Battles of Luzhinsky -Extract 3- Robert Fullarton copyright 2016

Battles of Luzhinsky

-Extract 3- Robert Fullarton copyright 2016

The Polish army was on edge, waiting for the call to move, camped out underneath the stars, the sounds of the horses naying beside the makeshift stables, the laughter of drunken officers could be heard, but the patriotic talk of the soldiers of all rank and file was the prevailing wind that went through the army, as a seemingly unshakeable force, like one on the brink or cusp of a cataclysm.

Many men had sore calf muscles, after a day of solid marching; others felt the saddle and of the horses had left them sore! They rested in the fields, some sleeping in tents, those of lower rank and file slept on blankets in the dew of the wet grass. The luggage and weaponry of the mobile army were sprawled out on the grass.
Several officers conversed beside a fire, roasting chicken, drinking thimble sized shots of strong plum brandy.

“The Germans are coming from the north” said one officer who sat beside the inviting odour of the chicken which was being seasoned with spices.

“Yes, I heard but who will get there first for the fight?” Said the elegant moustachioed officer that sat beside the conversant. Who had left his royal red uniform to hang and dry near the heat that rose from the radiating fire.
“Dont forget to take the food off! Check on it, turn the chicken over!”
Stressed the first officer, as he interrupted the conversation.
“I wont forget Sebastian!”
“This coalition of Leopold and Sobieski’s is going to secure our borders as well. If we can give the Turks a sound beating then we stand to extend our influence and even leave Hungary and Transylvania open for negotiation. The territories of the Hungarian rebels will be annexed too!”
“No you fools!” Said a hotheaded young officer who now joined in with the other two officers in their fireside discussion.
“Do you really think Leopold will let a rival take his prize? The house of Habsburg is a beast only wounded but not defeated. They will take their neighbour’s land, but we will be forgotten, mark my words!”

“You mean if we let them. The Holy League has given us the strongest hand in the political deck”, said the first officer in response.

“They’re weak for now but when renewed they will threaten our own borders too in good time! The Habsburgs”
On went the discussion into the night over the fire, youth discussing war, the possibilities of the future, the throwing off of the Ottoman yoke meant the liberation of new lands, but
Luzhinsky meanwhile, sat in his officer’s quarters, he prayed, drank a cup of wine and then conversed with a semi-circle of officers around the open fire. The sleep would be abruptly interrupted for the entire army, men slept in exhaustion after a day’s marching, but with spirits high and with the strength of numbers, the men were ready for the beckon call of the command to rise again when needed. Sobieski himself had been seen earlier that day in the distance, a royal cavalcade of horses passed, with the battery of the army being wheeled through, with men singing out in the mild September air. They passed like flame and steel to the fringes of the Wienner Wald.

With the cracks of dawn breaking through, the Polish army awoke from a brief interrupted rest. The standards were raised, steeds mounted, speed recovered and momentum gained. This was an army that did not want to slacken in its pace as time was a necessity to “smash into the Turkish right flank.”

It just so happened that at 4am that very morning the army of Charles of Lorraine engaged with the Turkish positions of the left flank, whose scouts had spotted the arrival of the Imperial forces from the north west. Troops from Baden, Saxony, Bavaria and Venice marched came with the Golden Imperial banners and the various colours of the nation states and kingdoms whose men marched from far and wide, thus pitched in battle.