Battle of Kruševac

Battle of Kruševac
Part of the Ottoman wars in Europe
Date 1454 Location Kruševac Result Decisive Serbian victory
Belligerents
Serbian Despotate Kingdom of Hungary	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Nikola Skobalić Đurađ Branković John Hunyadi	Firuz Bey  (POW)
Strength
unknown	32,000
Casualties and losses
unknown	unknown

The Battle of Kruševac was fought in 1454 between the forces of the Serbian Despotate, allied with the Kingdom of Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire.

In 1454 the Ottomans launched a major invasion against Serbia, at the helm of which was the Sultan himself, Mehmed the Conqueror. On the Morava River, sultan Mehmed II left Firuz Bey and 32,000 of his troops to resist any possible counterattacks by the Serbs. The Serbs did not hesitate to make the first move and the two armies met.

The battle allowed John Hunyadi and the Serbs to launch a major offensive against the Turks, ravaging Niš and Pirot, and burning down Vidin. Nikola Skobalić continued his forays against the Ottomans, operating in southern Serbia and the Leskovac area, and won several major victories against the armies of the sultan until Mehmed himself came to confront the Serbs at the Battle of Trepalje, where Skobalić and his men fought to the last man, inflicting massive casualties on the much larger Ottoman force.

References

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