Battle of Kosovo (1448)
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- For the other Battles of Kosovo, see Battle of Kosovo (disambiguation)
| Second Battle of Kosovo | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Ottoman wars in Europe | |||||||
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| Combatants | |||||||
| Ottoman Empire | Hungaria Walachia |
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| Commanders | |||||||
| Murad II | John Hunyadi | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| ~ 60,000 [1] | 24,000 [1][2] | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| ~ 5,000[citation needed] | ~ 15,000[citation needed] | ||||||
| Ottoman-Hungarian Wars |
|---|
| Nicopolis – Varna – Kosovo – Belgrade – Mohács |
The Second Battle of Kosovo (Hungarian: második rigómezei csata) (October 17–October 20, 1448) was fought at Kosovo Polje between a Hungarian-led Catholic coalition under John Hunyadi against an Ottoman-led coalition under Sultan Murad II.
Contents |
[edit] Preparations
At 1448, John Hunyadi saw the right moment to lead a campaign against the Ottoman Empire. After the Defeat of Varna (1444), he raised another army to attack Ottomans. His strategy based on possible revolt of Balkan people and the surprise attack, also the assumption to destroy the main force of the Ottomans in a single battle. Hunyadi was totally immodest and led his forces without leaving any escort behind.
The Albanian leader Skanderbeg and his troops moved to join the Hungarian coalition, but they were attacked by the Ottoman vassal Đurađ Branković of Serbia and delayed from reaching the battlefield.
[edit] The battle
When John Hunyadi arrived to the field of Rigómező (Kosovo Polje), he realized that the sultan's army was right behind his army. And they were to occupy the hills.
So, after a heavy fight some noble knights has taken the hills and they built some defences using war wagons there.The next day the battle began. Hunyadi attacked first with mixed cavalry (light and heavy) on the wings and they fought off the enemy corps from (Rumelian and Anatolian), however Turkish light cavalry closed in on the Hungarian wings and crushed them. The survivors ran back to the war wedges. When Hunyadi saw the defeat of his wings, he attacked with the main force, composed of knights and light infantry. The janissary corps were not successful and the cavalry made progress through the Turkish center, but were stopped at the Turkish camp. When the main attack was stopped, the Turkish infantry revived and began to attack the horses of Hungarian knights to finish them. Also they fought the light cavalry, who remained without knights support. Hungarian forces retreated to the war wedges. After that, the janissaries has killed most of the Hungarian nobles and Hunyadi fled. However, Serbs later captured him. During the night, Turkish infantry fired missiles to the Hungarians who replied with cannons. Next day, A final assault totally annihilated the remaining Hungarian army.
[edit] Aftermath
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| Ancient Kosovo | |||
| Dardania | |||
| Medieval Kosovo | |||
| First Battle of Kosovo | |||
| Second Battle of Kosovo | |||
| Ottoman Kosovo | |||
| Vilayet of Kosovo | |||
| League of Prizren | |||
| Modern Kosovo | |||
| Kosovo War | |||
| Kosovo | |||
The two-day battle in Kosovo saw both sides taking heavy casualties and left the Ottoman force in command of the field at the end of second day. The Hungarians were supposed to be 24,000 [1][2] and the Turkish about 60,000.[1] The casualties probably were around 5,000 Ottoman soldiers and 15,000 Hungarians[citation needed].
This battle demonstrated that the Hungarian army with a big heavy cavalry attack was not able to defeat a regular Turkish army, repeated also in the battle of Mohacs.
The Christian Balkan states were unable to resist the Ottomans after this defeat, eventually falling under control of the Ottoman Empire. Hunyadi successfully defended the Kingdom of Hungary against the Ottoman campaigns. Skanderbeg also successfully continued his resistance in Albania until his death in 1468, after which the country fell to Ottoman control.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Sedlar, Jean W., East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000-1500, University of Washington Press, p 248. "...Hunyadi,who was now the richest landowner in Hungary, had raised an army of 24,000 men from his private resources, including German and Bohemian infantrymen armed with handguns to supplement his Hungarian cavalry. [...]This time the sultan brought on to the field a force of at least 60,000 men including Janissaries with muskets and a contingent of artillery..."
- ^ a b Turnbull, S.R., The Ottoman Empire 1326-1699, Osprey Publishing, p 36. "...Hunyadi led an army of 24,000 men, including 8,000 Wallachians, but suffered another military defeat without even seeing his Albanian allies..."
