Insuperable
05-31-2013, 10:17 PM
http://imageshack.us/a/img15/4053/gvozdanskonasl.jpg
Only after months of siege Ottomans conquered the Gvozdansko, but they did not won the battle. How come? Gvozdansko fort was defended by about 50 soldiers of Zrinski, 250 peaseants and miners, and women with children. Defenses were managed by four brave captain: Damjan Doktorović, Gvozdanović Juraj, Nikola Ožegović and Andrija Stepšić. At the foot of the city camped an army of 10 thousand Ottoman soldiers. Conquering of Gvozdansko began on October the 3rd in 1577 and lasted unexpectedly long - three months, until the January the 13th 1578.
At the time of conquest, veterans of Gvozdansko were not in touch with the other parts of the Croatia, so there was no help coming, nor people, nor food, nor ammunition. Inventories were almost consumed and the Ottoman general Ferhad Pasha Sokolović (Bosniak) was aware of this. On a Christmas day 1577 Ferhad Pasha's offer of surrender was refused. By that time a large part of Ottoman army arrived and a cannon fire on a fortress was opened. Under artillery fire and visibly starved and sparse crew who gradually ate guard dogs and even their dead ones still refused Ferhad Pasha's ultimatums.
On January the 9th, 1578 crew remained completely without food because Ottomans threw poisoned meat using arrows and poisoned the last two guard dogs. It was then when Ferhad Pasha Sokolović offered one last ultimatum. As in the past, this offer was rejected. The angry Ferhat Pasha Sokolovic organized three major assaults to take Gvozdansko. All three assaults were desperately pushed away by starved defenders of Gvozdansko and inflicted heavy losses to Ottomans. On those January nights trees in the forest around Gvozdansko were cracking because of cold, while horses began to die in the open. Ferhad Pasha ordered his men to bring more wood and light more fire because of cold. When the Ottomans the fourth day on January the 13th 1578 in the morning, after artillery preparation, stormed the walls not even one gun sounded, and earlier in the night the last fire in the city went extinguished. Ottomans, slightly suspicious, approached the walls waiting for a shot at any moment. When they without resistance broke the fortress door they were surprised by a horrific scene. In a city full of ruins they found only dead bodies. People were lying on their positions frozen and dead, in the city there was no food, no water, no ammunition, no wood. That scene shook Pasha Sokolovic who was impressed by the courage of the people who perished rather than surrendered. Respecting their prowess he commanded to bring a Catholic priest in order for them to be buried by Christian traditions. It was an act of posthumous honors and respect.
The Gvozdansko was liberated in the August the same year.
Only after months of siege Ottomans conquered the Gvozdansko, but they did not won the battle. How come? Gvozdansko fort was defended by about 50 soldiers of Zrinski, 250 peaseants and miners, and women with children. Defenses were managed by four brave captain: Damjan Doktorović, Gvozdanović Juraj, Nikola Ožegović and Andrija Stepšić. At the foot of the city camped an army of 10 thousand Ottoman soldiers. Conquering of Gvozdansko began on October the 3rd in 1577 and lasted unexpectedly long - three months, until the January the 13th 1578.
At the time of conquest, veterans of Gvozdansko were not in touch with the other parts of the Croatia, so there was no help coming, nor people, nor food, nor ammunition. Inventories were almost consumed and the Ottoman general Ferhad Pasha Sokolović (Bosniak) was aware of this. On a Christmas day 1577 Ferhad Pasha's offer of surrender was refused. By that time a large part of Ottoman army arrived and a cannon fire on a fortress was opened. Under artillery fire and visibly starved and sparse crew who gradually ate guard dogs and even their dead ones still refused Ferhad Pasha's ultimatums.
On January the 9th, 1578 crew remained completely without food because Ottomans threw poisoned meat using arrows and poisoned the last two guard dogs. It was then when Ferhad Pasha Sokolović offered one last ultimatum. As in the past, this offer was rejected. The angry Ferhat Pasha Sokolovic organized three major assaults to take Gvozdansko. All three assaults were desperately pushed away by starved defenders of Gvozdansko and inflicted heavy losses to Ottomans. On those January nights trees in the forest around Gvozdansko were cracking because of cold, while horses began to die in the open. Ferhad Pasha ordered his men to bring more wood and light more fire because of cold. When the Ottomans the fourth day on January the 13th 1578 in the morning, after artillery preparation, stormed the walls not even one gun sounded, and earlier in the night the last fire in the city went extinguished. Ottomans, slightly suspicious, approached the walls waiting for a shot at any moment. When they without resistance broke the fortress door they were surprised by a horrific scene. In a city full of ruins they found only dead bodies. People were lying on their positions frozen and dead, in the city there was no food, no water, no ammunition, no wood. That scene shook Pasha Sokolovic who was impressed by the courage of the people who perished rather than surrendered. Respecting their prowess he commanded to bring a Catholic priest in order for them to be buried by Christian traditions. It was an act of posthumous honors and respect.
The Gvozdansko was liberated in the August the same year.