This week in history witnessed the launch of a daringly amazing campaign dedicated to defending and liberating Christian lands from Islam.
The year was 1442. After having suffered countless atrocities from the invading Turks, “everyone [in the West] spoke of making war on the infidels and driving them out of Europe” — and it was entirely due to the martial exploits of John Hunyadi, the Transylvanian-born hero who had singlehandedly bested the Turks in several recent engagements.
After putting an army of some 25,000 Christians together — mostly from Hungary, Poland, Wallachia, Moldavia, and Serbia — Hunyadi took the initiative by doing the unthinkable: he led them into Turkish-held territories at the end of September 1442 — when campaigning season was supposed to end, due to the usual harsh weather, not begin.
