Heg.1128. that fince no precife answer was given him, a J.C.1716. longer refidence at the Porte was ufelefs; and that he demanded permiffion to return to the emperor his mafter, a permiffion which had been granted him. One may judge, by this difference which the Turks make between the minifters of the emperor of Germany, when at war with him, and thofe of other powers, whom they retain in captivity, the confideration which they always have for a neighbour that they fear. This manifefto concluded with a copy of the letter written by prince Eugene to the grand vizier, and an order to all the bashaws and other governors of the Ottoman empire to hold themfelves in a state of defence, without however doing any thing that might in the leaft prejudice the treaty of Carlowitz. The fultan declared alfo that, though his troops were filing off towards Belgrade, and his veffels entering the Danube, he had no intention to attack the emperor of the Weft, but folely to defend the territories and fubjects of the Ottoman empire. armies Peterwa The prefumptuous Coumourgi longed to en- The two gage prince Eugene; and this great general, who commanded no more than eighty thousand radia men, could not be deterred from fighting, by the confideration of the fuperiority of number, the Turks being neither fo well difciplined nor commanded as the Germans. Ali Coumourgi was perhaps the only one in his army who did not remember the battle of Zenta. When the VOL. IV. Gg 2 talents J.C. 1716, talents and experience of prince Eugene were Heg.1128. cried up to him, he would reply with fire in his eyes: "I fhall become a better general than he, " at his expence." The two armies having marched ftraight against each other, the first act of hoftility happened at Carlowitz, in the very place where the peace had been fo folemnly ratified seventeen years before. Count Palfi, who was ordered to go and reconnoitre the enemy, at the head of three thousand horse, to know if they had paffed the Save, fell in with at Carlowitz a corps of feven thousand Turkish horfe fent on the fame errand. The Auftrian general, though very inferior in number, made a good difpofition and an honorable retreat. The Turks were never able to surround him; but they killed three hundred of his men and made fome prifoners. Prince Eugene, who had not yet paffed the Danube, ordered bridges of boats to be made with all diligence. Notwithstanding the skirmishes of the scouts of the Ottoman army, he paffed their river in fight of them in less than two days; after which his troops marched at their eafe to the camp that he had intended for them on this fide Peterwaradin, behind the old intrenchments, which had not been deftroyed fince the laft war. The Defeat of next day, prince Eugene, who had always chofen Peterwa radin. to give battle rather than to receive it, marched against the Turks, the more willingly, as, in the new ground which he was going to occupy, his left would be defended by deep moraffes, and his Heg.1128. right by inacceffible hills, and the distance be- J.C.1716. tween him and the enemy would be cut by gutters and trenches. Thefe battalions and fquadrons well closed, who kept up a continual fire with the muzzles of their pieces almost close to the Ottomans, foon made thefe numerous and wavering troops give way, who offered at firft only a crowd in diforder, by which means one-half of them were unable to make use of their arms, and who in a little time were difperfed, put to flight, and incapable of rallying, The Turkish foldiers, as the author of the life of prince Eugene juftly obferves, are terrible at the first onfet, by the opinion which they have of their fuperiority over all other people; but they are no fooner broken, than their profound ignorance of tactics prevents their returning to the charge: then their fuperiority of number, become ufelefs, only offers more victims to the vanquisher. The Turks, commanded by generals without experience, oppofed an inconfiderate valour to the fcience of prince Eugene and the German coolnefs. The grand vizier, and almost all the bashaws and agas who commanded under him, perished in this battle, and the troops abandoned the field when they no longer heard the voice of their commanders. The prince did not think fit to purfue this multitude in a country with which he was not fufficiently acquainted. The hiftorians vary on the number of the dead; thofe, who make the lofs most confiderable, fay that thirty thousand Turks were J.C. 1716. were killed on the field of battle; thofe, who Heg.1128. have made it leaft, fay only ten thoufand; but all agree that a prodigious quantity of bombs, bullets, grenades, a hundred and fifty pair of colours and standards, and a hundred and fixty-four pieces of cannon or mortars, fell into the hands of the vanquisher. The booty of the foldiers, which was immenfe, is not counted; the grand vizier's tent fell to prince Eugene; it was of a furprifing fize and magnificence. The prince entered it to offer up his prayer of thanks as foom as he was mafter of the field of battle. Difficulties command of the army. to Lari Amed. Meanwhile the Ottoman troops united again about the at Belgrade, all the different parties, being affembled, still formed an army fufficiently conIt is left fiderable for those who loved the glory of their nation to blush at fuch a general and precipitate flight. The remaining officers affembled to agree on a commander in chief. The ferafkier of Bofnia, called Lari Amed, was the only bashaw of three-tails who had escaped the fword of the Germans. They unanimously voted him commander; but this bafhaw, who had been accuftomed to ftoop, not only to the grand vizier, but even to his creatures, either through incapacity or meanness of fpirit, faid that he would obey the kiaia of the grand vizier, who had been intrufted with the fecrets of the late prime minifter and ought to know the intentions of the Porte. This kiaia was greatly feared: it was even fufpected that the grand feignior, out of respect to the Heg. 1128. the memory of Coumourgi, would give the feals J.C. 1716. to him. All the chiefs feemed disposed to follow the example of the feraskier of Bosnia; but the defterdar, bolder than the reft, exclaimed, that it was without example and contrary to order for a feraskier-vizier and feveral bashaws of two-tails to obey a kiaia, who was not even a fangiac or a bashaw of one-tail; that it was the most powerful emperor alone who could work miracles, after the example of the Divinity; that, if he were to appoint a private janiffary grand vizier, the whole empire would bow down to his work; but that the foldiers, by the fame reafon, had no right to destroy what the fovereign authority had made; that fince there was a bafhaw of threetails in the army, all thofe, who had 'till then been under him, ought to continue their obedience when the chief command devolved upon him. This obfervation was fo juft, that the kiaia himself declared he would obey Lari Amed. Prince Eu gene takes Whilst they were yet deliberating, a report fpread that the Imperialists were going to lay fiege to Temefwar. This town, which may be Temeswar. confidered as the key of upper Hungary, had a garrison of eighteen thousand men, and was defended by good intrenchments and strong ramparts. Prince Eugene had fent a confiderable detachment the day after the victory of Peterwaradin to invest Temefwar, which the ferafkier Lari Amed refolved to fuccour; and after having restored order to his army, he marched again |