Magyar News, 1994. szeptember-1995. augusztus (5. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1995-05-01 / 9. szám
>ER OF EUROPE fled to Vienna when word reached Budapest that the Turks were advancing on Belgrade. Only the new Pope, Calixtus III, who referred to Hungary as the “shield of Christianity,” took the threat seriously and sent his support. That support came in the person of John Capistrano, a Franciscan monk. John Capistrano was a man who could stir the emotions of people. He was a great speaker. He was charismatic. His talents helped to rally many Hungarians, and others, to meet the Turkish threat.whole of Roman Catholic Europe was marshaled in hopes of victory. On June 29, 1456 , the pope ordered that the bells of every church should be rung. People were to pray that the army, led by Hunyadi and Capistrano, would prevail. The defenders of Belgrade would need all the help they could get. The Turkish Sultan’s army arrived at Belgrade in the summer of 1456, earlier than expected. The commander of the city, Hunyadi’s Brother-in-law Michael Szilagyi, commanded only about 6,000 defenders. The Sultan’s army numbered some 150,000. The city was soon encircled. It was cut off by the army which surrounded it in three sides. The Sultan’s fleet blocked the city’s access to the Danube. This was the scene encountered by Hunyadi’s and Capistrano’s crusading forces when they arrived in July, 1456. After a careful study of the situation, Hunyadi was convinced that an all-out attack against the Sultan’s army would not succeed. Hunyadi commanded an army of only some 10,000 men, even tough thousands more were joining every day because the efforts of John Capistrano. Somehow Hunyadi had to break through the blockade and join his forces with Szilagyi’s within the city. A unique battle-plan was employed. On July 14, 1456 a small group of Hunyadi’s ships with 3,000 men on board approached the Turkish fleet. Ahead of the Hungarian ships were smaller boats filled with sand. The weight of these smaller boats pushed along by the strong current of the river crashed into the Turkish ships ripping holes in their hulls. At the same time the 3,000 Hungarians in the remaining ships attacked. This was a signal for the defenders within the city and Hunyadi’s army on the land to join the fight. Hours later the blockade was finally broken. Thousands of Christians entered the city. The Sultan wasn’t deterred, however. With defenders entering the city in greater numbers, the Sultan knew that he had to strike quickly or else he First Regent of Hungary Janos Hunyady in battle against the Turks. would lose his opportunity. On July 21, 1456, the Turks launched their final assault. This would be an allout effort to take the city. Nothing was held back. At first it seemed as if the Turks would overcome the defenders. After many hours of fighting the Turks were able to cross the bridge of the inner fortress of the city. They began to climb the walls of the fortress and even tried to plant Turkish flags on the ramparts. All seemed lost. That is until the Christian defender’s spirits were lifted by the heroic act of one of the defenders. Titus Dugovits, one of the defenders, grabbed a Turkish soldier who was carrying a Turkish flag, and rushed over the edge of the wall, the Turk still in his grasp. The defenders were awed by this act and renewed their efforts in expelling the Turks- from the city. The turning point came when the gates of the inner fortress opened and Hunyadi led a charge into the Turkish ranks. The Turks retreated and the city was saved. But the defenders of Belgrade had one more surprise for the Sultan. The next day, some of the defenders who could not stop themselves from wanting to destroy the last segments of the enemy who had brought so much misery upon the land, rushed out of the gates and attacked the surprised Turks. This was the final blow for the Sultan, who was injured himself during the fighting outside the walls. Order was finally restored within the Christian ranks and the defenders returned to their positions behind the city’s walls. Lookouts were posted in case the Turks decided to attack again. But the Sultan was beaten. Under the cover of dark his army retreated. Hungary and Europe were saved. It would be decades before the Turks would attempt another advance into Hungary. Any hope of Janos Hunyadi taking advantage of this victory was soon ended, however At the moment of his greatest victory Janos Hunyadi died. As plans were being prepared for dislodging the remaining Turkish units still in Europe, the expected leader of this crusade contracted a camp illness. Janos Hunyadi died on August 11, 1456. The sorrow felt by many was heart-felt. Pope Calixtus III bestowed on Hunyadi the posthumous title, Christianae fidei defensor, The Defender of Christendom. One of the final messages left by Janos Hunyadi to his countrymen might be a fitting epitaph, “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.” 5
