Hello, and welcome to the start of a new timeline. This is my first real in-depth timeline that I have done, so I know that it won't be perfect but it should hopefully be good anyway.
The POD of the timeline is instead of in Pope Eugene IV ending the Hungarian civil war to get Wladyslaw's help in the crusade against the Ottomans, the Ottomans invade Hungary, giving Wladyslaw the upper hand. And well, things go from there. Well without further ado, lets start....
In the streets of Visegrad, early 1444, King Wladyslaw III Jagiellon of Poland is crowned King of Hungary for the second time in four years. The traitor Elizabeth of Luxembourg and her young son, the pretender Ladislaus, lay dead. King Wladyslaw only was able to win the war through outside intervention. This intervention came in the form of the Ottoman Turk’s 1442 invasion of Hungary. With Hungary now under a union with Poland though, this invasion was now directed towards the 20 year old King. John Hunyadi “The White Knight”, voivode of Transylvania and one of Wladyslaw’s supporters in the Civil War, had in mid-1443, turned his forces towards the invading Ottomans, who had been focusing their troops on the pretender Ladislaus’ men. By July of 1444, it was time for the King to join him.
Starting with the Battle of Szeged in September of 1444, King Wladyslaw III and John Hunyadi began their ‘Long March’, a series of battles heading south-east, aimed at pushing the Turks back into the south. The ‘Long March’ was largely successful, the two slavic armies pushing to Ottomans back to the border within the year. By New Year's Day, 1445, the Polish-Hungarian army was camping in Belgrade, where on the same day King Wladyslaw III was wed to Dorothea of Brandenburg in a converted Orthodox church. The two were wed by King Wladyslaw’s advisor Cardinal Olesnicki, who was travelling with the army to advise the King and perform religious ceremony for the soldiers. In the spring of 1445, the ‘Long March’ resumed, the Polish-Hungarian army chasing the fleeing turks into Bulgaria. With the KIng heading north through Bulgaria, and John Hunyadi heading south, the two armies planned to converge in Varna, where the Ottoman’s European army was licking it’s wounds. Following other important battles in Bulgaria such as the Battles of Sofia, Tvarditsa, and Dobrich, in late summer of 1445 the two large armies converge on their prize, the costal city of Varna.
The Polish-Hungarians set up two camps, one for each army. The hungarians set up their camp on the south coast of Lake Varna, while the Poles camp is set up close to the city edge. The two army’s surround and besiege the city for 4 months, when on Christmas Day, 1445, the Turks, led by the Sultan Mehmed II himself, emerge from the city. They march towards the close northern camp, where they heard rumors of consumption and other diseases. Leaving their backs to the city, they surround the camp, and attack. The Poles are awoken by the confusion of the early morning attack, but contrary to the rumors, they were not suffering plagues. The Turks outnumber the Polish army, who in the morning fog where having difficulty organizing. Luckily a messenger was able to escape the confusion of the slaughter house which used to be the northern camp, and tell John Hunyadi of the sneak attack. Within the hour he had organized his army and was charging through the streets of Varna towards the northern camp. In the meantime a fourth of the Polish army and camp followers, including Cardinal Olesnicki, had been slaughtered, though what was left had organized under King Wladyslaw. He formed a defensive circle around camp, mirroring the Turkish army, certain that John Hunyadi would attack from the rear. He manages to hold his position for over an hour, when at just past nine o'clock in the morning, three hours after the battle had begun, Hunyadi forms his own circle around the Ottomans, and slams into them from behind. Utter chaos ensues as Turks are slain from infront and behind, and after several more hours of fighting, the turkish army is broken.
Sultan Mehmed is said to have died in the battle, and the Polish-Hungarians claimed to have his head, but his body in the royal armor is never found. This leads to numerous theories that he survived and moved to Mecca, changing his name and becoming a holy warrior, dedicating his life to God. According to the theorists he took the loss in battle as “Allah’s punishment for violating his truce with the Poles”. This theory is highly controversial, even into modern times, remaining one of the great mysteries of the Ottoman Empire.
Mehmed’s father, the previous Sultan Murad II, takes control of the throne for a second time, and in the spring of 1446, surrenders to the Polish-Hungarian Union. The Polish-Hungarian Army, now stationed in Varna, celebrate for a week, the army rampaging through the town. One night in the spring of 1446, a drunken soldier passes out in an alley torch in hand. This ignites the Great Varna Fire of 1446. The Polish-Hungarians flee the town, not thinking of trying to put the raging fire out with water from the Black Sea. The entire army retreats, leaving the town to burn for seven days, reducing the once proud and ancient city to nothing more than a pile of smouldering ruins, and the orchards and vineyards of the surrounding countryside barren wastes.
Once King Wladyslaw, now known as King Wladyslaw of Varna, returns to Krakow, he finds he has a daughter, nearly a year old. Sophia Jagiellon, born in fall of 1445, is quickly the older sister to twins, Casimir and Dorothea, born in early 1447. With the succession of the throne clear, a time of stability dawns. But stability is often short lived.
