12 September in military history: Battle of Saragarhi, 1897

Quick answer

On 12 September 1683 an allied relief army under the Polish king Jan III Sobieski came down from the heights of the Vienna Woods and broke the Ottoman siege of Vienna, which the army of Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa had held in its grip since 14 July. The Polish cavalry on the right wing, with the hussars at its core, broke the Turkish ranks, and the following night Sobieski wrote to his queen from the vizier's own tents. On the same date in 1897, on the North-West Frontier of British India, 21 soldiers of the 36th Sikhs held the signaling post of Saragarhi against Orakzai and Afridi tribesmen until it fell in the afternoon. None of them survived.

Battle of Saragarhi, 1897: twenty-one against an army

12 September 1897 · 129 years ago

At Saragarhi on 12 September 1897, twenty-one Sikh soldiers of the 36th Sikhs held a small signaling post on the North-West Frontier against several thousand Pashtun (Orakzai and Afridi) tribesmen.

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The Siege of Vienna, 1683: the charge that turned back the Ottomans

12 September 1683 · 343 years ago

A starving city, then the winged hussars came down the mountain. The day the Ottoman advance into Europe turned.

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The Battle of Baltimore and Fort McHenry, 1814: the Star-Spangled Banner

12 to 15 September 1814 · 212 years ago

The Battle of Baltimore, fought from 12 to 15 September 1814, was an American victory in the War of 1812 and the turning point of the war in the Chesapeake.

Read the full story of The Battle of Baltimore and Fort McHenry, 1814: the Star-Spangled Banner ›

The Battle of Chapultepec, 1847: the castle above Mexico City

12 to 13 September 1847 · 179 years ago

The war between the United States and Mexico began in 1846, after the American annexation of Texas and a dispute over its border.

Read the full story of The Battle of Chapultepec, 1847: the castle above Mexico City ›

Also on this day

1814: British troops under Major General Robert Ross landed at North Point to march on Baltimore, and Ross was mortally wounded before the battle with John Stricker's Maryland militia; the British held the field, but the Americans fell back to the city's defenses. The bombardment of Fort McHenry that followed is told in our article on Fort McHenry.¹

Frequently asked questions

Who commanded the army that relieved Vienna in 1683?

The Polish king Jan III Sobieski commanded the allied relief army of Polish, imperial and German troops; Charles of Lorraine led the imperial troops on the left wing.

How large was the relief army?

The City of Vienna's history wiki puts it at 65,000 men; the historian Konrad Bobiatyński puts the Christians in the battle at about 65,000 to 68,000, roughly a third of them Poles.

What did Sobieski write after the victory?

On the night of 13 September he wrote to his queen from the vizier's tents that God had given his nation a victory and a glory such as past ages never heard of. His letter to Pope Innocent XI opened with "Venimus, vidimus, Deus vicit."

How many soldiers defended Saragarhi?

21 men of the 36th Sikhs under Havildar Ishar Singh. They held out until the afternoon of 12 September 1897, and none survived.

What else happened on 12 September?

In 1814 British troops landed at North Point to attack Baltimore, and their commander, Major General Robert Ross, was mortally wounded; in 1847 American batteries opened fire on the fortifications of Chapultepec.