PLACE OF THE SENTA BATTLE

At the end of the 17th century there was a weakening of the Turkish state. The Sultan wanted to regain the status of great power by attacking Vienna. Christian Europe could not allow the fall of the capital of the Habsburg Monarchy and the penetration of the Turks deep into the continent. To this end, the alliance of the Papal States, the Venetian Republic and the Vienna Palace, under the name of the Council of League, was made.
In 1697, Sultan Mustafa II planned a campaign against the Habsburg monarchy.
On the other hand, what turned out to be decisive at the end, Yevgeny Savoyski, the 34-year-old general, was born to the head of the Christian army. He arrived in July to the south of the battlefield and took over the command of an army of about 70,000 soldiers at Kolut, and then he headed for Kovin where he entered.
In the meantime, the Sultan moved to Pancevo on the other side of the Danube and climbed the river to the north. To this and Savoy, he set up a camp in Kovin and headed for Szeged to wait there for reinforcements from Erdely under the count of Rabutin and from the north, under the command of Prince Vodemont, who came to meet him. Fearing that the Turks did not attack the Petrovaradin fortress, Savoysky moved from Sent to the south to Chiker. Only Rabutin with 12 000 soldiers joined him. On 9 September, the Turkish army was already in the height of Becej, when Savoy learned about her movement. The Italian immediately left the positions around Petrovaradin and headed for Mustafa. On September 10, the Turks entered Senta at noon, and Savoy learned from Jovan Popovic Tekelija, a senanian captain.During the night, several Turkish scouts were caught, from whom he learned that the Sultan of Senta had erected a bridge and that he had already transferred heavy cannons and cavalry to the other side. The infantry remained without protection on the Bačvan side to provide a bridge with two semicircular truncheons. When Saints approached Senti, one of the shanks was already finished, while the other was open, just on the side where he overturned. In the inner shaft there were about 100 cannons, infantry and several horsemen.infantry and several horsemen.infantry and several horsemen.
The Savoy covered a chain from all sides. For the left-wing commander, Guido Staremberg was placed at the head of the center of Prince Charles Commission, while the right wing commanded by General Zigbert Haister.
The infantry and cavalry attack was concentrated on the unfinished part of the outer line. At the same time, the cannons continually beat the bridge. On both wings at five o’clock in the afternoon he ordered a general attack. The evening was already close, and Savoysky was afraid that the Turks, using the velvet of darkness, would get out of the hoop.
The Turks tried to break out of the ring with a counterattack on the left wing. Staremberg fired this attack, then penetrated deep behind the infantry, which caused a general panic. The Turkish army left the positions and tried to reach the bridge and thus save the deaths. However, the left wing occupied the bridge bridge and crossed the path to withdrawal. Turkey’s infantry had thus fallen into the trap. The soldiers of Savoy did not know about mercy, a general massacre began, and the gold coins of Turkish pasha and aga did not help, so the prisoners remained very few. Barely about 2000 Turks were saved by swimming on the other shore. On the other side of the Sultan, he saw the defeat of his army. After the battle, even during the night, he retreated to Timisoara, then returned through Istanbul to Istanbul.
On the third day after the battle, Savoy went out with the army, fearing the infection spreading unconscious corpses.
We know little about the participation of soldiers from Vojvodina. The sources mention the Jovan Tekelija, a commander of the sancanian army who was busy and burnt down before the Turks were fighting. The Serbian border barracks most likely joined the troops of Savoy and participated in the battle with imperial troops. After the battle, the officer mentor Milinović was mentioned, who received the rank of a lieutenant of the sancanian chancellor and who probably also participated in the battle; later he received a noble title.
The first monument of significance will be erected in 1895, during the visit of Austrian Emperor Franz Josip to military maneuvers in the Senta area. On one foot, about two meters high (the base of the plinth: 90 x 90 cm, the top: 70h70 cm) one metal armor, a helmet and two swords were placed, and a small cannon at the base. The floor itself is made of rustically processed artificial stone. On it there was a board with the inscription: Yevgeny Savoysky, the senanian winner. People’s Town of Senta (preserved at the Seneca Museum today).
Senegalese, dissatisfied with the hastily set monument, decided to order a monumental monument to Yevgeny Savoy on a horse from Budapest sculptor Joseph Rhone. The sculpture was made but the Saints never managed to collect enough money to pay off. In the end, the sculpture was bought by Francis Joseph and he donated to the city of Buda. Today decorates the Budim fortress.
The monument from Jevgeny’s Island is in fact only a postament because the armor, helmet, swords, and a small cannon were stolen in the beginning of the 20th century, and was moved towards the west, when building a sugar port. From here, in 1990, he moved to the coast of Tisa. On the 300th anniversary of the battle around the basement there is a memorial space in the shape of a fish. In one focus, a stone postament with a board from 1942, protected by a semicircle resembling a boat, 300 cm tall. In the second focus, a wooden belfry is 5500 cm tall, from oak from Slavonia. The bell is heavy 70 kg. It was made by the Kalmar workshop in Subotica. The postament and the bell connect the wooden path.
A small memorial church (630m²) is being built in memory of the battle at the Trg Slobode Square in Senta. The construction is still in progress, the designer is Vilmos Tot, an architect from Kanjiža.