• The Battle of Vienna, the Gates of Vienna, Blog # 4: Why Leopold Slept

Louis XIV, king of France, had long sought dominance over the Holy Roman Empire and the extermination of the Habsburg dynasty. He encouraged the Turks to take advantage of a Hungarian rebellion against Habsburg authority, led by Imre Thokoly, and use the opportunity to invade Habsburg lands. Louis even sent money and men to assist Thokoly's rebellion.
Louis succeeded in wooing several of the German states into an alliance and made aggressive moves against the empire's border right up until the last minute in order to distract Leopold from the Muslim threat. Because France had Europe's largest Christian army and seemed the most aggressive, Leopold was more concerned with stopping Louis than preparing for war with the Ottomans who had remained at peace with him for nearly twenty years. It led to near disaster for Vienna.
                                 "The most Christian King", Louis XIV of France.

C. Wayne Dawson: Author, Historian, Professor