Vlad the Impaller Chapter 9

 The Long Campaign.

9.

It was then the battle was to be known as the famous “Long Campaign” under John Hunyadi, which took place in the autumn and winter of 1443–44. The preparations weres tedious, with internal troubles in Hungary and the hostility of the Habsburgs, were mollified with papal help. Venice and the papacy supported Hunyadi’s army financially and diplomatically. Poland and other neighboring countries sent troops, and in Hungary, the king levied an “extraordinary” tax for the Crusade.

Hunyadi himself recruited some ten thousand to twelve thousand well-trained soldiers, including Czech veterans of the Hussite wars. Hunyadi recognized the inefficiency and unreliability of feudal levies and was one of the first European commanders to employ a regular army on a large scale. The whole army, after having penetrated Serbian territories under Turkish occupation, reached a total above thirty thousand strong.

The combined forces crossed the Danube in October and occupied the lands there, and conquered Turkish garrisons. Hunyadi’s troops, advancing the rest of the army, prevented the Turks from unifying their forces and dispersed them in a series of battles.

“At them and shed no mercy!” John Hunyadi called on his men. He took on the border garrisons and destroyed the camps there. He was swift in his campaign, constantly moving ahead without giving the Turks the opportunity to regroup.

“My Sultan, the Hungarians fought like the barbarians from the eastern land. They hold no mercy to our warriors. We are forced to retreat.” The Kolagasis reported to the Sultan.

“Cowards! Have them beheaded!” The Sultan was furious that his army was retreating from the Hungarians. He looked to his Viziers.

“Do tell me! I need to decide.” The Sultan roared to his advisers. “Or face the same fate as them.”

The screams of the Kolagasis could be heard before the executioner silenced them.

“Call for a truce, my Sultan. We need to buy time to regroup. We can then break the truce, and attack them.” One of the viziers voiced out to the dismay of the others.

“My Sultan, you cannot ----” The Grand Vizier cut in but the Sultan had made his mind. A ten years truce was concluded then by the Sultan. It was accepted by the other side who viewed the success of the campaign as unprecedented in the history of Turkish wars in Europe. It also evoked great enthusiasm in the Christian world.

“The Sultan Murad sued for peace. We are the victors.”

That truce was concluded but was broken when it was learned that a Venetian fleet was sailing to the Dardanelles to prevent the Sultan from recrossing into Europe. It was then the Hungarian army went on the offensive to drive the remaining Ottoman forces from Europe. (Extract from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Janos-Hunyadi#ref1231916).

It was also then the Volvode of Wallachia, Lord Vlad II was with mixed feelings. There was the war which the King had waged but Lord Vlad had reluctantly sat out. It was not that he feared the Ottoman but the fate of his sons there.

He was approached by John Hunyadi’s envoy when the war resumed.

“Lord Vlad, your decision is needed. You have declined all my calls for men to fight the Ottoman. Lord Vlad, you were then taken hostage by them, and then you returned to re-claim your rank.” It was the words of one named Pedro Vasque de Saavedra; an envoy of the King. “When you overthrew Basarab II, we did not intervene.”

“You could not. The King then forbade it then.” Lord Vlad looked to the other.

“Now a new King sits there. I am to do battle for the new King. Do I have your army? It has grown in the years under you. Idle Warriors are bad for the land.” The envoy pressed on. “And alliances today will be rewarded.”

“Tell me of the truce that the Sultan was to hold with our side.” Lord Vlad moved to change the mood.

“What truce? Sultan Murad II ask for peace while are winning. We won’t oblige for we have the Venetian fleet sailing to the Dardanelles to prevent the Sultan from recrossing into Europe. The Hungarian army is on the offensive to drive the remaining Ottoman forces from Europe.” The envoy was jubilant with the development. “We will win this war, Lord Vlad. All I asked is if you join us in the march to victory.”

It was a commanding overture from the envoy and Lord Vlad was carried by the flow of events. He then nodded to the request. If only he knew then, the Sultan had agreed in the failed truce to return the children of Hungary who were hostages there.

Vlad’s spies in the Ottoman army told him otherwise. He had recruited the spies to give him advance notice of any invasion. He approached the King with the reports.

“We shall negotiate for peace. Sultan Murad held a huge army even his guards outnumber our columns.” Lord Vlad was still convinced the war could be dragged on.

“Lord Vlad II had left me without his army. Is he doing it once more?” John Hunyadi stood next to the King had mocked the Lord then.

“Lord Vlad II, you will battle for us or against us. Do I have your reply?” The King looked at Lord Vlad II. “The other Lords have consented.”

It was a cornered move on the Lord and he relented.

“Yes, you will have them bur I will ride with them.” Lord Vlad then stated his demand. “My son, Mircea will ride with me too. Wallachian needs to see us in the fore.”

“You will ride under the King’s banner. You will abide by his command, or we will have you ex-communicated.” The King revealed his true self towards Lord Vlad II.

“And under John Hunyadi.” Lord Vlad knew that John had the blessing of the Cardinale and King. He relented then and allowed the army of four thousand from Wallachia to ride with John; a part of them were mercenaries paid from the Wallachian’s coffers.  

What was to transpire was to become the turning point of the war. When the Venetian fleet failed to reach the Dardanelles, however, the new Sultan replacing Sultan Murad II was his son; Mehmed II.

The young Sultan then was only twelve, called on his father to take command of the invasion but the previous Sultan had declined. The young Sultan in anger wrote to his father whom he succeeded over.

"If you are the Sultan, come and lead your armies. If I am the Sultan, I hereby order you to come and lead my armies."  The old Sultan took on the command and crossed over with a large Ottoman army of around sixty thousand men approached Varna from the west. Papal, Venetian, and Burgundian ships had blockaded the Dardanelles as the Hungarian army was to advance on Varna, while a second flotilla comprised six ships of the Burgundian and Byzantine blocked the Bosphorus.

Both failed, and the main Ottoman force from Asia, including the sultan, crossed the Bosphorus.

The battle began then.