The Vienna campaign of John III Sobieski is one of the most famous military operations in Polish history. Following the victory – one of the last in the independent Commonwealth – a white legend of those events developed. Historiography has covered the campaign many times, and has always approached it as a great achievement, which involved a positive message both about the leader, John III Sobieski, and the Polish army. This means that certain aspects were approached with great caution. The present article looks at how the discipline of Polish troops and the lack of discipline in the Lithuanian army served the political goals of the commanders of the Polish‑Lithuanian forces during the Vienna and Hungarian campaigns of 1683: King John III and the Grand Hetman of Lithuania, Kazimierz Sapieha. The study also attempts to show how the behaviour of troops on the way through Silesia, near Vienna and then in Hungary was presented in sources and literature, the message of which varied depending on the time when they were created and the goals set by the authors of the texts.