The POD of the timeline is instead of in Pope Eugene IV ending the Hungarian civil war to get Wladyslaw's help in the crusade against the Ottomans, the Ottomans invade Hungary, giving Wladyslaw the upper hand. And well, things go from there. Well without further ado, lets start....
Wlad Goes Home: A Poland Timeline
I: In the Beginning
I: In the Beginning
In the streets of Visegrad, early 1444, King Wladyslaw III Jagiellon of Poland is crowned King of Hungary for the second time in four years. The traitor Elizabeth of Luxembourg and her young son, the pretender Ladislaus, lay dead. King Wladyslaw only was able to win the war through outside intervention. This intervention came in the form of the Ottoman Turk’s 1442 invasion of Hungary. With Hungary now under a union with Poland though, this invasion was now directed towards the 20 year old King. John Hunyadi “The White Knight”, voivode of Transylvania and one of Wladyslaw’s supporters in the Civil War, had in mid-1443, turned his forces towards the invading Ottomans, who had been focusing their troops on the pretender Ladislaus’ men. By July of 1444, it was time for the King to join him.
Starting with the Battle of Szeged in September of 1444, King Wladyslaw III and John Hunyadi began their ‘Long March’, a series of battles heading south-east, aimed at pushing the Turks back into the south. The ‘Long March’ was largely successful, the two slavic armies pushing to Ottomans back to the border within the year. By New Year's Day, 1445, the Polish-Hungarian army was camping in Belgrade, where on the same day King Wladyslaw III was wed to Dorothea of Brandenburg in a converted Orthodox church. The two were wed by King Wladyslaw’s advisor Cardinal Olesnicki, who was travelling with the army to advise the King and perform religious ceremony for the soldiers. In the spring of 1445, the ‘Long March’ resumed, the Polish-Hungarian army chasing the fleeing turks into Bulgaria. With the KIng heading north through Bulgaria, and John Hunyadi heading south, the two armies planned to converge in Varna, where the Ottoman’s European army was licking it’s wounds. Following other important battles in Bulgaria such as the Battles of Sofia, Tvarditsa, and Dobrich, in late summer of 1445 the two large armies converge on their prize, the costal city of Varna.
The Polish-Hungarians set up two camps, one for each army. The hungarians set up their camp on the south coast of Lake Varna, while the Poles camp is set up close to the city edge. The two army’s surround and besiege the city for 4 months, when on Christmas Day, 1445, the Turks, led by the Sultan Mehmed II himself, emerge from the city. They march towards the close northern camp, where they heard rumors of consumption and other diseases. Leaving their backs to the city, they surround the camp, and attack. The Poles are awoken by the confusion of the early morning attack, but contrary to the rumors, they were not suffering plagues. The Turks outnumber the Polish army, who in the morning fog where having difficulty organizing. Luckily a messenger was able to escape the confusion of the slaughter house which used to be the northern camp, and tell John Hunyadi of the sneak attack. Within the hour he had organized his army and was charging through the streets of Varna towards the northern camp. In the meantime a fourth of the Polish army and camp followers, including Cardinal Olesnicki, had been slaughtered, though what was left had organized under King Wladyslaw. He formed a defensive circle around camp, mirroring the Turkish army, certain that John Hunyadi would attack from the rear. He manages to hold his position for over an hour, when at just past nine o'clock in the morning, three hours after the battle had begun, Hunyadi forms his own circle around the Ottomans, and slams into them from behind. Utter chaos ensues as Turks are slain from infront and behind, and after several more hours of fighting, the turkish army is broken.
Sultan Mehmed is said to have died in the battle, and the Polish-Hungarians claimed to have his head, but his body in the royal armor is never found. This leads to numerous theories that he survived and moved to Mecca, changing his name and becoming a holy warrior, dedicating his life to God. According to the theorists he took the loss in battle as “Allah’s punishment for violating his truce with the Poles”. This theory is highly controversial, even into modern times, remaining one of the great mysteries of the Ottoman Empire.
Mehmed’s father, the previous Sultan Murad II, takes control of the throne for a second time, and in the spring of 1446, surrenders to the Polish-Hungarian Union. The Polish-Hungarian Army, now stationed in Varna, celebrate for a week, the army rampaging through the town. One night in the spring of 1446, a drunken soldier passes out in an alley torch in hand. This ignites the Great Varna Fire of 1446. The Polish-Hungarians flee the town, not thinking of trying to put the raging fire out with water from the Black Sea. The entire army retreats, leaving the town to burn for seven days, reducing the once proud and ancient city to nothing more than a pile of smouldering ruins, and the orchards and vineyards of the surrounding countryside barren wastes.
Once King Wladyslaw, now known as King Wladyslaw of Varna, returns to Krakow, he finds he has a daughter, nearly a year old. Sophia Jagiellon, born in fall of 1445, is quickly the older sister to twins, Casimir and Dorothea, born in early 1447. With the succession of the throne clear, a time of stability dawns. But stability is often short lived.
. Keep it up. I wonder how will this effect the Byzantine Empire