Battle of Nicopolis 1396 AD - Part 2 of 2 - The Ottomans confront Europe

 

By September 12th, groups of peasants trickled into Nicopolis, fleeing from the several pillaged towns to the west, in the Despotate of Vidin.

 Following close behind

 was the Crusader column.

 The main camp was established just east of the city, close to the Danube riverbank, with a separate camp for prisoners nearby.

 Half of the supply fleet followed close-by, moving to blockade the port, while the troops started deploying to encircle the city.

 The inhabitants were gripped with fear, but the commander ordered his well-drilled garrison to their stations on the walls.

 The siege had begun…

 Over the next two weeks, the Christian siege of Nicopolis was ongoing.

 The well-fortified city was largely impervious to direct assaults, and the garrison determined that surrender was not an option.

 Downstream, Venetian and Genoese ships appeared with additional men and supplies, after sailing for 12 days from the mouth of the Danube, moving into position to transfer the troops from the northern bank of the river.

 Then, the sound of Hungarian riders, drew Sigismund’s attention.

 The King had sent 500 horsemen on an extensive reconnaissance mission, over 100km to the south.

 And the scouts reported that the Turks have gathered.

 Sigismund advised that a plan of action be discussed, but was forced to acquiesce to the Franco-Burgundian commanders, who were unmoved by the reports.

 Indeed, the Western knights were the elite and well-equipped grizzled veterans of many battles, who firmly believed in their superior fighting abilities, confident that they will fight and defeat the enemy, should he appear.

 But, reports of the Turkish presence alarmed Voivode Mircea and Lord Coucy, a veteran French noble.

 They assembled 500 knights and 500 mounted archers, and rode out to sweep

 the southern outskirts of the city.

 Their hunch proved correct… An Ottoman messenger weaved his way across the land towards Nicopolis, sneaking past the Christian siege lines, to deliver a message from Bayazid that said: “Hold on bravely,I will not abandon you.” The inhabitants of Nicopolis rejoiced, cheering and blowing horns throughout the day.

 Soon… Mircea’s and Coucy’s scouting party

 spotted the forward elements of the Ottoman army.

 Seeing the smaller Wallachian mounted contingent, the Turks galloped forward.

 With his horsemen Mircea feigned retreat, signalling to the French to disperse and conceal themselves

 before they were seen.

 As the Ottoman vanguard pursued the enemy they were funnelled through a narrow gap in the forest, eager to chase down the Wallachian voivode.

 But once they came in-between Coucy’s hidden contingent, the French Lord gave the signal!

 In the ensuing melee, no quarter was given, with many in the Ottoman vanguard falling within minutes,

 while the rest fled soon after.

 Meanwhile, the ongoing celebrations in Nicopolis angered some of the prominent French Knights, who believed this to be a ruse to force the Crusaders to loosen the siege and array for battle, insisting that the Sultan would not dare attack such a large concentrated force of Christian knights, superior in equipment, training, and experience.

 Furthermore, French nobles threatened to cut off the ears of anyone who discussed rumours of Bayazid’s approach, arguing that it could damage the morale of the crusaders.

 But the returning scouting party dispelled all doubts…

 Bayezid is coming.

 In frustration, King Sigismund demanded a War Council.

 The meeting was a loud and shouty affair.

 But then, Sigismund stood up.

 He suggested that the Wallachian infantry should form the first line.

 Having experience in fighting the Turks, they would lead the attack and be tasked with dispersing, or at least softening the first Ottoman line.

 The elite French heavy cavalry would form the second line, waiting for the right time to rush in and punch through Bayezid’s ranks.

 Meanwhile, Hungarians and other allied contingents would support the attack and protect the flanks from the sipahi cavalry attacks.

 Knowing how the Turks fight, Mircea agreed that this was the right course of action.

 But the plan faced stiff opposition… Prominent representatives of the French contingent were outraged!

 They were of the opinion that, by being asked to take up the rear dishonoured them greatly, insisting they will lead the attack.

 Accusations were laid against Sigismund and Mircea that they wanted to steal all of the glory.

 John of Nevers, commander of the Franco-Burgundian element, stood up and gave his support to the French nobles,

 convinced by their confidence.

 The matter was settled.

 And with the Ottoman army only hours away, it was time to array for battle… As they deployed at daybreak, the Crusaders left a token force to continue the siege, before summarily executing the thousand or so prisoners taken at Rahovo, fearing a possible rescue attempt by the garrison in Nicopolis during the attack on Bayezid’s position.

 Neither army enjoyed

 numerical superiority.

 On the Christian side, the heavily armored French knights lined up in the front, with the Hungarians in the rear, Wallachians on the left flank, and Transylvanian troops on the right.

 Bayezid, meanwhile, deployed a screen of akinji light cavalry in the front, with regular infantry in the second line, and a contingent of around 1000 elite Janissary infantry in the rear, while the Rumelian and Anatolian sipahi cavalry were on the flanks.

 Further back on the right and center were the elite Kapikulu Sipahis, the Ottoman version of heavy cavalry, renowned for their discipline, though less armored than the European knights of this period.

 Further left the Serbian Knights, clad in advanced plate armor, were the only contingent in Bayezid’s army that could face the French knights head-on.

