On the night of January 30, 1445, Ottoman Sultan Murad II read several battle reports from Asia Minor in his central army camp, his brow furrowed with worry.
"On January 7, Sinan Pasha assembled an army of ten thousand field troops and launched an attack on Sinop, attempting to seize the southern coast of the Black Sea, but was repulsed by the enemy defenders. The Pasha, with nearly two thousand remnants, retreated to Ankara;
"On January 10, an unknown Bosporus Army, led by its fierce general, emerged from the Anatolian highlands and attacked Sinan Pasha's garrison in Ankara. Thousands of defenders met an untimely end, dying in a foreign land. Fortunately, Sinan Pasha successfully retreated to Brusa;
"On January 12, the Bosporus Navy gathered and decisively defeated our navy. A large number of hired Turk pirates were captured or defected, in turn hindering our army's movement between the two sides of the strait. Constantinople also escaped the threat of being attacked by both land and sea, successfully restoring communication along both sides of the Sea of Marmara;
"On January 15, through secretly purchased intelligence from the Venetians, it was confirmed that the Bosphorus Caesar, currently in Constantinople, had been relying on bribing the Genoese of Galata and cooperating with the Venetians to communicate with his troops in Asia Minor and Tauris, remotely controlling them in secret;
"On January 16, Tokat was once again controlled by the Romans;
"On January 18, the Bosporus Romans' army, numbering over ten thousand, converged and officially marched west;
"On January 20, to prevent the Romans from advancing west, Sinan Pasha had no choice but to lead his remaining callable troops to stop the Romans, but was defeated west of Bolu, dying on the spot, with nearly ten thousand troops annihilated;
"On January 22, the siege of Izmit was lost;
"On January 25, the remnants retreated from Kocaeli and had no power left to stop the enemy. The Romans regained control of what they called 'Bithynia,' and all our attempts to retake Kocaeli ended in failure."
After reading these battle reports in chronological order, and then thinking about the thousands of needless casualties suffered during the month-long siege of Constantinople, Murad II felt utterly dejected and much older.
At this moment, he did not resemble a majestic Sultan ruling both Europe and Asia, but rather an old man who had gambled and lost completely.
But in the end, Murad still forced himself to rally, knowing that his wisdom and courage were indispensable to lead the Sultanate out of its current predicament.
Thinking of this, the Sultan called for his Grand Vizier Halil Pasha, who had always accompanied him, and asked him about any unusual movements around Constantinople lately.
"Reporting to Sultan, as of today, the defenders of Constantinople have shown no unusual actions… it's just that the Bosphorus Caesar hasn't been seen very often in recent days." Facing the Sultan's inquiry, the Grand Vizier reported all relevant anomalies to his monarch.
"Hmm…" The Sultan, feeling a bit subtle, pressed on, "Did that Caesar appear today?"
"Yes, Sultan, as you know, he came to comfort the defenders once at dusk today. Although it wasn't for long, he should indeed still be in the city."
"Good, you may withdraw for now."
"As you command, Sultan." Upon receiving the Sultan's order, Halil Pasha immediately exited the tent.
However, Murad still did not feel at ease. For such a long time after regaining naval supremacy, there had been no news of Roman armies from Asia Minor moving towards the European continent, which forced him to be vigilant. Especially since his opponent had a history of manipulating battles and frequently employing schemes, making him even more restless.
After much thought, the Sultan finally called for his eldest son, Ahmed, whom he had brought to lead the army, and talked with his son about this matter throughout the night.
When the next day, the 31st, arrived, the defenders of Constantinople were surprised to find that the besieging Ottoman army's attack frequency had significantly decreased compared to before, and even the cannons that would occasionally bombard the Theodosian Walls were absent. News spread, and many soldiers and civilians were secretly cheering, celebrating that the city had once again triumphed over foreign invasion, celebrating that they had once again defended their country.
Only the Bosporus high-ranking officials still in the city, led by Serenus, heard the news and, instead of rejoicing, were worried, quickly gathering to discuss something.
After dusk, in the Ottoman central army camp, upon learning that there were no unusual movements among the Constantinople defenders and along the Sea of Marmara coast, Sultan Murad, pleasantly surprised, immediately issued the order to withdraw.
Continuing to waste time on this impregnable city could no longer change the tide of battle, and there was a risk of being caught in a pincer attack. However, if they were to suffer another Bosporus ambush or attack during their retreat, it would certainly mean another loss. Therefore, after careful reconnaissance and confirming that the Bosphorus Caesar should still be in the city and there was no news from the Sea of Marmara coast, he dared to lead his army away. The decision to withdraw was also made by Murad the previous night after discussing it with his eldest son.
What the Sultan did not know, however, was that in the nearby northern hilly area, several torches were being lit, then quickly moving southward.
Late that night, just as Murad had finally managed to relax, having traveled dozens of miles outside Constantinople, he spotted flickering lights to the north of his army. At this moment, remembering the several failures he had experienced previously, he was so startled that he nearly jumped off his warhorse, "Oh no, it's an enemy attack!"
Upon receiving the Sultan's command, the two tens of thousands of Ottoman troops, whose morale was low due to the disgruntled retreat, immediately became alert, attempting to quickly reform into a disciplined battle formation.
But the speed of these lights far exceeded their expectations. In less than a quarter of an hour, the lights split on both sides and charged towards the Ottoman. Because of their excessive speed, the Ottoman's flanks and front and rear sides were scattered and temporarily lost their combat effectiveness. Only then did the Ottoman realize that those who had just launched a fierce charge against them were the Tatar light cavalry, who had been galloping across the battlefields of the Eastern European Great Plains.
Understanding who the enemy was, the Sultan was about to order the Sipahi heavy cavalry to immediately move forward and drive them away, but he saw the lights to the north still rapidly approaching him.
"Bosporus! It's you again!" Realizing that this was the enemy's main force and reserves, the Sultan immediately changed his military order, commanding the cavalry on both flanks to prioritize protecting the elite central army to complete their regrouping, and to temporarily delay restoring the flanks.
But the second wave of lights that then charged nearly panicked the Sultan; their speed was slightly slower than the Tatar cavalry that had charged earlier, but their impact was stronger, and they caused greater damage to their formation. It was not until they completely disrupted the entire central formation of the Ottoman that the Ottoman confirmed these were the Bosporus cataphracts.
Just as the Sultan thought they were about to suffer the same rout as recently at Varna, at a critical moment, a Devshirme-system general named Veli Mahmud Pasha, newly promoted by the Sultan before the battle, followed his military order and led a unit of Janissaries personal guards to the front, protecting the Ottoman's central formation. With their bravery and cooperation with the Sipahi cavalry, they actually succeeded in mitigating the damage caused by the Bosporus cataphracts to the central formation.
And seizing this breathing opportunity, the Ottoman's central army finally regained its discipline and once again displayed the strength expected of the strongest army of that period. The central army's cannons began to bombard the lights symbolizing the enemy, while the Sipahi cavalry also began to drive away the intruding Tatar cavalry and Bosporus heavy cavalry, defending their formation.
Seeing that the Ottoman had recovered their formation, the Bosporus Army on the opposite side did not press closer, but while maintaining their distance, they also brought out their cannons and began to bombard the Ottoman.
Tonight's fierce battle seemed to have just begun.