Battle of Varna

Battle of Varna
Part of the Ottoman wars in Europe
From:Kronika wszystkiego świata of Bielski, Marcin published in 1564
Date November 10, 1444 Location Near Varna, Bulgaria Result Ottoman victory
Belligerents
Hungary, Poland and others	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Władysław III of Poland † Janos Hunyadi	Murad II
Strength
~ 20,000 - 30,000	~ 60,000 (possibly up to 100,000?)
Casualties and losses
~ 11,000	~ 8,000

The Battle of Varna took place on November 10, 1444 near Varna in eastern Bulgaria. In this battle the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Murad II defeated the Polish and Hungarian armies under Władysław III of Poland and Janos Hunyadi. It is often referred to as the crusade of Varna.

Prelude

After a failed expedition in 1441/1442 against Belgrade, the Ottoman sultan Murad II signed a ten-year truce with Hungary. After he had made peace with the Karaman Emirate in Anatolia in August 1444, he resigned the throne to his twelve year-old son Mehmed II.

Despite the peace treaty, Hungary co-operated with Venice and the pope, Eugene IV, to organize a new crusader army. On this news Murad was recalled to the throne by his son. Although Murad initially refused this summoning persistently on the grounds that he was not the sultan anymore, he was outwitted by his son who on the news of his refusal wrote to him: "If you are the sultan, lead your armies; but if I am the sultan, I hereby order you to come and lead my armies." Murad then had no choice but to reclaim the throne.

Forces

A mixed Christian army consisting mainly of Hungarian and of Polish forces, but with detachments of Czechs, papal knights, Germans, Bosnians, Croatians, Serbs, Bulgarians, Wallachians and Ruthenians, met with a numerically superior force of Ottoman Turks. The Hungarians were ill-equipped, and promised support from Wallachia, Albania and Constantinople did not arrive. The Hungarian army was small and very imbalanced. It contained almost no infantry, except one hundred to three hundred Czech mercenary handgunners. There were also one hundred war wagons probably with crews. The rest of the army was heavy cavalry, mostly Royal and foreign mercenaries, with some Episcopal and Noble banners as well.

They had promises from Venetians that their fleet would not allow Turkish army to cross the Bosphorus. There they would meet up with elements of the Papal fleet and move down the coast to Constantinople, pushing the Ottomans out of the Balkans as they went.

Armenians in Hungary also participated in the wars of their new country against the Turks; as early as the battle of Varna in 1444, some Armenians were seen amongst their forces.

The battle

The 20,000 Crusaders at Varna were overwhelmed by about 55,000-60,000 Turks and over half of the united army perished.

Late on 9 November, a large Ottoman army approached Varna from the west. At a supreme military council called by Hunyadi during the night, the papal legate, cardinal Julian Cesarini, insisted on a quick withdrawal. However, the Christians were closed between the Black sea, Lake Varna, the steep wooded slopes of the Frangen plateau (350 m high), and the enemy. Cesarini then proposed defense using the Wagenburg of the Hussites until the arrival of the Christian fleet at Varna. The Hungarian magnates and the Croatian, Bosnian, and Czech commanders backed him, but the young (21) Władysław and Hunyadi rejected the defensive tactics. Hunyadi declared: "To escape is impossible, to surrender is unthinkable. Let us fight with bravery and honor our arms." Władysław accepted his position and gave him the command.

In the morning of 10 November, Hunyadi deployed the army as an arc between Lake Varna and the Frangen plateau; the line was about 3.5 km long. Two banners with a total of 3,500 men from the King's Polish and Hungarian bodyguards, Hungarian royal mercenaries under Stefan Batory, and banners of Hungarian nobles held the centre. A 4000-strong Walahian cavalries was left in reserve behind the center.

The right flank lined up the hill towards the village of Kamenar numbered 6,500 men in 5 banners. Bishop Jan Dominek of Varadin with his personal banner lead the force; Cesarini commanded a banner of German mercenaries and another one sent by the Bosnian bishop Raphael. The bishop of Erlau lead his own banner and the military Governor of Slavonia, ban Franco Talotsi, commanded one Croatian banner.

The left flank, a total of 5,000 men in 5 banners was lead by Michael Szilagyi, Hunyadi's brother in law, and was made up of Hunyadi's Transylvanians, Bulgarians, German mercenaries and banners of Hungarian magnates. Behind the Hungarians, closer to the Black sea and the lake, was the Wagenburg, defended by 300 Czech and Ruthenian mercenaries under hetman Ceyka. Every wagon was manned by 7 to 10 soldiers and had bombards.