 Sigismund advised Nevers that his scouts will be returning soon with intelligence on the numbers and positioning of enemy forces, asking that the attack be postponed for two hours.

 Nevers summoned a hasty council, where the older, more experienced knights, thought it wise to obey the wishes of the Hungarian king, while the younger hawks presumed that Sigismund wants the battle honours for himself, at the same time accusing the older French knights, that their advice didn’t show wisdom, but fear…

 From there, the discussion rapidly devolved into a shouting match.

 Then, all of a sudden a battle cry pierced the air: “Forward, in the name of God!"

 Sigismund, bewildered by the sudden decision to advance, gave the signal to support the French charge.

 Since most of his troops in the center were infantry and couldn’t keep pace, the Hungarian king kept his cavalry from charging, in order to maintain a solid line.

 Up the field, thousands of knights and their horses, fully armored, trotting forward in unison, must’ve been a terrifying sight.

 On battlefields such as Nicopolis, where dense forest and sloped terrain didn’t allow room for cavalry maneuvers beyond the flanks, their shock charge was at its’ deadliest.

 Arrow volleys simply bounced off, and the akinjis were only able to string a few shots before the violent armored charge swept them aside.

 Those that faced the French charge directly suffered heavy casualties, but managed to retreat back towards the infantry line, while the rest retreated towards the flanks.

 Soon, however, the knights encountered a line of sharpened stakes, fixed into the ground to drive into the breast of the charging horses.

 This slowed down the Crusader advance, as some of the knights had to maneuver their horses through the hedge of stakes, while others dismounted and continued the attack on foot, uprooting the stakes as they went.

 A continuous rain of arrows did little against the thick armor, and the French soon reached the main enemy line!

 Straight away Bayezid ordered the sipahis on the flanks to join the fighting, seeing that his formation in the center began falling apart almost immediately upon impact.

 In close combat, the regular Turkish infantry was getting slaughtered by the dismounted knights, whose armor seemed impervious.

 The elite Janissaries too could only fight on the back foot, overwhelmed by the number of knights facing them, although they started inflicting losses on the Christians.

 Nevertheless, the advance continued and even Bayezid was taken aback by the ferocity of the Crusader assault.

 Despite half of them being on foot, the armored knights drove off the sipahi cavalry, mauling everything in front of them.

 Bayezid ordered the remnants of his akinjis, infantry, and sipahi cavalry to reform the line in order to slow down the incoming Hungarians, who were approaching to reinforce the crusader vanguard.

 At this point, some of the older French commanders wanted to stop the advance, to consolidate the line and link up with Sigismund.

 But the young knights

 urged the men on…

 Convinced that the battle was almost won, they were eager to continue forward in the hope of plundering the Ottoman camp.

 The Sultan sent in the Kapikulu Sipahis, realizing that the battle had reached a critical point.

 The elite Ottoman cavalry descended upon the Crusaders, gradually surrounding their position.

 In the desperate fight that ensued, John of Nevers, commander of the French contingent, was captured.

 This was a blow to the morale but, nevertheless, the Crusaders fought on, staving off charge after charge of the elite Kapikulu.

 Seeing John’s banner falling, Sigismund ordered a full charge, in a desperate attempt to establish contact with the knights in the vanguard.

 However, Wallachian and Transylvanian troops withdrew, choosing to preserve their forces, apprehensive that a disaster has befallen them.

 But the battle was not over… Upon dispersing the screen of akinjis, the Hungarians fell upon the reformed, but much depleted Ottoman line.

 The battered Turkish footmen could not withstand the fresh troops, and were broken soon after.

 Sipahi cavalry pressed forward, desperate to stop Sigismund’s advance.

 Akinjis launched another attack!

 Undeterred, the Hungarian king pushed on.

 Getting ever closer, it seemed that the tired Ottoman troops could not stop Sigismund.

 If he could link up with the knights in the front, the battle would be won.

 But then…

 Bayezid played his trump card, sending the Serbian knights forward!

 Seeing that the overwhelmed Ottoman line could break at any moment, Stefan spurred his horse on, leading the charge towards the Hungarian flank.

 The shock of the charge was devastating.

 Serbian knights ploughed through the enemy, causing Sigismund’s right flank to collapse within minutes, stopping the Hungarian attack dead in its’ tracks.

 Soon, remnants of the line routed towards the safety of their fleet on the Danube.

 King Sigismund reportedly said: “We lost the battle by the pride and vanity of those French!” The now isolated French knights kept fighting, but their numbers slowly dwindled, and it was only a matter of time before their strength gave out… The bulk of the Crusader troops were destroyed or captured.

 3000 prisoners were brought before the Sultan and executed on the spot, as revenge for the massacre of 1000 Ottoman prisoners prior to the battle, while the rest were ransomed or enslaved.

 A small portion of the army, including Sigismund, escaped.

 Ottomans losses were also high, particularly in infantry, several thousand of which perished.

 But Bayezid’s victory was complete.

 Memories of Nicopolis would discourage any Western European intervention against the Ottomans for centuries to come, while the Hungarians and Wallachians continued the struggle, along with remaining pockets of Greek resistance.

 The utter defeat of the Crusaders at Nicopolis ended any chance of rolling back the Ottoman tide in Europe, who maintained pressure on Constantinople, tightened their control over the Balkans, and would go on to become a great threat to Central Europe…