Battle of Ujebardha
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
| Battle of Ujebardha | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Ottoman wars in Europe | |||||||
|
|||||||
| Combatants | |||||||
| Ottoman Empire | Albanians | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Isak Bey Evrenoz
Hamza Kastrioti |
Scanderbeg | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| About 30,000 [citation needed] |
About 20,000 [citation needed] |
||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| About 10,000 [citation needed] |
|||||||
| Ottoman-Hungarian Wars |
|---|
| Nicopolis – Varna – Kosovo – Belgrade – Mohács |
The Battle of Ujebardha (also Albulena) was fought on September 2, 1457 between Albanian forces led by Skanderbeg and an expeditionary force of the Ottoman Empire. It was one of Skanderbeg's most important victories against an Ottoman army in the open field.
The Ottoman expeditionary force was approximately as high as 70,000[citation needed] men, although it is doubtful they numbered more than 30,000[citation needed] in the actual battle, as several thousand were deployed in several different regions of the countryside. The Albanian forces, numbering around 20,000[citation needed], confronted the Ottoman army on the field of Ujebardha located halfway between Lezhë and Krujë.
[edit] Background
The Second Battle of Kosovo had caused a defeat of John Hunyadi. Skanderbeg and his forces had allegedly been hindered in his planned assistance of the Hungarian army, and never arrived at the battle, but it is doubtful it would have made much difference due to the size of the Ottoman force[original research?]. Following that victory, the Ottomans were free from Hungarian pressure in that part of the Balkans, and Mehmed II turned his attention to the conquest of Belgrade.
In 1456 Sultan Mehmed II marched a force of more than 150,000[citation needed] soldiers against Belgrade in Serbia. The citadel of Nándorfehérvár, as it was then called, other than being a Christian stronghold, was also of a great strategic importance since it guarded the backdoor to the Kingdom of Hungary. The Siege of Belgrade lasted several weeks, but the intervention of John Hunyadi, the voivode of Transylvania, saved the city and caused the sultan's defeat, and withdrawal. Three weeks after this victory had been achieved, however, Hunyadi died of plague on August 11, 1456, which meant for Skanderbeg that Albania would likely face the Ottoman army alone. Prior to this, most major battles against the Ottoman invasion were fought by other eastern European resistance forces, and Skanderbeg had been quite successful in mostly guerilla warfare. In pitched battle, however, his forces could not withstand due to sheer numbers. His only advantage would be surprise.
[edit] The commanders
In spring 1457, Mehmed II dispatched a force of between 50,000 and 70,000 soldiers[citation needed], led by Isa Beg Evrenoz and Hamza Kastrioti, Skanderbeg's nephew. Evrenoz had achieved victory over Skanderbeg previously, having defeated him in the Siege of Berat. Hamza had proven himself over the years, but he nurtured hopes to one day inherit the principality of Albania after Skanderbeg. His ambition proved too much for him, for when Skanderbeg fathered a child with Andronika Kastrioti, Hamza felt cheated by fate and, overcome with jealousy, he betrayed Albania by joining the Ottomans.
Both of the Ottoman leaders were competent commanders. An added asset for Hamza was that he had spent 14 years by the side of Skanderbeg and knew every military tactic his uncle had employed against the Ottomans. By vanquishing Albania, the Sultan could resume his two-pronged attack on Europe by reaching Rome and Vienna, his proclaimed ambitions.
Skanderbeg, leading the Albanian forces, had served several years in the Ottoman army, as both soldier and commander, before escaping to his homeland. He had also achieved some success previously against the Ottoman invasions of Albania, and had successfully defended his castle against prior Ottoman siege attempts.
[edit] The battle
The plan was to engage Skanderbeg and defeat him, realizing that without Skanderbeg Albanian resistance would break quickly. Evrenoz entered the valley of the Mat River and proceeded slowly westwards toward Krujë. A few minor clashes ensued, after which Skanderbeg withdrew his forces. Unhindered, the Ottomans carried on, plundering the small settlements and harassing the population for information. After several weeks and no sign of Skanderbeg, Evrenoz and Hamza were induced into believing that Skanderbeg had fled. Sketchy reports were coming in that he had lost the loyalty of the army, who had deserted him, and he was attempting to cross the border over to the domains of Venice. In fact, on July 21, Marco Diedo, the Venetian governor of Durrës had written to the republic’s senate that: “The Magnificent Skanderbeg, deserted by all was trying to find refuge high in the mountains, while the Turk ruled supreme in Albania."
In August the position of the Ottomans in Albania seemed solidified. 20,000 soldiers[citation needed] protected the supply routes, while keeping under siege the forts in Cidhna, Dibra, Guri i Bardhe (White Stone). Another 15,000 or more[citation needed] put to siege the fortresses of Mat, Rodon, and Petrela. The rest of the army, some 30,000 or so by some estimates[citation needed], moved from the gully of Mat to Ujebardha, northwest of Krujë and south of Lezhë so that both cities could be kept under watch, as well as giving the army something to do to keep morale in place. By the end of August, three months after they crossed the border, the Ottoman army seemed to have reached a level of complacency, and its vigilance had lowered significantly.
On September 2 Skanderbeg went on the offensive. He had to deliver a strong and surprising thrust to the main Ottoman army and destroy it before any of the additional forces that were roaming the country free could come to its relief. If the battle lasted too long, and his forces were forced to fight head to head with a sizable Ottoman force, the odds would be in favor of the Ottomans. Small Albanian detachments harassed the outer Ottoman patrols, while the main body of the Albanian army approached the northern side of the camp. At noon, the Ottomans were awakened from their midday sleep to find their enemy already within their camp. An infernal noise, produced by thousands of metal-clapping devices, gave the impression that they were facing a large force. Confusion settled in as the Albanian cavalry charged on from the west, while the infantry punched its way through to the center of the camp.
Soon confusion turned to panic as Ottoman unit commanders failed to address the situation properly. An attempt at a defense was mounted by Hamza, but Skanderbeg had placed considerable care in defeating Hamza and his sipahis first, by sending his personal guard of 2,000 cavalry. Hamza was pushed back in panic and the thrust had achieved complete surprise. Within two hours the Ottoman camp was entirely in Albanian hands, while the remnants of the defeated army made their way through the valley of Tirana and on to Elbasan. The Ottoman casualties were believed to be as high as 10,000[citation needed], whereas the Albanians lost less than 3,000[citation needed].
Hamza Kastrioti was captured alive and sent to detention in Naples on charges of treason. He was freed later and went with his wife and children in the Ottoman Empire, where he died as a beggar in the early 1460s.
[edit] Significance
The Battle of Ujebardha was significant for the southern resistance against the Ottoman Empire. If Albania had fallen in 1457, the invasion of Italy would have started thirteen years before it actually did, and fourteen years before the death of Mehmed II. As it was, Ujebardha bought Skanderbeg and Italy some time, which was to materialize in a three year armistice between Mehmed II and Skanderbeg in 1460. It also diverted Ottoman forces away from their ultimate goal, Vienna.
In 1461 Skanderbeg started his campaign in Italy to protect his ally, King Ferdinand I of Naples, in his struggle to retain his throne from the contender house of Anjou. Ferdinand, as was his father King Alfonso V of Aragon, was Skanderbeg’s most important ally supplying him with money, supplies and modern weapons. The constant struggle in Albania had caused the virtual collapse of its economy, and the continuation of a close Albanian-Neapolitan cooperation was vital in the struggle against the Ottomans.