The Islamic center included the Janissaries and levies from Rumelia deployed around two Thracian mound tombs. Murad observed and directed the battle from one of them. The Janissaries dug in behind ditches and two palisades. The right wing consisted of Kapikulus and Spahis from Rumelia, and the left wing was made up by Akıncıs, Spahis from Anatolia, Arab mercenaries, and other forces. Janissary archers and Akıncı light cavalry were deployed in the Frangen plateau.

The light Ottoman and Arab cavalry assaulted the Croats of ban Talotsi. Christians from the left riposted with bombards and firearms and stopped the attack. Christian soldiers chased the Ottomans and Arabs in a disorderly pursuit. The Anatolian cavalry and Arabs on camels ambushed them from the flank. The Christian right flank attempted to flee to the fortress of Galata on the other side of Varna Bay, but most of them were slain in the marshland around Varna Lake and the river Devnya, where Cesarini also perished. Only ban Talotsi's troops managed to withdrow behind the Wagenburg.

Władysław and Hunyadi deployed two cavalry companies from the center and the Wallahian cavalry against the Arabs and Anatolian Spahis, who were scattered and their commander Karaca Bey killed. The Christians pursued them for more than 5-6 km and then returned to the battlefield. The Wallahian cavalry continued the chase and broke into the fortified Ottoman camp. After pillaging and looting, the Wallahians overcharged with gold and merchandise left the battlefield.

The Ottoman left flank asaulted the Hungarians and Bulgarians of Michael Szilagyi. Their push was stopped and turned back; then Spahis attacked again. Hunyadi decided to help and advised the King to wait until he returned; then advanced with two cavalry companies against the Spahis, defeated and pursued them toward the road to Shumen for 5-6 km. The Spahis were so terrified that some of them reached and crossed the river Kamchiya some 30 km away.

The European army seemed close to victory; the sultan decided to leave the battlefield. According to Edward Gibbon (The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire), "When Amurath beheld the flight of his squadrons, he despaired of his fortune and that of the empire: a veteran Janissary seized his horse's bridle; and he had magnanimity to pardon and reward the soldier who dared to perceive the terror, and arrest the flight, of his sovereign."

At this moment, the young (21) king, ignoring Hunyadi's advice, rushed 500 of his Polish knights against the Ottoman centre. They slaughtered the Janissary infantry and the King attempted precipitously to take Murad prisoner. Surrounded by his Janissary bodyguards, he was slain, his head cut off and later taken to the Ottoman court. The disheartened Polish cavalry was smashed by the Ottomans.

On his return, Hunyadi tried frantically to to salvage the king's body but all he could accomplish was to organize the retreat of the remains of his army. It suffered 13,000 casualties. The Ottomans lost at least 20,000 soldiers. They were so shattered by the smaller Christian army that they were unable to pursue them and continue to Central Europe. European prisoners were slaughtered or sold as slaves.

Aftermath

The memorial of the battle in Varna, built in an antique Thracian mound tomb, bearing the name of the fallen king

The defeat ended any serious attempts to prevent the conquest of eastern Europe by Turks for several decades. It also set the stage for the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

The death of Władysław left Hungary in the hands of the four-year-old Ladislaus Posthumous of Bohemia and Hungary.

In an expression of gratitude, the Bulgarian people affectionately gave Władysław the name Варненчик (Varnenchik, Polish: Warneńczyk), after the city where he fought and died. In the 1930s, a cenotaph was erected by a Varna civic committee in a park on the former battleground. In the 1960s, a museum containing weapons and armor form the epoch was added, along with symbolic sarcophagi bearing the modern coats of arms of the countries participating in the battle on the European side. The park museum is currently within city limits; the urban municipality that contains it, as well as a central city boulevard are named after Władysław Warneńczyk. Another boulevard is named after John Hunyadi.

Władysław has another grave in the cathedral on the Wawel (castle) hill in Cracow, Poland. But both graves are symbolic. After the battle his body was never found and it has probably remained unknown and buried along with the other slain knights. A legend goes that was buried in an Orthodox church in central Varna, which was later demolished and replaced by the Theotokos Panagia church built in 1602, which is still standing.

See also

• Battle of Kosovo (1448)
• Siege of Varna