Siege of Belgrade

Timeline

1. 1456Belgrade · SerbiaMehmed II led a force of about 100,000 north from Constantinople, arriving on the south bank of the Danube in early July to besiege the Belgrade fortress. The garrison was commanded by John Hunyadi, with some 7,000 soldiers and civilians in the city.
2. 1456Belgrade · SerbiaThe Ottomans bombarded the walls with heavy artillery while the defenders resisted stubbornly. Pope Callixtus III issued a papal bull calling for crusader reinforcements; the Franciscan friar John of Capistrano arrived with a relief force, greatly boosting the garrison's morale.
3. 1456Belgrade · SerbiaOn July 22 Hunyadi led a fierce counterattack from within the city, coordinated with the crusader reinforcements. The Ottoman lines collapsed, Mehmed II was wounded in the melee and ordered a general retreat. The battle became a landmark victory of medieval Europe against Ottoman expansion.