No More Time to Lose

No More Time to Lose is a detailed account of the historic relief of Vienna from the Ottoman siege in 1683 by an allied army led by John Sobieski, King of Poland, and Charles V, Duke of Lorraine.

The Ottoman army advanced from its bases in occupied Hungary and besieged Vienna. The imperial government called upon its allies to assist in relieving the city, and many answered, particularly the Poles but also Bavarians, Saxons, and contingents from various parts of the Empire. Overcoming command rivalries, a joint army crossed the difficult wooded hills around Vienna and, with all elements playing vital roles in the action, defeated the Ottoman army and drove it back to Hungary.

No More Time to Lose begins with a summary of the operations outside Vienna as the relief army assembled, with details of all units, followed by a detailed account of the arduous trek through the woods and the battle of 12 September. It features comprehensive orders of battle for both sides (such information regarding the Ottomans is exceedingly rare). It concludes with a summary of the subsequent campaign in Hungary, marking the start of a successful Christian counter-offensive against the Ottomans, along with a discussion on why the saving of Vienna was a pivotal event in history.

No More Time to Lose is primarily based on a careful re-examination of published sources in French and German, earlier archive-based studies mainly in German, and the work of Polish historians, particularly Jan Wimmer’s renowned study, as well as the recent book by Michał Paradowski.

"...Exelby’s writing has that rare gift of sounding like he is chatting to you across the table rather than delivering ‘a serious historical work’, and the result is an incredibly easy book to sink into...The production is tidy and unpretentious, and at just over 400 pages is a big book. It is well laid out, and contains a large number of mostly contemporary black and white images, orders of battle, numerous tables and well-drawn maps. The stars of the book are eight pages of gorgeous colour uniform plates by the talented Sergey Shamenkov, each supported by a useful commentary....No More Time to Lose is an excellent read and surprisingly gripping. It should be of great interest to anyone wishing to learn more about this key point in European history." Carryingsonupthedale.com Blog