Don Juan and the Holy League go to Constantinople after Lepanto

The Spanish commander Don Juan who led the Holy League to victory against the Ottomans had a plan afterwards to proceed to Constantinople and presumably retake the city.

Unfortunately this plan never came to fruition.

What if the League had held together and taken advantage of the disarray the Ottomans were in?
 
They might have sacked it but in my opinion not hold it. as far as I know their navy was in shambles, not their army. But I am by no means an expert.
 
The Spanish commander Don Juan who led the Holy League to victory against the Ottomans had a plan afterwards to proceed to Constantinople and presumably retake the city.

Unfortunately this plan never came to fruition.

What if the League had held together and taken advantage of the disarray the Ottomans were in?

Could they restore the Latim empire under such circunstances?
 
Everyone is forgetting that the Ottoman Empire in this era was beginning to reach the apex of it's power, do you really think that even if Don Juan of Austria managed to lead the Holy League Navy to Istanbul and take it that they'll be able to hold it? If they do pull it off they won't be holding it for long. Selim II (or some ambitious Turkish General if Selim is captured and/or killed) will have no choice but to gather up a new army and fight to get it back.

Anything else is weakness, and the Ottomans are surrounded by enemies that will be eager to pounce at the first sign of weakness, a big example is Safavid Persia.
 
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ATP45

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Everyone is forgetting that the Ottoman Empire in this era was beginning to reach the apex of it's power, do you really think that even if Don Juan of Austria managed to lead the Holy League Navy to Istanbul and take it that they'll be able to hold it? If they do pull it off they won't be holding it for long. Selim II (or some ambitious Turkish General if Selim is captured and/or killed) will have no choice but to gather up a new army and fight to get it back.

Anything else is weakness, and the Ottomans are surrounded by enemies that will be eager to pounce at the first sign of weakness, a big example is Safavid Persia.
You are right.one reason more to take Constantinopole ,Turks must take it - leave garrison,supply them regulary and Turks could not take anything in other places.
 
Everyone is forgetting that the Ottoman Empire in this era was beginning to reach the apex of it's power, do you really think that even if Don Juan of Austria managed to lead the Holy League Navy to Istanbul and take it that they'll be able to hold it? If they do pull it off they won't be holding it for long.

Istanbul? ISTANBUL?!? ISTANBUL!!???!!!

Just kidding. I don't think they would either, to be honest. Cheers to them for their effort, though.
 
The Spanish commander Don Juan who led the Holy League to victory against the Ottomans had a plan afterwards to proceed to Constantinople and presumably retake the city.

Unfortunately this plan never came to fruition.

What if the League had held together and taken advantage of the disarray the Ottomans were in?
It was not a plan, it was the personal dream of Don Juan and no one else shared it. The plan was to sail for Cyprus.

However the Spanish contingent was late as usual in reaching Corfu, the warring season in the Mediterranean was already over (Lepanto was fought on 7 October: if Sufi Ali Pasha had kept the Ottoman fleet in the bay refusing to engage, the Christian fleets could not stay more than another week or so) and anyway Famagusta had fallen in August.

When the next spring came, the Spaniards refused to commit another fleet to the eastern Mediterranean.
 
The Spanish commander Don Juan who led the Holy League to victory against the Ottomans had a plan afterwards to proceed to Constantinople and presumably retake the city.

Unfortunately this plan never came to fruition.

What if the League had held together and taken advantage of the disarray the Ottomans were in?

No, that ain't gonna happen. Why? The Ottoman Military is at its height. The fleet isn't strong enough to take the capital of the, at its time, the mightiest state in Europe. For one, the defence of the city was too strong to attack with only a navy. With the forts along the Turkish Straits and Constantinople the fleet will be damaged even more if not completly being cut off from save harbour in Christian land (Remember, the Ottomans rebuild their navy as soon as possible).

Best they can do, at the time, is disrupt the conquest of Cyprus by preventing supplies to the island. Moving to Constantinople is a suicide mission.
 
They might have sacked it but in my opinion not hold it. as far as I know their navy was in shambles, not their army. But I am by no means an expert.

Not an option either. The defeat did not affect the army, so not sure why sacking is even an option. There is a strong military presence Near the capital at all time. The Habsburg Field army at the time had trouble with the Janissary corps, the men on the fleet aren't going to succeed in sacking the city.
 
It was not a plan, it was the personal dream of Don Juan and no one else shared it. The plan was to sail for Cyprus.

However the Spanish contingent was late as usual in reaching Corfu, the warring season in the Mediterranean was already over (Lepanto was fought on 7 October: if Sufi Ali Pasha had kept the Ottoman fleet in the bay refusing to engage, the Christian fleets could not stay more than another week or so) and anyway Famagusta had fallen in August.

When the next spring came, the Spaniards refused to commit another fleet to the eastern Mediterranean.

One of the million dreams at the time.
 
Wasn't the Holy League absolutely plagued with internal divisions? It would take something extraordinary to get them to go gallivanting off to Constantinople with little chance of success.

Philip II might also be displeased that his half-brother has taken the fleet off to Constantinople without his permission. Weren't the Spanish mainly focused on the Western Med?
 
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