The Ottomans are crossing the Danube toward Karlowitz but are trapped against the anvil of the fortress by the Habsburg army, which destroys them with cavalry charges and artillery fire. Grand Vizier Silahdar Ali is found murdered under a mountain of slain Ottoman bodies. A sudden and unusual (in August!) summer snowstorm blankets the battlefield in white. Among the Austrian ranks, it is whispered that the Virgin Mary herself has spread a protective mantle over them. A shrine to Our Lady of the Snows is built in Tekije, where the victory is still celebrated today, on August 5th.
