Battle of Torvioll

The Battle of Torvioll, also known as the Battle of Lower Dibra, was fought on 29 June 1444 on the Plain of Torvioll, in what is modern-day Albania. Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg was an Ottoman Albanian general who decided to go back to his native land and take the reins of a new Albanian League against the Ottoman Empire. He, along with 300 other Albanians fighting at the Battle of Niš, deserted the Ottoman army to head towards Krujë, which fell quickly through a subversion. He then formed the League of Lezhë, a confederation of Albanian princes united in war against the Ottoman Empire. Murad II, realizing the threat, sent one of his most experienced captains, Ali Pasha, to crush the new state with a force of 25,000-40,000 men.

Skanderbeg organised an army of 10,000-15,000 men assembled from the League of Lezhë to defeat Ali Pasha's army. The Albanians confronted Ali Pasha along his route to Krujë, and on 29 June 1444, Skanderbeg's forces split into three groups and pretended to retreat, drawing the Ottomans into the gorge of Torvioll as they dispersed in the surrounding mountains. The Albanians regrouped and attacked the Ottomans in the gorge, who were confident that the Albanians had retreated, resulting in the defeat of the Ottomans.

The victory consolidated Skanderbeg's leading role in the League of Lezhë and boosted the morale of the Albanians in their struggle against the Ottoman Empire. The battle encouraged Pope Eugenius IV and John Hunyadi to organise a new crusade against the Ottomans in the fall of 1444. Skanderbeg would go on to lead the Albanians against the Ottomans for twenty-five years of constant war up until his death.