A huge Turkish army, under the command of Suleiman the Splendid, threatened Vienna, the "golden apple" of Christianity. Left on its own, Vienna only barely held out the siege.

Not much remained of the city after the imperial-Catholic soldiers had finished with her. This event burned itself into the memory of Europe as a symbol of the terror of war.

The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine. The battle involved over 600,000 soldiers, making it the largest battle in Europe prior to World War I.

German troops crossed the River Meuse in an attempt to surprise Napoleon III. But even though they were warned, the French troops could not save Bazeilles from a massacre, nor Sedan from being ruined.