Battle of Kosvo and Ottoman Invasion

On June 28, 1389, Serbian Forces marched onto the Kosovo Polje and confronted the massive Ottoman Empire. The battle was fought by three Serbian commanders (Knez Vlatko Vukovic, Knez Vuk Brankovic, and Knez Lazar Hrebeljanovic) and three Ottoman Turk comanders (Yakub, Murad, and Bayezid I). The Serbs, though heavily outnumbered, put up a heroic fight in the name of their homeland and greatly slowed down the Ottoman invasion of Europe.

The Serbs had three sections of their army. The wings were comanded by Vuk Brankovic and Vlatko Vukovic. The centre was comanded by Knez Lazar. At first, due to the charge of Serbian heavy cavalry, the battle was in Serbian favour as the cavalry had heavily damaged the Turkish Wing. However, the Turkish armies were far greater in numbers and after withdrawing, the Turkish armies counterattacked and defeated the Heroic defenders. The Serbian political elite had nearly been wiped out in the conflict. One of the few Serb Nobility that survived was Bosnian Duke Vlatko Vukovic who managed to escape the battlefield and continue fighting the Ottomans in his later years. A Serb noble, Milos Obrenovic died a noble death. He came to the Turkish camp under the pretext of being a Serbian traitor who was willing to give information to the Turks. When he knelt before the Sultan, he pulled out his knife and killed him. Milos was executed immdeiately after. The end result was a stalemate sue to the fact that by the end of the battle the fighting had been so intense that both sides didn't have the manpower of resources necessary to continue the fight. In addition to this, both Knez Lazar and Sultan Murad (the two leaders of their respective Serbian and Turkish Ottoman Armies) died in the fighting. However, because the Ottomans had a much larger country and and many more people, they could recuperate (though with difficulty) more easily than the Serbs and would later continue their fight against the remainder of the Serbian nation and the rest of the Balkan people.

The Serbs put up a fight like no other and had united in the most desperate hour with the common goald of saving their fatherland. The result was the next 500 years under Ottoman rule (excluding Montenegro, which continued fighting the Turks and later played a key role in the liberation of the Serbian mainland). But, the Serbian spirit was never broken and todays Serbs look back upon Kosovo 1389, and strive to be as courageous and selfless like their Serbian heroes in the past. Recently, Albanians began flooding into Kosovo and desecrating Serbian land. This should not be permit able, especially after the fight our forefather put up in the name of Kosovo. We, the Serbs of today should respect our forefathers and never let go of Kosovo! We will fight once more if needed!