Crown & PloughPlay

Winged hussars 1683

Summer 1683, Kraków. Kara Mustafa's great army has surrounded Vienna, and the emperor's envoy has come to beg King John III Sobieski for help. You are a young horseman of the husaria, the Polish hussars who wear wings of feathers on their backs.

Age of the Sun King and the Baroque · The siege of Vienna and the Great Turkish War · Knightly class (hussar) · male · age 26 · Lesser Poland

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Historical background

In July 1683 a great Ottoman army under the Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha laid siege to Vienna, the Habsburg capital. Emperor Leopold I left the city, and its commander Starhemberg held the walls for almost two months. King John III Sobieski of Poland, who had allied with the emperor that spring, assembled his army at Kraków and marched south in August. On the Ottoman side was Imre Thököly, leader of the Hungarian Kuruc rebels.

On 12 September Sobieski, joined by the German princes' armies, came down from the Kahlenberg and broke the siege with a great charge of winged hussars. The next year, with the pope's mediation, the emperor, Poland and Venice formed the Holy League, which Russia joined in 1686. The allies recaptured Buda in 1686, and in 1697 Prince Eugene of Savoy routed the Ottomans at Zenta. By the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699 the Ottomans for the first time made peace by giving up great territories. Sobieski led repeated campaigns into Moldavia and died in 1696; the next year the election of a new king was held on the field of Wola outside Warsaw.

Who you are

You begin as a 26-year-old hussar of Lesser Poland (Kraków), with horse, lance, wings and troops. Marcin Górski, your rotmistrz (company captain), your comrade Mikołaj Jarecki, Zofia, and Hasan, a boy taken captive, are the people of this life.

The current of history: The siege of Vienna and the Great Turkish War

A current of history that begins with the relief of Vienna and runs on through the siege of Buda, the riverbank at Zenta and the Treaty of Karlowitz. At each stage you choose under whose banner to stand.

Sides you can take

Tips

Might before the charge A hussar rises on the battlefield. Raise your Might with arms training and win distinction in decisive battles.
Spoils and gold The Ottoman camp before Vienna held enormous spoils. When you have gold, use it to buy land or educate your children.
The captive boy How you treat the captive boy comes back to you many years later.

Questions and answers

How close is this scenario to real history?

The siege of Vienna from July 1683, Kara Mustafa and Starhemberg, Sobieski's muster at Kraków, the charge from the Kahlenberg on 12 September, the Holy League, the recapture of Buda in 1686, Zenta in 1697, the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, Thököly's Kuruc and the royal election at Wola in 1697 are historical. The starting map, realms, real historical figures and the major events of the current of history follow actual history. You and the companions, rivals and loves around you are fictional people who could have lived then, and once you start, history may diverge according to your choices and those of the AI rulers.

What station do I start in?

You start as a 26-year-old hussar of Lesser Poland (Kraków), a man of knightly class. You belong to Poland-Lithuania and have no land.

Is it free? Can I play right away?

Yes. Crown & Plough is a free browser game with no account and nothing to install. The "Start in this scene" button on this page opens the scenario's intro screen directly, and progress is saved automatically in your browser. It works on phones too.

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