The Battle of Kosovo Polje, in Serbian Cyrillic Бој на Косову или Косовска битка, took place on June 28 in the Gregorian calendar or June 15 in the Julian calendar 1389 in Kosovo on the "field of Blackbirds" in Serbian kos means blackbird and ovo is a suffix indicating the place, Kosovo therefore means place of the blackbirds or Country of the blackbirds, or Field of the blackbirds. The battle pitted the Ottoman Empire against the Serbs. This battle is particularly dear to the hearts of most Serbs, who like to remember this particular date, which marked the end of their independence for almost five centuries and their passage under Ottoman domination. But the Serbs were not the only ones to take part in it, even if they constituted the biggest part of the army.
Political situation before the battle
Turkish power had indeed continued to assert itself in the Balkans since its arrival in 1346 and was gradually supplanting the moribund Byzantine power.
Since September 26, 1371, and the battle of Marica, on the banks of the Marica, the Ottomans had opened the doors of the Balkans, destroying a strong army, gathered by the Serbian prince Vukašin Mrnjavčević. "The river had been red with blood" and this powerful feudal lord and his brother had been killed there.
From then on, the Turkish danger continued to increase in the region, while many local princes were no longer able to resist.
The Byzantines of John V Palaiologos had become vassals of the sultan from 1373, as well as the Bulgarians.
In the West, the Pope did try to start a crusade, but his call "did not bear fruit" until much later, in 1396.
The heart of the medieval Serbian state inherited from Tsar Dusan who died in 1355, was now under direct threat from Murat I and he launched his raids as far as Bosnia (1388).
The economic and cultural progress of Prince Lazar's state attracted more and more Turks to Serbia. Lazar knew this and he was preparing carefully, for the confrontation against the mighty Ottoman Empire.
The first battle on the territory of Lazar between the Serbs and the Turks took place in 1381 in Dubravica, near Paracin, the Serbian army, led by Generals Crep and Vitomir, won the victory. The Battle of Dubravica was celebrated by all Christians. Then, in 1386, Lazar himself intercepted a second army, led by Murat I in person, at the Toplica river near Plocnik, another defeat for the Turks, "Murat is afraid, he flees." reports a Serbian chronicler of the time.
Despite these defeats against the Serbs, the Turks went from victory to victory in the rest of southeastern Europe, 1388 Thessaloniki fell after a long siege, Serres already in 1383 was also Ottoman, they also occupied two Serbian kingdoms, that of balsa II in 1385 and that of vukasin in 1371. The Turks therefore still had significant military reserves, thanks to their new vassals. They then attacked the Bosnian king Tvrtko I, an ally of Lazar, hoping to weaken Lazar. Tvrtko's general, Vlatko Vukovic, routed the Turkish army led by Lala Sahin.
The opposing forces
The Serbian army is under the command of two princes, political rivals for supremacy over the Serbs:the "Tsar" Lazar Hrebeljanović, prince of Serbia and Vuk Branković, Serbian lord of Kosovo. This Serbian army is also supported by allies Prince of Bosnia Tvrtko I, about 1 third of the total troops of Lazar.
This one, just as disparate, is made up of Turks, but also of Muslim and Christian vassals. Also present are the Janissaries, the elite corps of the Osmanli armies. The Turkish ranks are much stronger than those of the Balkan coalition, but the latter can count on the fine flower of Serbian chivalry. Among the latter, we can cite those immortalized by local songs of gesture, namely:Miloš Obilić, Toplica Milan, Kosančić Ivan and Jug Bogdan and his nine sons, who all succumbed during the fighting.
The mobility and lightness of the Turks are opposed by the power and efficiency of the Serbian chivalry, which can destroy anything, especially since the fight takes place on the plain.
The course of the battle
The fight lasted all day, it was bloody and quite indecisive. In a first phase, the Serbian chivalry sank one of the Turkish wings and Murad I succumbed, in circumstances that are presented in different versions. According to Serbian epics, Miloš Obilić having promised to kill the Sultan before the battle, went to his tent and ripped him open, with a dagger hidden in his boot.
This death was harshly felt by the Osmanlis, who began to break up, but the son of Murat I, Bajazet I managed to avoid the debacle, he also took the opportunity to kill his brother Yakub who led the right wing of the army Ottoman. Despite this, news of the Christians' victory had spread in the West, spread by Pope watchers and Tvrtko I.
The Turks, however, were going to pull themselves together and take bloody revenge on the coalition. Lazar and all of his nobles are eventually taken prisoner and beheaded on the battlefield. The Turks remain masters of the field, but did not penetrate further into Serbia to submit it because the death of Murat and the murder of Yakub during the battle had considerably weakened the authority of Bajazet I, he had to return to his lands to assert his power. on his vassals and avoided any risk of revolt.
The consequences of the battle
The Serbs were well and truly defeated, but they were not unworthy. And Bayezid I was also not a winner because he hastened to conclude peace with the widow of Lazar, Milica and his men stopped their advance towards the west for a time. The conquest none the less resumed with a vengeance, in the middle of the 15th century.
In fact, there was no immediate winner because the Turks found themselves in a situation of war of inheritance and the Serbs no longer had an aristocracy. So neither side could claim victory even though the Bosnian king sent a letter to Rome in which he reported that the Serbs had won the battle. But in the long run, the Turks who had more human resources than the Serbs were able to replenish armies faster while Serbia could never replenish its power, so the Turks had the advantage.
Its meaning for Serbs:some food for thought
If we can think that the Serbs show proof of nationalism, the memory of this battle is also for the Serbs the opportunity to express the pride of their past by remembering the heroism and the courage of their fighters and therefore the expression of their nation (hence its use by some Serbian leaders to orchestrate an ultra-nationalist policy). For the Serbs, this battle against the Ottomans means the end of the Serbian Golden Age and the beginning of oppression and forced conversions for the peoples of Yugoslavia for several centuries. A tower built in 1953 in memory of the Serbs who fell on this day of Saint Guy (Vidovdan) allows, from the top of its terrace, to contemplate the “field of blackbirds”. An orientation table clearly relates the position of the various army corps as well as the strategy deployed. The legend says that the Serbian blood spilled on the plain makes wild peonies bloom every year, which, in fact, are very rare plants in the country