Battle of Kruševac

Battle of Kruševac
Part of the Ottoman wars in Europe
Date October 2, 1454 Location Kruševac Result Serbian victory
Belligerents
Serbian Despotate Kingdom of Hungary	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Nikola Skobaljić Đurađ Branković John Hunyadi	Feriz Bey  (POW)
Strength
35,000-40,000	32,000
Casualties and losses
unknown	unknown

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.

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 battle allowed John Hunyadi, Đurađ Branković, and Nikola Skobaljić to initially pincer Feriz's army, and launch a major offensive against the Turks, ravaging Niš and Pirot, and burning down Vidin. Nikola Skobaljić 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 (near Novo Brdo), where Skobaljić 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.