How impressive is Ottoman military history?

[Joe McCarthy]

Why not blame Western europeans for not supporting them properly?

Whatever side one may take in Western-Byzantine squabbles (and I take the Western side) it's hard to blame either side for the Turks. The Ottomans just developed from the Seljuks, and if anything Crusader efforts kept the Seljuks sufficiently preoccupied to relieve Byzantium.

[poiuytrewq0987]

The Byzantine Empire was already dead by 1350, it was just a matter of time before it got conquered by Turks or absorbed by other Balkan powers.



Europe, and especially, the Balkans were far too fragmented to lend any real resistance against the Turks. The Turks were also fragmented by way of collapse of the Seljuks. The only reason why they didn't conquer the Balkans earlier.

This fragmentation of Turks, however, didn't last long since Osman I came along and unified the Turks and finally gave the Balkans a good beating and conquered much of it.




Only Constantinople and small strips of Western Balkans managed to remain unconquered until Mehmet became Sultan and finished the job 50 years later.



The Ottoman wars with Hungary eventually weakened Hungary by so much it gave rise to the Habsburgs to come in and take over... essentially made the rise of the Habsburgs and the KuK Empire inevitable. It was there that the first world war was only a matter of time.



Ottoman's conquests invariably triggered the rise of the Habsburgs and the inevitable World War 1. The World War, which ironically, was what destroyed the Ottoman Empire.

[пустиняк]

All Balkan Monarchs used Turkish mercs.

Byzantines brought Turks here to use against us mostly. I thought you know that.
When our Tzars used Turks ?
We were vasals of them but never really participated in their campaigns. That's the reason for attacking of Tarnovo Kingdom

[The Journeyman]

It was fear of Serbian expansion that led to Byzantium's alliance with the Ottomans against Serbia, which was by then the fastest growing power in Balkans. Big mistake! This was how the Ottomans established their foothold in Europe.

[Böri]

They had a big army for the time.
Especially in the years 1402 to 1670.Really big for the time.

Not in early expanding times. Seljuks and firstly Ottomans defeated adversaries despite being outnumbered most of the time. It became a true big imperium army after 1550s

Manzikert 1071



Maritsa 1371



Varna 1444



Krbava 1493

Like all Asian invaders before them, Turks had advantage in first century of their European adventure, because of their exotic oriental military tactics against which heavy armored and immobile European armies were inefficient.

Turkish misfortune was their late arrival to European continent. They were dangerous Middle ages invaders but in Modern Europe Ottoman army was no match for other European armies. Not to mention their backward feudal system.

Correct, yes this is mostly medieval story. After the discovery of America etc the progress ends.