Janos Hunyadi against Murad II and Mehmed the Conqueror
Monument to Janos Hunyadi, Budapest
В previous article We talked about the defeat of the Crusader army by the Ottoman army and the death of the King of Poland and Hungary Vladislav III in the Battle of Varna in 1444. We also talked about the continuation of the struggle of Janos Hunyadi against the Turks, how he became the Prince of Transylvania and the Regent of Hungary. About his alliance with the ruler of Albania, George Kastrioti (Skanderbeg) and a new campaign against the Ottomans, in which the hero of the article failed to join forces with Skanderbeg. The forces of fate seemed to laugh at Janos Hunyadi. Four years ago, in the Battle of Varna, King Vladislav III had let him down with his recklessness. And now, in October 1448, his troops suddenly found themselves alone in front of a powerful Ottoman army.
The forces of the parties
The number of Turks is still being debated, the range of opinions is very large - from 50 thousand to 400 thousand warriors. There are also big problems with the assessment of the number of Hunyadi's army: different authors cite data from 24 thousand to 90 thousand people. One thing is clear: the numerical superiority (and quite significant) was on the side of the Turks. However, everyone also says that never before had Hunyadi managed to gather such a large and powerful army under his command. It included Hungarians, Poles, Transylvanians, Wallachians, as well as mercenary German and Czech riflemen from the "rubnitsa".
It should be noted that the first use of such handguns-tyufenki in the Turkish army by the Ottomans was recorded back in 1421. But firearms weapon and in 1448 it was “exotic” for the Ottomans; they relied more on bows and arrows, which they had long been familiar with.
We will also point out that at that time the Ottomans did not take mercenaries prisoner on principle, and therefore the "soldiers of fortune" were reluctant to hire themselves out to fight them. But those who for some reason decided to go to war with Turkey fought desperately and to the end.
Before the battle began, the commanders exchanged messages. Hunyadi addressed the Sultan:
I don't have as many warriors as you, there are fewer of them, but they are all good warriors, steadfast, faithful and courageous.
Janos Hunyadi on the Hungarian stamp
Murad II responded wittily:
I'd rather have a quiver full of regular arrows than six or seven gilded ones.
Portrait of Sultan Murad II
Murad II did not change tactics and lined up his troops in the same way as in the successful battle of Varna. He himself stood in the center – together with the Janissaries and artillery. The left flank, the striking force of which were the heavy cavalry units (sipahis), was nominally led by his 16-year-old son and heir Mehmed, but the real command was carried out by the beylerbey of Rumelia, Dayi Karaca Bey. The light cavalry of the Rumeli bey Turahan (akıncı) was also subordinate to him.
Ottoman akinci at the Battle of Mohacs (1526), Turkish miniature
The right flank and the Anatolian cavalry units (jebelu) were commanded by Beylerbey Ozguroglu Isa Bey.
Hunyadi placed the Germans and Czechs in the center in front of the wagenburg. The cavalry units were moved forward a little. Some claim that immediately before the battle Murad II offered Hunyadi peace, but the Christian commander was dissatisfied with the conditions offered to him. It can be assumed that, despite the numerical superiority of his army, the sultan was not confident of his victory. Hunyadi, however, apparently was quite optimistic.
Second battle on the Kosovo field
This battle lasted three days – from October 17 to 19, 1448. And both sides initially acted very cautiously, trying to provoke the enemy to attack their positions.
On October 17, the Ottoman and Christian troops simply fired at each other, hastily setting up positions. Only in the afternoon did Hunyadi decide to conduct reconnaissance in force, sending some of his cavalry to attack the Ottoman flanks. The Turks easily repelled this attack. In addition, a kind of "knightly duel" took place on this day. An unnamed Hungarian rode out in front of his troops, challenging any Ottoman warrior to a fight. A Turk named Elias rode out to meet him. He managed to knock the Hungarian off his horse, but the girth of his saddle broke, and he fell too. This ended the duel, and the opponents safely returned to their positions. The Ottomans considered their comrade the winner, and the Christian army decided that the duel ended in a draw.
Meanwhile, a deserter arrived from the Turkish camp, and on his advice, on the night of October 18, Hunyadi ordered an attack on the Janissary positions. They were indeed taken by surprise, but they were still real Janissaries - fanatically minded and well trained: they quickly came to their senses and repelled the attack.
The main events took place on the second day – October 18. After several attacks, the Ottoman cavalry was still able to push back the right flank of Hunyadi’s army, and Turahan’s horsemen even went around it. But the Christians were still holding out, and it seemed they had a chance to hold out. However, Hunyadi was betrayed by the Wallachian ruler Vladislav II Danesti, who negotiated a switch to the enemy’s side. The Wallachians retreated, but Hunyadi really did have a good army: the remaining units did not leave their positions and fought until the evening. However, now Hunyadi realized that he would no longer be able to win. He began to prepare his troops for an organized retreat, which began on the morning of October 19. The Germans and Czechs who had taken refuge in the wagenburg were entrusted with covering the retreat of the main forces. Armed with handguns, they acted so effectively and inflicted such losses on the Turks that it was after this battle that Murad II gave the order to rearm the Janissary corps. And just 5 years later, in 1453, the Janissaries came to the walls of Constantinople with firearms.
