Siege of Golubac

Ottoman–Hungarian Wars
The Golubac fortress
Date May 1428 Location Golubac, Serbian Despotate 44°39′15″N 21°37′42″E / 44.65417°N 21.62833°E / 44.65417; 21.62833 Result Ottoman victory Serbia becomes vassal state of the Ottoman Empire Ottomans invade Bosnia
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire	Kingdom of Hungary[1] Wallachia[2] Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Commanders and leaders
Murad II	Zawisza Czarny † Dan II of Wallachia
Strength
6,000[citation needed]	15,000 – 20,000
Casualties and losses
unknown	heavy casualties

The siege of Golubac (

Background

At the end of the 14th century, the Ottoman Empire conquered most of the

as the successor of Despot Stefan.

After the death of Lazarević in 1427, Sigismund asked Branković to honor the agreement, but the Serbian despot was reluctant. Therefore, Sigismund had to take the fortress of Belgrade with military force. After this event the Serbian constable of Golubac ceded the fortress to the Ottomans on behalf of Sigismund.

Siege

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Because of its strategic location, Sigismund did not want to leave Golubac to the Ottomans. During the winter of 1427, he built the fortress of

At the end of April, the Christian troops attacked Golubac. For the first time in Hungarian military history, the Hungarian army used artillery in a military conflict. The soldiers shelled the fortress from warships and from Lászlóvára. The Ottoman defenders of Golubac resisted well, but the shelling destroyed the walls. Sigismund planned an assault against the walls when a significant Ottoman army, led by Murad II, arrived to save the fortress. Sigismund did not engage the Sultan in an open battle and instead reached an armistice: the Christians would stop their attacks and retreat in peace.

The Christian army started crossing the Danube in retreat when the Ottomans broke the armistice and organized a surprise attack. During the battle Sigismund's guards were led by

, organized the crossing of the Danube. Lithuanian soldiers, including their commander, were killed while covering the crossing of Hungarian and Wallachian troops.

Aftermath

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After the Hungarian defeat, Murad II organized an offensive against Serbia, whose despot, Branković, finally accepted being the vassal of the Ottoman Empire. After the Serbian defeat, the Ottomans invaded Bosnia and defeated Tvrtko II of Bosnia, conquering some of the most important fortresses.

Immediately after the battle Sigismund started organizing a defense system against the Ottomans. He sent a significant army to Belgrade and handed defense of the

Sources

• Szilágyi, Sándor: A Magyar Nemzet Története
• Hungarian Catholic Enciclopedy