Paul began his military career as early as 1663, and opposed the Turks in the battles of Austro-Turkish War (1663–1664) (e.g. siege of Novi Zrin in June 1664 and Battle of Saint Gotthard on 1 August 1664) under the leadership of Raimondo Montecuccoli. Paul served with distinction under Montecuccoli alongside Miklós Zrínyi. Paul served in the army with such distinction that he was appointed to the position of Field Marshal and Commander-in-chief of the Military Frontier of southern Kingdom of Hungary beginning in 1667 at the age of 30. While serving as a commander-in-chief, Paul defeated malcontents at Leutschau and Győr. Paul's troops were among the coalition that was raised for the Battle of Vienna in 1683. After the deliverance of Vienna from the Turks, Paul entered Buda in 1686 at the head of 20,000 men. Throughout his military career, Paul led the Hungarian side of the Habsburg army into battle against the Ottoman Turks a total of 16 times.