Strategy & Tactics # 344 - The Great Turkish War: 1683–1699

From Decision Games:

The Magazine:

The Great Turkish War: 1683–1699. During the second half of the 17th century, the Ottoman Empire was invigorated by the leadership of the Koprulu family. The third in that line, Kara Mustapha, set the most ambitious objective of all: to impose Turkish dominance over Central Europe. He planned to begin by taking Vienna, the city the Turks called the “golden apple.” Here is our analysis of his failure.

Articles:

• Joan of Arc’s Loire Campaign The arrow storm loosed by the English longbowmen again and again took a bloody toll of the chivalry of France in the 100 Years War. At three great battles, the longbow was the decisive weapon. Termed the medieval equivalent of the machinegun by some modern writers, the French finally figured out how to defeat it at Patay in 1429.
• The War in Nagorno-Karabakh Late 2020 saw a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. It is inhabited by Armenians, but it lies inside Azerbaijan as a result of decisions made in the 19th century. The Armenians declared their independence after the collapse of the USSR. The Azeri are loath to let territory slip from their grasp regardless of the ethnicity of those living there.
• Command of the Seas: US Entry into World War I A central concept of international maritime trade is “freedom of the sea.” It has been the fundamental doctrine underwriting the free flow of goods across the world’s ocean since the dawn of the European age of exploration. However, it has come into dispute when warring nations use naval blockade to hamper their enemy’s ability to make war. In turn, the ability to dominate the maritime communications of an enemy is called “command of the seas.”

The Game:

The Great Turkish War is a low- to intermediate-complexity, two-player, strategic-level wargame simulating the fight for the Balkans and the Eastern reaches of the Holy Roman Empire in the late 17th century. In 1683, the Ottomans launched their last major offensive on Vienna. The siege failed thanks to the timely arrival of reinforcements from Poland and the Empire. During the next decades the Holy Roman Empire, Russia, Poland, and Venice engaged the still-powerful Ottomans in the Balkans and in the Aegean. Better leadership and military advances allowed the Austrians to inflict several decisive defeats on the Ottomans and conquer most of Ottoman Hungary. For the first time in centuries, the Turks were in strategic retreat in Europe.

Each game turn represents 1 year. Each hex on the map is approximately 60 km (36 miles) from side to side. Each combat unit represents 3,000 to 6,000 combatants depending on unit type.

Components: 22 x 34-inch game map, 176 5/8-inch counters.