John Hunyadi

Timeline

1. 1451–1453Buda · HungaryFrom 1446 to 1453, Hunyadi effectively governed the affairs of the Kingdom of Hungary as regent. Between 1451 and 1453 he continuously organized defensive and counteroffensive operations against Ottoman border regions, strengthened fortresses along the Danube, and paid particular attention to the defenses of Belgrade, accumulating ample strategic preparation for the decisive battle to come.
2. 1453–1455Buda · HungaryConstantinople fell in May 1453, and the threat of Ottoman expansion rose sharply. Although Hunyadi had already stepped down as regent, he still directed the defenses as Hungary's chief military leader. He contacted Pope Callixtus III to launch a crusade and actively cooperated with the Franciscan friar Saint John of Capistrano, recruiting volunteers across Europe and preparing for the decisive defense of Belgrade.
3. 1456Belgrade · BalkansIn July 1456, Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II personally led a force of about 100,000 to besiege Belgrade. Hunyadi led some 30,000 defenders (including large numbers of militia and crusader volunteers) in a stubborn resistance. In the decisive counterattack of 21—22 July, the Hungarian army repelled the Ottoman main force, Mehmed II was wounded and withdrew, and Belgrade was saved. However, plague broke out on the battlefield after the battle, and Hunyadi unfortunately contracted it, dying at Zemun (in present-day Serbia) on 11 August 1456 at about the age of fifty, hailed as the 'Shield of Christendom'.