By conquering Belgrade, Habsburg forces gained an important strategic outpost, as the city had been the Ottoman's chief fortress in Europe for more than a century and a half.

One of the main goals was the capture of Belgrade, one of the strongest Ottoman strongholds in Europe at that time, and also an important administrative, economic and cultural center.

According to the initial Ottoman plan, Yeğen Osman's forces moved from Belgrade to Šabac and further to Gradiška with the task not to allow the Leopold's army to cross to the right bank of Sava,[3][4] while Hasan Pasha, Ottoman serasker of Hungary, stayed in Belgrade waiting for money and military reinforcements from Asia before advancing toward the enemy.

After receiving the news that Leopold's army had already crossed Sava and captured Kostajnica, Gradiška and the region around the river Una, Yeğen Osman returned to Belgrade.

[12] Supported by the Christian population of Ottoman Serbia, his forces landed on Ada Ciganlija, a river island near Belgrade's suburb Ostružnica.

A day after the army of the Holy Roman Empire crossed the Sava, a letter written by the emperor Leopold I was brought to Yeğen Osman offering him Wallachia to desert the Ottomans and switch to their side.

[14] When Yeğen Osman realized that his forces were outnumbered, he burned his camp and both of the Serb populated Belgrade suburbs on the Sava and Danube.

[15] From Niš, he wrote reports about the siege to the Ottoman government requesting urgent military and financial support needed to defend Belgrade.