Patrol Janissary
All the Czech and German riflemen died in the battle, and after capturing the wagenburg, the Turks began pursuing the main Christian army. Retreating always suffers great losses, and Antonio Bonfini claimed that there were more corpses than fish in the Sitnica River. And here is the testimony of Mehmed Nesri:
Mountains and rocks, fields and desert – everything was filled with the dead.
Modern authors estimate the Christian losses at 17 people, with many commanders killed, and Hungary lost most of the country's high nobility. After two major defeats in a row (at Varna and on Kosovo Field), the country was practically bled dry. However, the Turkish losses were also extremely high and, according to some sources, reached 30-35 thousand people.
During his retreat, Janos Hunyadi fell into the hands of the Serbian ruler George Brankovic, who later received a ransom of 100 ducats for him. However, Serbian historians insist that this was payment for the damage inflicted on their country by Hunyadi's army, as well as his ally Skanderbeg.
The Wallachians soon regretted their betrayal: on the orders of Murad II, who did not trust them, many were killed, and the survivors were released only after their ruler Vladislav II Daneshti agreed to pay tribute and send soldiers to fight for us at the first demand of the Sultan.
Victory at Belgrade
In 1452, in connection with King Lajos I reaching the age of majority, the hero of the article resigned from his duties as regent, receiving in return the title of captain general and the title of Count of Bistritzky. He did not stop fighting the Turks and in 1454 he pushed back the troops of Mehmed II, who became sultan for the second time after the death of his father in 1451, from the Danube fortress of Smederevo.
In 1456, Hunyadi achieved one of his major victories, defeating the army of Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror, who had already captured Constantinople, near Belgrade.
The siege of Belgrade in a Turkish miniature from 1584.
His ally was the Franciscan monk and fiery preacher John of Capistrano, who brought an entire army of peasant militia to Belgrade.
Johannes Capistranus, depicted 1470-1480.
John of Capistrano in a 19th century Hungarian painting
The Ottoman rowing squadron blocked the Danube, but Hunyadi's troops and the Belgrade garrison destroyed the Turkish ships with an attack from two sides - and the hero of the article entered the city. The siege continued and during the decisive assault, Hunyadi ordered the ditch to be filled with burning trees: a large detachment of janissaries that had already entered the city found itself in a trap and was completely destroyed. Finally, on July 22, Mehmed II tried to lure the city's defenders by simulating a false retreat. However, the Serbs and Hunyadi's warriors attacked the Ottomans with such fury that they captured the Turkish siege weapons: some were taken into the city, others were disabled. Sultan Mehmed II was forced to personally fight in his camp that day and even killed one of the knights, but was wounded in the leg by an arrow and saved by the janissaries who arrived in time. Having lost hope of taking the city, the recent conqueror of Constantinople left Belgrade. Pope Pius II awarded the hero of the article the title "Defender of Christ".
The Death of Janos Hunyadi
It is difficult to say how further events would have developed if Janos Hunyadi had not died soon after of the plague (August 11, 1456). He was buried in the Cathedral of St. Michael in the city of Alba Iulia, next to his elder brother, who died in 1440.
By the way, it was in honor of the death of Janos Hunyadi that the ruler of Wallachia (and future “vampire”) Vlad III Tepes gave a famous feast for bishops and boyars, at the end of which all the guests were impaled on stakes.
And the glory of Janos Hunyadi was already so great that in 1458 his son Matthias Hunyadi, nicknamed Corvinus (“Raven” – after the bird on his coat of arms) was elected King of Hungary and ruled this country until his death in 1490.
Coat of Arms of Matthias I
He also became King of Bohemia and Duke of Austria (he even moved his residence to Vienna, which he captured in 1475). Today this king is called "the first Renaissance monarch of Eastern Europe", in Hungary they used to say:
There are three pearls in Europe: Venice on the water, Florence on the plain and Buda on the hills.
And after his death a saying appeared:
Truth died with King Matthias.
Andrea Mantegna. King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary
After the death of Janos Hunyadi, the ruler of Albania, George Kastrioti (Skanderbeg), continued to fight alone and, to everyone's surprise, defeated one after another the Ottoman armies sent against him.
Monument to Skanderbeg, Tirana
But his strength was only enough to defend Albania.
And in the Ottoman Empire, the star of a new great sultan, Mehmed II Fatih (the Conqueror), was already rising. His capture of Constantinople in 1453 is considered by modern historians to be the beginning of the "Golden Age" of the Ottoman Empire, which received the right to be called an empire under this sultan.
Devrim Evin as Mehmed II in "Conquest 1453"
For many decades, Turkish fleet dominated the Mediterranean. The Ottoman land forces reached Vienna. And the Balkans saw the emergence of peoples who professed Islam: Albanians, Bosniaks, Pomaks, Gorani, Torbeshi, Sredchane.
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