The air - filled with smoke. The thunder of cannons - unbearable. The wall - breached. The end is near. The time has come. Nikola Šubić Zrinski mounted his horse. His men gathered around him. The few. The last. Exhausted and worn out after a month-long siege. But not scared. Never scared. Zrinski raised his saber. As the gate was opened Zrinski led his men into the final attack. Guns blazing, swords slashing, they forced their way out of the fortress and into the huge Turkish army. It took two bullets to the chest for Zrinski to fall off his horse. Minutes later it was all over. The defender's heroic last charge ended in a bloodshed. The Turks have taken the fortress.
The event depicted happened in 1566 during the siege of Szigetvar in Hungary. The vast Ottoman army of over 100 000 men, led by sultan Suleiman The Magnificent was on their conquest of Vienna. On their way lay the fortress of Szigetvar with merely 3000 men and their commander, Croatian general Nikola Šubić Zrinski. The siege lasted for a month, and Turks suffered heavy losses. The sultan himself died, but the fact was kept secret so as not to shatter the troop’s morale. On the day of the final battle, it was obvious that the walls wouldn't hold any longer, so the defenders, led by Zrinski himself, decided to go for a heroic last attack. The fortress was lost but, due to heavy casualties, the Ottoman advance was stopped and Vienna and the Austrian Monarchy were saved.
