danube, even if there was still a year left on the truce. Early in the year, it was becoming obvious in Europe that the Ottomans were going to strike north, though the exact goal was still unclear. Emperor Leopold I spent the early months of the year preparing his troops and gathering his allies. He was able to secure troops from some of the Princes of the Empire, most notably Saxony and Bavaria. More importantly, he was able to secure an alliance with Poland. If either one was attacked by the Ottomans, the other would march to their aid.

And so this brings us to the Demo for the Musket & Pike series of games. Vienna 1683 will allow you to control the besieging Ottoman Turk forces or the Alliance forces on the way to relive the siege. The intent is that this free package will give you a sampling of what the Musket & Pike series has to offer in the remainder of it's published games.