"The Empire's Last Gasp":
The Siege of Vienna

Ottoman Turks:
Spahis, Jannissaries, Topdjis, Lagimci

by Steve Phenow from the Messenger

There is a lot of misinformation about Turkish army organization, and names. Usually this is not the fault of the historian, in some of the divisions of the army the same names are used, mean different things in that division. The army was divided into Sultan's troops, the Feudal levy, though this doesn't mean they were unenthusiastic troops, the general levy which does mean that. This includes the volunteers, who were not as the name implies, Muslims trying to please Allah, usually these were Christians who were enriching themselves from neighbors' plunder and misfortune by using the Turkish cause to give it legitimacy. Finally there were the Christians who joined the Turks to gain freedom from the oppressive Austrians. It easy to see how some confusion could develop.

The Sultan's Army, (Kapukula)

The Sultan's army was the regular army, paid for by taxes, and well drilled and disciplined. It was called the Kapukula, or the Kapu Kula. It means servants of the Gate. (The gate, Porte, was the Sultan.) It was divided into the following branches.

1st. The Spahis of the Porte.

Spahi is the Turkish for soldier. It also refers to the Sultan's armored cavalry, the 1st (senior) unit, the feudal army as well, and by definition, the whole Ottoman Army! See what I mean by confusion? In order to distinguish, I have given the name the Great Spahis to the first unit. This is a name of my own choosing, it is not a correct Turkish translation. Spahis with a capital "S" alludes to the Sultan's collective cavalry, 6 units with distinctive names. The spahis with a small "s" refers to the collective Timarot feudal levy.

The Sultan's horse (Spahis) consisted of 6 units at the time of Vienna:

    First: (Great) Spahis
    Second: Silahdar (Swordsmen)
    Third and Fourth: Oluteci (Mercenaries)
    Fifth and Sixth: Guraba (Foreigners)

The first two units would contribute men to a composite unit called the Grand Vizerial Bodyguard. The rest would be kept in reserve, and used as final shock in battle. Usually these hard charging fanatical cavalry would decide the day.

The Spahis had finely detailed link or chain mail armor, usually they were wearing a intricate embroidered coat over it. They wore different helmets, most common was a steel pot, around which was wrapped a gold embroidered white turban. Ornate horse trappings and cloth housings covered their fine horses. They carried a long 18' foot lance (dscherid) that was slender enough to be thrown. The first two units had been convinced to adopt pistols, although like most knights found them to be unworthy of use, since they would penetrate existing armor and bring down the warrior no matter what his weapon skill. The rest retained the bow.

Uniforms

The Spahis had no distinctive uniforms. They did have distinctive flags:

    Great Spahis: Pennant shaped, Yellow, with 2 sliver crescents
    Silhdar: Pennant shaped, Red with 2 silver crescents.
    Oluteci: 1st: Square, red & white, nine stripes
    2nd: Square, yellow & white, nine stripes.
    Guraba: 1st: Square, green & white, nine stripes.
    2nd: Square, white & green, nine stripes.

Organization

The Spahi Unit consisted of 100, 20 men sections. This could vary depending on the amount of Spahis the Sultan wished to send on campaign.

At Vienna, the Spahis were 6,000 strong. They were stationed in front of the Turkish camp, and fought the Bavarians. They shook them, but could break them. Most Spahis covered the army's withdrawal, and returned to Belgrade mostly intact.

The Jannissaries

Taken from the Turkish words yeni ceri (new troops). Captured Christians boys were raised by the regiments, converted by Bektasi dervishes into fanatical soldiers, determined to conquer or die in the process. Jannissaries were the sword edge of Sultan's sabre. They were also in decline, once concentrated around Istanbul, they now were spread through out the empire as garrisons and had gone soft. Like the Egyptian Mamalukes, their officers were intriguing in Turkish politics. These 17th century Praetorians had gained the ability to make or break Sultans. On the whole the Corps, or Ocak, still had to be respected, and their magnificent discipline saved the Turkish army from defeat on more than one occasion. Because of their lack of fear, these made great assault troops, but the high losses that they suffered often would be enough to break the back of Turkish resistance.

The soldier was armed with a musket (tufek) that threw a heavier ball farther then contemporary western muskets. The Serdengetci (Headgivers) were now the equivalent of western grenadiers, they would be used in assaults storming the breeches. They were still fanatical.

