April 20 in Military History — On This Day

Naval Battle off the Bosphorus

Three Genoese supply ships and one Byzantine vessel attempted to run the Ottoman naval blockade and reach Constantinople with supplies, helped by a favorable wind. The Ottoman fleet — 145 ships — attempted to stop them. In a remarkable engagement, the four large sailing ships used their height advantage and superior firepower to beat off attack after attack from the smaller Ottoman galleys, which could not board them effectively. With the wind dying, they became becalmed just short of the Golden Horn. Watching from the shore with his entire army, Mehmed was reportedly so furious that he rode his horse into the surf, screaming at his admirals. Eventually an evening wind brought the four ships safely into the harbor — the last successful resupply of Constantinople.

The engagement demonstrated both the vulnerability of the Ottoman navy to larger European ships and the strategic futility of individual acts of valor: four ships could not supply a city. Ottoman Admiral Baltaoğlu was demoted and severely punished for failing to stop them. Mehmed resolved the naval problem with an act of extraordinary lateral thinking.

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⚔️📍 Berlin, Germany1945

Soviet Artillery Begins Shelling Berlin

Soviet artillery reached Berlin and began shelling the city on Hitler's 56th birthday. Hitler celebrated in his underground bunker while Soviet forces encircled the capital. He would refuse to leave Berlin and die there ten days later.

The shelling of Berlin marked the final act of Nazi Germany; the city that had launched a war killing 70 million people was now being systematically destroyed.

Outcome

Berlin falls May 2; Hitler commits suicide April 30