eastern european eagle

Chapter 66 Unexpected Failure

The Christian army waited for 20 days without a trace of Bayezid.However, just as he has always been swift, Bayezid suddenly led his army before the city of Skopje.According to information obtained by Sigismund, Bayezid's army numbered 20.Sigismund knew his enemies well, knew that they were well-trained, disciplined, and more mobile than the Crusaders, and they were by no means idle.He asked the Christian armies to coordinate their operations carefully.

An experienced French knight named Decoucy encountered a vanguard of the Turks during his reconnaissance.His soldiers chanted "Holy Mother! For Monsieur de Coucy!" and defeated the Turks at the mountain pass.The victory of the battle made the other French knights jealous, accusing De Coucy of going out of vanity.Sigismund tried to persuade them to take a defensive position, first using Hungarian infantry to resist the first round of attacks, and then forming a second line of defense with knights and mercenary cavalry, which can be attacked and defended.Upon hearing this proposal, the French knights were furious, believing that the Hungarian king's arrangement was to steal "the highest honor of victory".They demanded that they must lead the charge.

With the support of the crowd, the Count of Yiu in France refused to obey Sigismund, and the Count called his standard-bearer: "In the name of God and St. George, order the army to go forward, and let them see what I am knights!" And so, "under the banner of Our Lady," they unhesitatingly charged upon the contemptible heretics, confident of defeating them.

Charged up the hill, the knights caught Bayezid's outpost by surprise.After dispersing the Turkish cavalry, the knights dismounted and rushed towards the infantry. While charging, they pulled out the wooden stakes on the ground used to cover the infantry, and then defeated the Turkish infantry.Blood spattered from the knights' swords.They are very confident that the victory of this day will belong to them.After rushing to the top of the hill, they encountered the main force of the Sultan.

Bayezid assembled all the troops, whether it was the defeated army or the Anatolian troops that had just come down, as well as the defenders of the Balkan cities. A total of 5000 troops were reassembled.

As usual, Bayezid adopted a tactic that Sigismund was already very familiar with: placing untrained, motley troops at the forefront as cannon fodder, using them to wear down the enemy's physical strength.Then, "Bayezid's cavalry, main force and chariots came upon them in battle formation like a crescent moon".The dismounted knights were already panting from the heavy armor, unable to fight, and suffered a rout.Their horses ran back to the camp by themselves.Thus the best knights in all Europe died on the fields of Skopje, or were taken captive by the Turks.

Crusader soldiers were practically amateur fighters by the standards of the time, fighting in the old fashioned way and with a romantic spirit.They were ignorant of the evolution of the professional art of warfare over the centuries, nor of the fighting techniques of the Turks, of their superior discipline, training, intelligence systems, and tactics.More importantly, they did not understand the mobility of lightly armed infantry and mounted archers.Sigismund and his Hungarians learned this gradually through battle after battle.He commanded his troops to follow the crusaders' charge, but he knew in his heart that the moment his advice was abandoned by the knights, the battle was lost. "If they can believe me," he said, "we have enough men to deal with the enemy." He boasted of their abundant strength before the battle: "If the sky should fall, our army will have enough spears to knock it down." withstand."

But now, he can only flee to Belgrade with the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller.And some of the soldiers and knights who escaped from the Ottomans also fled to these ships, and thousands of people went through hardships and crossed the Carpathians.The day after the battle, Bayezid, who was patrolling the battlefield to assess the damage, ordered the execution of all prisoners of war.However, in order to get a generous ransom, Bayezid spared the Count of Nevers and his staff, as well as some richly dressed knights.But he ordered them to stand beside him and watched as his comrades kneeling on the ground were tied together and their heads fell to the ground.

----split line----

The Battle of Skopje and the Treaty of Derekoy became Ottoman's plus and minus points, one plus one minus, exactly zero. (How can it be)

Due to the loss of Sophia and Nish, Ottoman's northward expansion could only temporarily stop thinking, so Bayezid set his sights on the southern Greece and Anatolia regions.

Bayezid designated part of Serbia as a direct jurisdiction and increased the blood tax.Although there was no compensation, Bayezid prepared to train an army in the shortest possible time to avenge his previous revenge.

Of course, Bayezid's transfer of troops to the Balkans could not be hidden from Karaman. The ruler realized that this was a good opportunity, so he sent troops to seize some places.Bayezid had no choice but to continue to lead the army.

As a bystander, Peter opened the door for them.Allowing them to recuperate in Nis for a few days and stopping the Ottoman pursuit, they were finally able to catch their breath.

The cook complained to Peter that the men were going to eat up all the grain in Nish, but Peter just ordered the grain to continue to be bought.And Sigismund's dishes are naturally the best.

Looking at the dishes in front of him and recalling the previous disastrous defeat, Sigismund shed tears. At this moment, he hated himself and those French troops who did not listen to persuasion.

It's all right now, those nobles must be beaten again when they go back by themselves.This king might as well be wrong.

Back then, he had no desire for power, he just wanted to get a fief and spend his life honestly.But helplessly, power fell on him time and time again.

First the Marquis of Brandenburg, then the King of Hungary.Not surprisingly, Bohemia and Emperor Shenluo are also in his pocket, but the big nobles in the country will not make him feel good.More importantly, he has no heirs yet.The inheritance of the Luxembourg family is about to be broken.

Sigismund didn't expect Wallachia to help him, which made him a little ashamed, and he wanted to beat them.He had to thank Wallachia well.

(End of this chapter)