John of Capistrano, who at first tried to order his men back inside the walls, soon found himself surrounded by about 2,000 Crusaders. He then began leading them toward the Ottoman lines, crying, ‘The Lord who made the beginning will take care of the finish!’

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The Turks soon found themselves faced with an angry human avalanche. Taken by surprise at this strange turn of events and, as some chroniclers say, paralyzed by some inexplicable fear, the Turks took flight. The sultan’s bodyguard of about 5,000 Janissaries tried desperately to stop the panic and recapture the camp, but by that time Hunyadi’s army had also joined the unplanned battle, and the Turkish efforts became hopeless. The sultan himself was badly wounded and rendered unconscious. After the battle, the Hungarian raiders were ordered to spend the night behind the walls of the fortress and to be on the alert for a possible renewal of the battle, but the Turkish counterattack never came.

Under cover of darkness the Turks retreated in haste, bearing their wounded in 140 wagons. At the city of Sarona, the sultan regained consciousness, but probably wished he hadn’t. Upon learning that his army had been routed, most of his leaders killed and all his equipment abandoned, the 24-year-old ruler was barely prevented from committing suicide by taking poison.

The Turkish casualties at Belgrade were unprecedented. They lost 50,000 men in the battle, and another 25,000 were slain by Serbs during their retreat. Losses to Belgrade’s defenders and Hunyadi’s relief force totaled less than 10,000.

The sultan’s defeat was hailed as a glorious victory for Christendom. Te Deums (ancient Latin prayers of thanksgiving) were sung in churches, church bells sounded and bonfires burned in celebration. The old truism, ‘victory has a thousand fathers while defeat is an orphan,’ was proved again. Even those who had been hostile or indifferent toward Hunyadi now joined in singing praises to his victory.

Pope Calixtus, on learning of the Hungarian warlord’s victory, described Hunyadi as ‘the most outstanding man the world had seen in 300 years.’

After the triumph at Belgrade, many expected that the time had come to drive the Turks out of Europe, and perhaps even recapture Constantinople. But that was not to be. On August 11, 1456, Hunyadi died, probably from the plague that had been ravaging Belgrade even before the siege. Two months later, John of Capistrano, the spiritual leader at Belgrade, followed him to the grave.

The jubilation of victory turned to sorrow when the world learned of Hunyadi’s untimely death. Even Sultan Mehmet II paid him tribute: ‘Although he was my enemy I feel grief over his death, because the world has never seen such a man.’

Although the Turks would not attack Hungary for another 70 years, political strife continued to haunt the kingdom. On his deathbed, Hunyadi told his countrymen: ‘Defend, my friends, Christendom and Hungary from all enemies….Do not quarrel among yourselves. If you should waste your energies in altercations, you will seal your own fate as well as dig the grave of our country.’

Unfortunately, the future leaders of Hungary more often than not failed to heed János Hunyadi’s advice.

This article was written by Tom R. Kovach and originally published in the August 1996 issue of Military History magazine. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Military History magazine today!

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