On March 1, 1456, nearly 200,000 troops gathered on the battlefield of Varna, an unprecedented decisive battle that would make every participant proud.
The surviving warriors would often recall this battle in the days to come, proudly telling those around them, "I participated in that great war that decided the fate of Europe!"
People would give them a thumbs-up and praise, "What a true warrior!"
In the early morning, the two armies arrayed themselves on this narrow battlefield, sandwiched between the lake and the sea.
The Crusade formed an arc-shaped line, with Philip leading the Burgundy army as the most prominent part of the first line, bearing considerable pressure.
Laszlo led the Holy Roman Empire coalition and some of the Portugal army, totaling over 30,000 men, in the second line directly behind him, ready to provide support at any moment.
Janos positioned the Saxony mercenaries and Hungary infantry on the left flank of the first line, with their flank pressed against Lake Varna, while his more than 20,000 cavalry were hidden behind these arrayed infantry, awaiting an opportunity to launch a decisive charge.
Adolf led his army to the far right flank of the line before dawn, forming a circular Wagenburg facing the Frankenhöhe to the northwest, with ammunition, arrows, and horses stored in the center.
The Wagenburg's front and rear defenses were meticulously arranged, with cannons regularly placed in the Wagenburg's gaps, hidden behind heavy shields, and two openings left on the sides of the Wagenburg, allowing the cavalry inside to sortie from the flanks at any time to flank the enemy.
Eight thousand Austria conscripts, led by several Imperial Knights, were hidden inside the Wagenburg; when the enemy approached the Wagenburg's gaps, the old farmers would use their billhooks and spears to push them back.
Vlad, leading 4,000 Wallachia light cavalry, was positioned in the second line of the right flank, ready to intercept enemies attacking the Wagenburg from the side.
Mehmed II stood atop the Frankenhöhe, observing the Crusade's line from above.
The enemy's right flank was not as heavily concentrated as he had expected, which caused him some concern.
The Crusade was not as panicked and timid as he had imagined; they had no intention of fleeing and would not expose their backs to the Ottomans.
He said to Haladin Pasha, the commander of the Anatolia Corps beside him, "It seems these Westerners also possess true courage; this will be an unavoidable bloody battle."
"Your Majesty, how about we transfer some cavalry from the right flank to block their retreat?" Haladin suggested.
Mehmed shook his head slightly, his expression grave, and said, "That move is useless now; they have resolved to fight to the death and do not intend to break through to the north. We will decide the final outcome here, with them!"
Haladin bowed, saluted Mehmed, and said, "Then I will break their left flank for you according to the original plan and end this battle."
"Not yet; let Mahmud's troops go first. His corps is the most prominent and will engage first. I want to create the illusion of a fierce assault from the high ground, making them believe your corps is deployed near the high ground and not by the lake. Perhaps in their panic, they will shift their left flank troops to the right flank, and that will be our opportunity."
Mahmud's gaze constantly roamed the battlefield, everywhere filled with people, a dense mass. Many of them would die here today, and then the fate of the Ottoman, the fate of Austria, would become clear.
As the clear horn sounded on the Frankenhöhe, the Ottoman heavy artillery, from their elevated position, began to bombard the Crusade's right flank.
Adolf's Wagenburg became the first unit to suffer casualties after the battle began; of the dozen or so cannonballs fired by the Ottomans, only one struck the center of the Wagenburg, killing three draft horses pulling a war wagon and an unlucky crossbowman.
Such accuracy reassured Adolf; although the Ottomans cannons had large calibers, they were not flexible enough, and they had not yet mastered the technique of adjusting the cannon's firing angle, so even with the advantageous elevated firing position, their accuracy remained questionable.
However, this round of bombardment made Adolf realize that the enemy's attack was imminent.
He personally rode his warhorse to the Wagenburg front line, conducting a final inspection of the war wagon arrangements while motivating the soldiers to prepare for battle.
As expected, not long after, countless Ottoman soldiers surged down from the Frankenhöhe like a tide, rushing towards the Wagenburg with the momentum of a fierce tiger descending a mountain.
