"Commander Hunyadi, it's been too quiet along the way. Have the infidels all fled at the mere sight of us?" On the road to Varna, the young King Władysław III's face was red from the cold wind, and his voice, as he rode his warhorse, could not hide his excitement.
"Your Majesty, the Turks are brave, cunning, and full of tricks. Even though we have chosen this ingenious strategy, we must still guard against any malicious actions they might take." Compared to the young King, who was only 20, Hunyadi János, as the commander of the allied forces, was clearly much more cautious. The thought of how the Ottoman would prepare made Hunyadi involuntarily squeeze the belly of his snow-white warhorse. Since the war with the Ottoman began, his prestige as the commander of the Crusader allied forces had gradually risen, and the position of him and his family in Transylvania had also become increasingly stable. To praise his achievements, the Christian, highly enthusiastic about the holy war, even gave him the nickname "White Knight."
Hunyadi was quite pleased with this nickname and actively accepted this title from others. Correspondingly, he became even more cautious about the subsequent course of this war, even more so than his King.
Under these circumstances, after several arduous battles with the Ottoman, with alternating victories and defeats, the three Crusader leaders—Hunyadi, Władysław III, and Cardinal Cesarini—proposed a bold marching plan at the beginning of this month: bypass Emos Mountains, which the Turk call the Balkan Mountains, and strike directly at the coastal plain east of the mountains, especially Varna; during this period, Venice would provide naval support to help them quickly cross the lake. After bypassing, they would quickly attack the Ottoman capital Edirne from there, liberating the Christian of Southeast Europe, which the Ottoman call Rumelia.
Once the feasibility of this plan was confirmed, they immediately set off. And now, this allied army, numbering as many as 50,000, was on its way to Varna, hoping to deliver the most severe blow to the Ottoman through this ingenious strategy.
But while the Crusaders were still excited about their smooth march to Varna, little did they know that the Ottoman were already waiting there in full battle array to resist them.
At dusk on November 8th, on the city walls of Varna, Ottoman Sultan Murad II's face could not help but reveal a confident smile as he looked at the fortifications outside the city, bathed in the setting sun.
A few days ago, he had already obtained intelligence on the movements of the Christian allied forces through Rumelia's intelligence network and determined that they would immediately attack Varna. In response, the Sultan, a veteran of many battles, decided to use the battlefield terrain for a counter-ambush: he considered the marshy terrain of the southern Varna Lake and secretly deployed a force of 15,000 formidable warriors in the north in advance to prevent the soon-to-arrive Crusaders from escaping beyond the Varna region, cutting off their opportunity to bypass the Ottoman.
This way, the north would be the Crusaders' only way out in the surrounding waters. As for the crucial northern area, he naturally made detailed deployments; by encircling the Crusaders and giving them no escape, the Ottoman would psychologically deter the Crusaders, preventing the enemy's morale from exceeding his own.
But halfway through deploying these terrains, news of abnormal movements from the Bosporus Army, which had already garrisoned Constantinople to the south, quickly reached the Sultan's ears. According to scout reports, they began moving from Constantinople north to Burgas, which the Romans call Mesembria, about a day or two after the Crusaders began their large-scale movements. That was also a small territory his father had given up claiming after compromising with the Roman Emperor Manuel II back then. Murad had once thought it was just a barren coastal fishing village, so he hadn't occupied or annexed it, never expecting that this time it would become a breakthrough point for the Romans.
"These Romans wouldn't be trying to sandwich our army in cooperation with their heretic allies, would they?" Grand Vizier Halil Pasha, who stood beside him, couldn't help but worry after learning of the enemy's movements.
The Sultan was clearly much calmer about the Grand Vizier's concerns. After scrutinizing the map before him for a long time, he made a cautious and practical decision:
"Allocate ten thousand troops to guard against the Romans in the south; absolutely do not let these two armies converge!"
"As you command, Sultan!"
Just as Murad thought he could relax for a while, his trusted general Turahan Bey rushed to see him, reporting a major event that made his blood pressure soar,
"Sultan, the Roman Emperor has not only led that large army of ten thousand, which set out from Morea, to control the entire region of Thessaly, but he also appears to be continuing his northern campaign to seize Macedonia from us."
"These Romans, one after another, are all so troublesome!" Murad II angrily slammed his fist on the wooden table in front of him, but he quickly calmed down and regained his original expression after considering Constantine XI's actual predicament, "Immediately allocate a thousand elite soldiers to assist the garrison in Macedonia, led personally by you, Turahan Bey. You must know that the army under the Roman Emperor is almost entirely conscripted peasants; even if I press down with one finger, they will scatter like birds and beasts!"
"As you command, Sultan!" Upon receiving the Sultan's order, Turahan Bey immediately took his leave.
After confirming there were no other issues, the sunset glow had already faded, and the sky grew dim. Gazing at the west, where the enemy was soon to arrive, Murad drew the saber from his waist and plunged it into the city wall,
"Bring it on, Christian. May Allah have mercy on your departed souls."
The Ottoman's readiness was not difficult to ascertain. More than a day later, the scouts sent by the Crusaders had already discovered that the Ottoman had prepared in Varna, and they reported the rough situation to the allied leaders.
Upon receiving the scout's report, Hunyadi, realizing that the situation had taken a turn for the worse, immediately felt a sense of foreboding. Coupled with not yet hearing any news from the Venetians, the "White Knight" realized that the plan had gone significantly awry. Therefore, he quickly advised the King and the Papal Legate, requesting a temporary retreat to avoid the immediate clash.
However, regarding the commander's suggestion, both Władysław III and Cardinal Cesarini chose to refuse. "In a narrow encounter, the brave win"—these were the young King's exact words in refuting the commander, and the Papal Legate expressed complete agreement. This was because, earlier, the Crusaders had already encountered several battles of uncertain outcome, and if the King had not led the army to carve a bloody path through sheer courage, they would not have achieved such astonishing results. Given this, what was wrong with choosing to continue to subdue the enemy with bravery this time?
Other monarchs, led by Vlad II, the Grand Prince of Wallachia, also chose to be ambiguous. Only Hunyadi felt that this battle, about to take place in Varna, was different from previous ones, but under the pressure from the King and the Holy See, this renowned general, famous for his military achievements, ultimately chose to compromise, deciding to rely on the allied forces' capabilities and quality to achieve ultimate victory.
On the morning of November 10, 1444, the lord became flesh, by Varna Lake, 50,000 Crusaders and 60,000 Ottoman forces met, and the Battle of Varna erupted.