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Post by Sublime Porte on Oct 5, 2016 18:45:38 GMT
The armies of Ahmet III arrive in the vicinity of Buda, and attempt to blockade the city. Turkish transport ships are chained together side-by-side to block access to the city from up-river, and the Ottoman possession of everything down-river is seen as a guarantee of no access from that point. A message is sent to the defenders, which are believed to include the Army of Hungary, fresh from its brutalisation of the rebels of Transylvania. The defenders are offered the chance to surrender peacefully. The commander, de Mercy, will be spared, and all troops will be disarmed, but unharmed. They shall be allowed to return home or to Austria. The city will not be sacked if it surrenders, and the inhabitants will not be subjected to any revenge attacks for the brutalities inflicted on Jews and Muslims in the city a mere twenty years before by the armies of Prince Eugene. The choice is simple for the soldiers: Surrender and receive mercy, or fight and receive death.
The inhabitants are given a similar choice: surrender and keep your stuff, or fight and lose everything but your life.
The defenders are given twenty-four hours to reply before the bombardment begins. The bombards will be merciless and relentless until a breach appears in the walls. The bombards are to target the town walls and Budin castle. The Janissaries and cavalry are to be held in reserve, to keep an eye on the horizon in case of reinforcements.
Army of Macedonia, commanded by Ahmet III: Ak Ordusu (The White Army)
15,000 Azabs
10,000 Foot Artillery
9,000 Janissaries
2,000 Bombardiers
10,000 Timariots
2,000 Siphahis
150 Demi-Cannons
300 Siege Bombards
The Anatolian Army, Commanded by Koprulu Numan Pasha: Kara Ordusu (The Black Army)
15,000 Azabs
8,000 Foot Artillery
4,000 Jannisaries
2,000 Bombardiers
2,000 Timariots
4,000 Siphahis
500 Mamluks
250 Demi-Cannons
200 Siege Bombards
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Post by Sublime Porte on Oct 7, 2016 16:06:17 GMT
With no offer of surrender received from the defenders, the bombardment is to commence after morning prayers. It is still unknown whether de Mercy is in the city or not, but his inferior force makes little difference to the ambitions of the Sultan. He is determined to see the gates of Vienna before the war is finished. Though, now that his tempers have fallen, he thinks more of his plans for just rule in Hungary than he does for tearing down the Habsburg empire.
The Azabs are to begin works on undermining attempts. The captured fortifications experts are to provide advice and assistance, on a semi-voluntary basis. Uncooperative men will not be employed, for fear of sabotage. All engineers are to be supervised at all times.
The bombards are expected to make light work of the medieval fortifications of the city and castle. Once the city is in ruins, the Azabs are to be let loose, followed by the cavalry and Foot Artillery. The Janissaries are held in reserve, as the Sultan is more fearful of his rear than the men trapped in the city. The Sultan offers 100 ducats to the soldier that brings him de Mercy bound in chains, but alive. 50 ducats are offered for his head. Three days of looting are promised in the event of a victory.
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Post by The Viceroy (AdminM) on Oct 8, 2016 14:53:51 GMT
The Sultan finds surprisingly little resistance from within the fort. Indeed, they even left the front doors unlocked! It seems these Austrians are a trusting sort. When inside, the Sultan learns that de Mercy escaped the fort upon learning of the Ottoman invasion. The whereabouts of the general and his men are unknown, but it is believed he went North.
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Post by The Viceroy (AdminM) on Oct 8, 2016 15:15:43 GMT
As the Sultan paced through his newly acquired fortress he heard some commotion in a room to his right. Pressing his ears up against the door, he heard a dry groan - "water..." In a demonstration of his mercy, the Sultan called his janissaries to break down the door. Inside they found a man in chains, despite his glamorous clothing. The man, it seems, is the Crown Prince Rakoczy of Transylvania.
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Post by Sublime Porte on Oct 8, 2016 16:04:14 GMT
"Fetch the physician! Bring this man food and water. Make him well!" bellowed the Padishah as his Janissaries panicked around him, some breaking the Prince free of his chains, others hurrying off to fetch water and the Sultan's own Greek physician. The current generation had seen a great many changes in the world of medicine. The field was once dominated by Jewish doctors, and seen as an honourable art but not a field that could reveal true understanding of the world. Medical training was focused more on the study of the work of great thinkers from the past, only changing very gradually through annotations and amendments. Now, Greeks, both acting as individuals or as converts to Islam working as state-salaried doctors as part of the Ulema, dominate the field of medicine in Turkey. Most train in Italy, with the Venetian university of Padua being their favourite choice, due to its focus on practical skills such as Medicine and Law, rather than Theology. Now, Doctors are seen as the higher Ulema, being esteemed more for their wordly knowledge than the religious scholars are for their otherworldly knowledge. While the old classics are still respected, medicinal teaching is now far more practical and experimental. The focus is less on learning what the experts have written, but doing what they have written. This new attitude, one of learning by doing, has proven very successful in Turkey, as it has in Italy. New techniques such as distillation have been employed to try and create new inorganic medicines, in place of the traditional herbal remedies that have pervaded for centuries. Sultan Ahmet has entrusted his own health to the capable hands of such a Padua-trained Greek, Athanasius.
When the Doctor arrives the Sultan gives him his instructions, "His life is my life. You treat him as you would treat me. Nothing is too difficult to do for him. He is an honoured guest. He is to be given the best quarters after my own, and is to be given the same food as my kitchen prepares for me. When he is well, and can stand on his own feet, and speak with confidence, send him to me. I wish to speak with him personally."
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Post by Sublime Porte on Oct 8, 2016 16:05:27 GMT
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