Veli Mahmud, with a solemn expression, led 6,000 cavalry patrolling the flanks; this time, he was determined to wash away his sins and shame.
Although the Sultan had not heavily punished him for his failure, the shame made him feel utterly humiliated; everyone, from his subordinates to his colleagues, was making fun of him.
A commanding general defeated by an army smaller than his own, fleeing in terror—this would be a lifelong disgrace for him.
He needed to repay the Sultan's trust and leniency with more loyalty and victories.
The fanatical Ottoman soldiers, holding round shields and brandishing scimitars, roared as they charged towards the sturdy Wagenburg.
As the enemy drew closer, the Imperial Army warriors also grew tense.
However, the Wagenburg in front provided a strong barrier, protecting them from the enemy archers, while also allowing them to target the enemy through a series of firing ports.
Adolf observed that the distance was sufficient and decisively ordered the horn to be blown.
"Cannons ready!" "Cannons ready!"
The voices of the frontline commanders rose and fell; the soldiers beside the giant shields deftly moved them aside, revealing the dark muzzles of the cannons.
The Ofnis cannon, with a caliber of 200-300 mm and a barrel length of no more than one meter, was a culmination of short-barreled light stone-throwing cannons.
The soldiers operating the cannons skillfully raised the muzzle slightly to a small angle; the first shot had already been loaded.
"Fire!"
At the commander's order, the match ignited the gunpowder, sparks burst from the muzzle, and the stone projectile was fired.
Due to the immaturity of cannon technology, these overly portable cannons had a range of less than five hundred meters, but the Ottomans were already less than five hundred meters from the Wagenburg.
The dense crowd could not avoid the close-range cannon fire; many Ottomans were hit by cannonballs, instantly torn apart.
The surrounding soldiers, however, showed little fear; they were accustomed to seeing bodies hit by cannon fire, and this could not become an obstacle on their path of attack.
After one round of firing, the gunner squad immediately began to clean the barrel and load the next projectile; they had undergone much training, and this process was very skilled and fast.
Finally, when the Ottomans, enduring the bombardment, rushed close to the Wagenburg, they saw a desperate sight.
One side of the Hussite War Wagon was fitted with wide wooden planks, with several firing holes carved in the middle. Now, the crossbowmen were holding their crossbows, waiting for the Ottomans to approach.
"Fire at will!"
The crossbowmen immediately triggered their crossbows, arrows flew out, and Ottomans soldiers fell in swathes under the dense rain of arrows.
However, as one fell, more surged forward.
The crossbowmen retreated to the other side of the war wagon to reload their crossbows, and the second group of crossbowmen seamlessly took their place, coming to the firing holes to find targets, shoot, and strike down.
A war wagon consisted of a crew of 10 soldiers: five crossbowmen, and the rest were spearmen and shield-bearers.
The crossbowmen were responsible for shooting enemies in front of the war wagon, the spearmen for stabbing enemies who rushed to the sides of the war wagon, and the shield-bearers for covering their comrades with large shields.
They cooperated skillfully in this way, killing all enemies who rushed close.
The cannons continued to fire; at a distance of tens of meters, a special projectile mixed with various sharp fragments was loaded into the barrel.
"Bang!" Countless small projectiles shot out from the cannon barrel, instantly taking down a large number of Ottomans.
More Ottomans surged towards the cannons; there was no chance to fire another shot.
The artillerymen, disregarding the cannons left behind, immediately retreated, and the huddled Austria peasant soldiers, holding long spears, blocked the gaps where the cannons had been set up, their dense array of spears instantly impaling the unstoppable Ottomans like sieves.
Many Ottomans constantly tried to climb over the Wagenburg, but the two-meter-high side walls made it very difficult for them to overcome this "natural barrier"; they could only be picked off by the crossbowmen inside the Wagenburg amidst desperate roars.
Some Ottomans also rushed into the Wagenburg through the gaps but were immediately killed or driven out by the arriving knights and soldiers.
This was a cruel tug-of-war.
The sturdy Hussite War Wagon stood like a long dike, firmly blocking the torrent formed by the Ottoman army.