WI: Successful Crusade of Pius II

After the Turks seized the City of World's Desires in 1453, a crusade was called by the Pope. As was common of the later crusades, few answered the call and even fewer participated. Pius himself attempted to lead the crusade himself but died.

My question is what if a much more sizeable force was assembled for the Pope to use against the infidels and the ensuing invasion was actually successful in at least securing some cities in Greece if not expelling the Turks from Europe completely?
 
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would this be enough to heal the rift caused by those Venetian bastards in 1204?

If the Venetians participate, even then probably not.
But the outcome of the Crusade would be strange and I'd hope the Morean Palaiologoi would get the city but the Franks would probably flick them off.

But a christian response of any kind that would liberate Greece would do wonders in healing the rift. It wouldn't be an anti-fourth crusade but it goes a long way, especially if they respect the Greeks.
 
If the Venetians participate, even then probably not.
But the outcome of the Crusade would be strange and I'd hope the Morean Palaiologoi would get the city but the Franks would probably flick them off.

But a christian response of any kind that would liberate Greece would do wonders in healing the rift. It wouldn't be an anti-fourth crusade but it goes a long way, especially if they respect the Greeks.

Well I'm unsure of just how successful such a Crusade would be, but I know for a fact that the papacy and many European monarchs recognized Thomas Palaiologos as the legitimate Emperor of the East, and the Papacy subsequently recognized his son Andreas as well. So if the Crusade is led by the Papacy chances are the Palaiologos dynasty would be restored to a throne, either in Constantinople itself or the Morea.
 
Wouldn't such a crusade have to attack chiefly from Hungary and Wallachia?

In that case, partial success would mean pushing the Ottomans back to the south and east, and full success (liberating Constantinople or a large part of Greece) would mean pretty much driving them out of Europe. Or to the very edge.

In any case, it would certainly help heal the hostility between Catholicism and Orthodoxy.
 
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