April 18, 1453 · Gate of St. Romanos, Land Walls Theater
April 18, 1453
After artillery had opened a breach in the Lycus Valley sector of the walls, Mehmed ordered a major night assault on April 18. Ottoman infantry — Bashi-bazouks and Anatolian regulars — streamed through the darkness and attacked the damaged sections. Giustiniani organized a fierce counterattack that pushed the Ottoman forces back from the breaches, and Byzantine cannon fire and Greek fire inflicted heavy casualties on the attackers climbing the rubble. After four hours of intense fighting, Mehmed ordered the withdrawal. The first attempt to storm the city had failed.
Commanders