Battle of Kruševac

The Battle of Kruševac was fought on October 2, 1454 between the forces of the Serbian Despotate, allied with the Kingdom of Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire.[3]

Battle of Kruševac
Part of the Ottoman wars in Europe
Ruins of Kruševac
Date October 2, 1454 Location Kruševac Result Decisive Serbo-Hungarian victory
Belligerents
Serbian Despotate Kingdom of Hungary	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Đurađ Branković John Hunyadi	Feriz Bey (POW)[1]
Strength
35,000	32,000[2]
Casualties and losses
relatively low	heavy

In 1454 the Ottomans launched a major invasion against Serbia, at the helm of which was the Sultan himself, Mehmed the Conqueror. Initially, Serbs led by Nikola Skobaljić scored a decisive victory a month earlier near Leskovac, surprising a much larger Ottoman army. On the Morava River, Sultan Mehmed II left Feriz Bey and 32,000 of his troops to resist any possible counterattacks by the Serbs south of Kruševac. The Serbs did not hesitate to make the first move and the two armies met.

The victory at Leskovac allowed John Hunyadi and Đurađ Branković to decisively strike at the isolated Turkish army, and launch a major offensive, ravaging Niš and Pirot, and burning down Vidin. Nikola Skobaljić continued his forays against the Ottomans, operating between Leskovac and Priština, and won several major victories against the armies of the sultan, until Mehmed himself came to confront him at the Battle of Tripolje (near Novo Brdo).

Notes

1. Babinger, Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time, (Princeton University Press, 1978), 110.
2. Babinger, Franz, William C. Hickman and Ralph Manheim, Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time, 110.
3. "Vladimir Corovic: Istorija srpskog naroda". www.rastko.rs.

References

• Babinger, Franz, William C. Hickman and Ralph Manheim, Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time, Princeton University Press, 1978.