Historical Collections
Skanderbeg's Military Tactics
According to Marin Barleti, the tactical variants used by Skanderbeg to defeat enemy armies were diverse and relied on coordinating defence with offense, employing both Infantry and lightly armed Cavalry.
Cavalry was the primary weapon of Gjergj Kastrioti' s army. It consisted of light and simple formations, unburdened with heavy armaments, capable of covering great distances in a short time and delivering sudden and powerful strikes. Cavalry would play a crucial role in destroying Ottoman hordes. The successes of this cavalry, whose main advantage lay in its ability for swift, wide, and deep manoeuvres on the battlefield, had a significant impact on the field of military art and became one of the main factors for the rapid spread of the use of Light Cavalry in European battlefields of the XV- XVI centuries.
Skanderbeg also paid attention to disrupting the supply routes of the enemy army by attacking its supply caravans carrying food and other necessary supplies. He also took care in organizing intelligence gathering to secure strategic, operational, and tactical information related to the timing of the arrival of enemy forces, their size, organization, movement, military actions, and so on.
Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg
Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg was born in 1405 and died on January 17, 1468.
He obtained possession of Kruja on November 28, 1443.
The first step he took was to unite the Albanian Lords against the Ottomans.
In the Assembly of Lezha held on March 2, 1444, it was agreed on the formation of a Joint Army, whose Commander-in-Chief was chosen Skanderbeg.
Gjergj Kastrioti created an army of 15,000 warriors consisting of Cavalry, Infantry and Artillery.
The 3,000 best trained and most loyal soldiers made up the Praetorian Guard.
According to the legends, it turns out that Skanderbeg set up weapons processing workshops and foundries in Lure and Bulqiza. The main weapons used by his Army were: swords, spears, arrows, bows, shields, helmets, large and small cannons and rifles. Also, in the fights he used catapults, stone throwers, spikes with sharp points, hot resin, cauldrons of boiled lime, buckets of tar and oil, and burning twigs.
During his quarter of a century era, Skanderbeg fought 25 battles. Thanks to his genius, the Arbëria turned into an invincible fortress. Sultan Murat I and then his son, Sultan Mehmeti II, known as "the Conqueror", left the Albanian lands ashamed because they failed to conquer the fortress of Kruja.
All of Christian Europe prayed to the prowess of the leader of Arbri since, thanks to him, the Turks did not cross the Adriatic.
Pope Nicholas V gave him the title "Champion of Christianity", which was later confirmed by his followers, such as Callistus III and Pius II.
Skanderbeg's Campaigns came at a critical time for Europe in halting the Turkish hordes.