In the first stage Polish troops under John III Sobieski were defeated by the Ottoman army under Kara Mehmed Pasha on October 7, 1683.

[1] On September 6 the Polish army under John III Sobieski arrived in Tulln and united with Imperial forces and additional troops from Saxony, Bavaria, Baden, Franconia and Swabia who had answered the call for a Holy League that was supported by Pope Innocent XI.

A part of the Ottoman army under Kara Mehmed Pasha encamped in Párkány, Hungary, where they were supported by Imre Thököly, a local ruler.

[4] The Polish army lost around 1,000 soldiers; only the intervention of the Imperial cavalry prevented the Ottoman troops from causing far heavier losses.

[5] On October 8, 1683, Imperial reinforcements totaling 16,700 troops under Charles V, Duke of Lorraine joined the Polish army.

Sobieski led the right wing and Stanisław Jan Jabłonowski the left [citation needed] On the right side of the lines 4,500 German cavalry under Ludwig Wilhelm, Margrave of Baden-Baden were positioned.

Kara Mustafa Pasha was executed by the sultan for failing to defend the Hungarian territories of the Ottoman Empire.