Battle of Kosovo

Overview

The Second Battle of Kosovo was a land battle between a Hungarian-led Crusader army and the Ottoman Empire at Kosovo field that took place from 17–20 October 1448. It was the culmination of a Hungarian offensive to avenge the defeat at the Battle of Varna four years earlier. In the three-day battle the Ottoman army under the command of Sultan Murad II defeated the Crusader army of regent John Hunyadi.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Kosovo in 1448 was a major engagement between Ottoman forces under Murad II and a Hungarian-led army commanded by John Hunyadi, one of the foremost military commanders of the Ottoman–Hungarian Wars. The Hungarian force, numbering between 31,000 and 47,000, faced an Ottoman army of 50,000 to 60,000. Ottoman casualties reached approximately 4,000, while Hungarian losses were substantially heavier, recorded between 6,000 and 17,000. The disparity in casualties points to a difficult outcome for the Hungarian side. The engagement was fought with senior commanders present on both sides, including Mehmed II alongside Murad II for the Ottomans, and Michael Szilágyi, Franko Talovac, Peter III, and Vladislav II alongside Hunyadi for Hungary, indicating the strategic weight both powers attached to the confrontation within the broader contest over the Balkans that defined the Ottoman–Hungarian Wars of this period.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (7)