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

Ottoman Turks:
Armati Army List

by Steve Phenow from the Messenger

30 Years War: Late 17th century Ottoman Army for Armati

May fight in Candian War, 1644-49, the Polish War 1671-79, and the Austro/Polish War, 1681-97.

Control: H: 4 L:5 BP: 3 Init: 6 > = Key Unit.

Core: Kapukulu or a Grand Vizierial Bodyguard
2 HC The Spahis 5[1]0 +1 Pistol, Lance.#
1 HC Oluteci 5[1]0 +1 Bow, Lance.
1 HC Guraba 4[1]0 +1 Bow, Lance.
2 FT Jannissaries 5[1]2 +1 Muskets.
1 SI Arnaut 2[1]1 +2 Musket.
1 ART Topdgi 2[0]0 +1 Heavy.

Bonus Units: The Fuedal Levy (Timors) (up to 50% of army may be spahis.)
1 HC Great Spahis 5[1]0 +1 Pistols, Lance. (6)
1 HC Persian spahis 5[2]0 +2 Bow, Lance (6) ##
3 HC Timarot spahis 5[1]0 +1 Bow, Lance. (5) ###
6 HC Cebeli spahis 4[1]0 +1 Various (4) ####
2 LC Beslis 2[0]0 +1 Bow, Various (4)@
1 FT Jannissaries 5[1]2 +1 Musket (5)
3 FT Garrison 4[1]1 +1 Arquebus (3)a or Egyptian Jannissaries or Levant

Added Bonus Units: The Yeri Kulu (Local Troops)
2 LC Beslis 2[0]0 +1 Bow, Various (4)@
2 LC Delli 3[0]0 +1 Various (3)b
3 SI Azabs 2[1]1 +2 Bow (1)
2 DR Seymen 2[1]1 +1 Arquebus (3)c
3 LC Cossack 3[0]0 +1 Bow/pistol (4)d
2 SI Arnauts 2[1]1 +2 Musket (2)e
3 LC Tartars 1[0]0 +1 Bow (3)
1 FT Hungarian 4[1]2 +1 Arquebus (4)
1LC Hungarian Hussars>1[0]0 +1 Pistols (3)f
2 ART Topdgi 2[0]0 +1 Heavy (5)
2 ART Topdgi 2[0]0 +1 Medium (4)

Terrain: 3 selections: 2 GR, 2 SH 1 RG.

The ground fought over was usually in the Balkans, that's why the increase in terrain options. Jannissaires may entrench for two points cost rather than three.

If one wants a representative Turkish Army pick from both bonus sections. If one wants a Feudal representative army, pick from the Timors section only.

Foot Notes:

# Receives no additional protection for horse barding, better tothink as these as housings of cloth like early medieval knights. Uses obligatory charge. Receives a pistol shot die roll, before fighting melee.

## These are the only true heavy armored cavalry left in the Ottoman army. They continued to cling to their armored horse barding, long after everyone abandoned it.

### The Timorats are rated 5 FV because they retained the lance. Imperial cuirrasiers, often refused to charge them because of this.

#### Cacavelas and Shevket report that these were badly armed and could muster maybe a bow per 15 men and a lance per 5 men. At Vienna, they used spears that they threw like javelins. These guys are pretty useless but they made up the bulk of the Ottoman horse in the 17th century.

@ Beslis or Beshlis. Includes Arabs, Vlachs, Wallachian, Romanian, Serbian and Hungarian bow armed light cavalry. (All colorful units.)

a. These should be musket armed, but we wanted to demonstrate a clear difference between them and the Sultan's Jannissaries. Their drill and weapons were not as good as the Sultan's troops.

b. The Guides (Delis) were a holy sect of fanatics who thought if they died for their lord they were assured paradise. They did not fear death. Beys loved them as bodyguards. They were nicknamed Madmen, or Madheads. They should be forced to charge any target within their range. They are not key units because of this.

c. Seyman were the forerunners of Turkish mounted infantry. They use Dragoon rules.

d. Up to 1648, many cassocks were in Polish service. Only one may be bought. After 1648, all may be bought.

e. The Arnauts could be armed with flintlock muskets, and were favorites with the provincial governors. The Viziers often had a picked unit of them included in their household troops.

f. These guys were real pests during the campaign. They would ride around and fire at the enemy horses, killing them and bringing down the rider. They have a 6" range. They may move full and fire like archers. All other Armati for rules for firearms apply. There was enough of them in the Austro wars, to warrant inclusion of at least 600 (1 LC) of them in a division.

List Notes:

After much reading and some discussion with Turkish historians, we discovered that there were swarms of light horse that roamed about the actual battlefields during the three big campaigns in the 17th century. Therefore I decided to increase the control of Light Divisions to 5. I decreased the Heavy control by 1 for balance. (I believe it should remain at 5, but I'm an Ottomanphile.)

If you put the Jannissaries out of control behind fortifications this will give you 4 heavy maneuver elements to work with. The Jannissaries' engineering units constructed fortifications quickly and efficiently. That is why the cost of entrenchments is 2 points. Jannissaries in an out control division, but behind fortifications, are not forced to obligatory charge a target, just because they are out-of-control.

This list is missing the Serdengetci, but we assume that Jannissaries' units are 4 understrength ortas each and they are contained within. It is also missing the Gonullu or (Recruits)

As for the great numbers of Spahis represented, they did make up over 1/3 to 1/2 of an Ottoman army.

Bibliography

Knotel, Knotel, Sieg: Uniforms of the World (1980)
George Gush: "Renaissance Armies 1480-1650" (1975)
H. Russell Robinson: "Oriental Armor" (1967)
Thomas Baker: "The Double Eagle and the Crescent" (1967)
John Stoye: "The Siege of Vienna" (1964)
Jeremias Cacavelas: "The Siege of Vienna by the Turks in 1683." (1925)
Mahmud Shevket: l'Organization et les Uniformes de l'Armee Ottomanne, 1600-1700 (1907)
Plus many journal and magazine articles.

More Siege of Vienna

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