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What happened to Joseph II during the Austrian campaign against the Ottoman Empire in 1788?
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Joseph II
Joseph II, Holy Roman emperor, detail of a painting by Pompeo Girolamo Batoni, 1769; in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
During the 1788 Austrian campaign against the Ottoman Empire, Joseph II faced significant military and personal setbacks. Following a failed expectation that Russian forces would take the offensive in Romanian lands, the Austrian army was attacked by the Turks and forced to retreat north from the Danube to reconsolidate their lines.1
Joseph II was personally present during this campaign, but he struggled to inspire his officers to adopt a more aggressive strategy. Furthermore, he became severely ill during the operation, which ultimately necessitated his return to Vienna in late 1788 to recover.1