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. Skanderbeg was an Ottoman captain of Albanian origin who decided to go back to his native land and take the reins of a new Albanian rebellion. 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 rebellion with a force of 25,000 men.
Skanderbeg expected a reaction so he moved with 15,000 of his own men to defeat Ali Pasha’s army. The two met in the Plain of Torvioll where they camped opposite of each other. The following day, 29 June, Ali came out of his camp and saw that Skanderbeg had positioned his forces at the bottom of a hill. Expecting a quick victory, Ali ordered all of his forces down the hill to attack and defeat Skanderbeg’s army. Skanderbeg expected such a maneuver and prepared his own stratagem. Once the opposing forces were engaged and the necessary positioning was achieved, Skanderbeg ordered his forces hidden in the forests behind the Turkish army to strike their rear flanks. The result was devastating for the Ottomans, whose entire army was routed with its commander nearly being killed.
The victory lifted the morale of the Christian princes of Europe and was recognized as a great victory over the Muslim Ottoman Empire whose expansions they could not withhold by themselves. Murad thus realized the effect Skanderbeg’s rebellion would have on his realm and continued to take proper measures for his defeat, resulting in twenty-five years of war.
Aftermath
8,000[13] to 22,000 Turks died in the battle, while 2,000 were captured. The Albanians were originally attributed to have lost as little as 120 men, but modern sources suggest a higher figure of 4,000 Albanians dead and wounded. Skanderbeg remained quiet in his camp for the remainder of that day and the following night. Having addressed his troops, he directed his infantry to mount the captured horses. The spoils of the victory were abundant and even the wounded took part in the pillaging. Skanderbeg thereafter ordered a general retreat toward Krujë. Skanderbeg’s victory was praised through the rest of Europe. The European states thus began to consider a crusade to drive the Ottomans out of Europe. When Ali Pasha returned to Adrianople (Edirne), he explained to the sultan that the loss should be attributed to his forces and the “fortunes of war” and not his generalship.The battle of Torvioll thus opened up the quarter-century war between Skanderbeg’s Albania and the Ottoman Empire.
Kenneth Meyer Setton claims that majority of accounts on Skanderbeg’s activities in the period 1443–1444 “owe far more to fancy than to fact.” According to him, after Skanderbeg was allegedly victorious in Torviolli, the Hungarians are said to have sung praises about him and urged Skanderbeg to join the alliance of Hungary, the Papacy and Burgundy against the Turks.
June 29,1444 – Skanderbeg defeats an Ottoman invasion force at Torvioll.