They did not believe in regimental fighting drills, calling the western soldiers puppets on the same strings, but could march and maneuver quite well. When they fought, hand to hand, all organization disappeared. They did not believe in thrusting weapons at this time, sabers and round shields were used as melee weapons. This put them at a great disadvantage against western infantry and horse, so whenever possible the Jannissaries were located behind entrenchments, to break up the western formations, and allow the men to meet each other on an equal basis.

Garrison troops were not as well drilled or trained. They were mostly Turks, not converts, so pride in the corps was lacking. To reflect their lower status they were armed with antiquated weapons. Their organization was the same.

Organization

The Orta was the tactical unit. It was similar to the old company of western pike and shot troops. Ortas were supposed to number 400, but numbers were in decline. Perhaps 330-340 was the average. Each Orta had its own banner with a symbol. Often Jannissaries tattooed their Orta symbol on their bodies. One might think of an Orta as a large company, acting as a battalion in the line.

Uniforms

Jannissaries had a distinctive dress. The Turkish/Persian coat, Kafkan, was long, almost ankle length, which often was hitched up around the belt, the kusak (girdle) to allow better movement. This was in a distinctive uniform color per Orta. Colors were red or blue. Garrison troops apparently wore green. It was the headdress that set apart the Jannissaries. Like the Landsknecht's gaudy clothes, the headdress (zarcola) identified the solider immediately as a member of the Corps.

The zarcola was made of white felt, with flap of felt that hung off the cap, down the back of the cap. This design was worn, tradition says, in memory of the holy dervish Hadaschi Bektasch who consecrated the original Corps. In war, a small iron "beanie" covered the bare scalp under the cap, to protect the head from blows. There was a plume holder, on a the metal band surrounding the lower part of the hat. During parades in peace, plumes were worn, the more outrages the length and design, the greater was the gazi's (hero) deeds.

Turkish style pants, and low boots usually dyed red completed the costume. Officers wore the same dress, with studded aprons, and elaborate zarcolas to indicate rank.

At Vienna during the siege, the Corps numbered approximately 25,000. The garrison troops: 12,000. They were surrounding the city when the attack came from the west. Those who rallied nearby, defended the camp, and were forced to retreat when their flank was turned, others were used as stopgap reinforcements to other parts of the battle. The troops had already been reduced in assaults, it is estimated by Austrian authorities that 11,000 had already fallen before the battle. A further 4,000 was lost in the battle and retreat. Only 22,000 regained their base at Belgrade.

The Topdjis

The corp of artillery, once the pride of the Ottomans, had also fallen in decline. The thrifty Ottomans would utilize every gun they captured, with their varying calibers becoming a logistic nightmare. The Imperials found guns from the Poles, Russians, Venetians and Persians, after the battle.

Their wall wreckers, great cannon, were still mounted as 16th century weapons. They were strapped to their carriages, they apparently dated back that far. The most antiquated weapons of all were 40 trebuchets, counterweight catapults complete with piles of heavy granite ammunition.

Uniforms

They wore red long coats, assorted caps. Some may have worn blue, sources very.

The Topdjis numbered 5,000 at the start of the campaign. They had 250 pieces, with 30,000 draft horses and 3,000 camels. Most of their pieces were lost at the battle, or during the retreat.

The Lagimci

The sappers or engineers nearly won the struggle. Had the reliving army not shown up, Vienna would have certainly fallen. Sappers had brought large sections of the wall already down. The sappers were aided in the task by special detachments of Jannissires from picked Ortas. All Turks agreed, that the best in the corps were from Armenia. The galleys were narrower than western ones, dug sitting crosslegged, to better facilitate the focus of the powder blast. The corps suffered grievous losses on Crete during the siege of Canadia previously, perhaps that is why its efficiency was lowered during the siege.

Organization

The Lagimcilar were organized the same as the Ortas. Around 200 men to a Orta seemed common. Often the Aga (senior officer) of the Jannissaries was also in command of the corps.

Uniforms

These are pretty much in the realm of speculation. Dr. Brock says in Turkenkrige: " . . .they dressed as Jannissaries, but without zarcolas. Their dolmans were scarlet." While this reference is in 1691, if one considers the Turkish reluctance for change, it is quite possible that this uniform was worn at Vienna. A dolman at the time was a knee length skirted coat. Instead of headdresses they must have worn turbans or caps. Their coats would be red.

At Vienna, according to Cacavelas, the corps numbered 27,000. At the siege of Canadia, the detachment numbered 5,000. Likely 30,000 was the corps' full strength. There is no report on their losses suffered in the battle.

This completes the Sultan's army.

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