Battle of Ohrid The Battle of Ohrid took place on 14 or 15 September 1464 between the Ottoman Empire ' s forces and Skanderbeg ' s Albania . A crusade against Sultan Mehmed II had been planned by Pope Pius II with Skanderbeg as one of its main leaders . The battle near Ohrid occurred as a result of an Albanian incursion into Ottoman territory . The Turks stationed in the area were assaulted by Skanderbeg ' s men and 1 , 000 Venetian soldiers under Cimarosto . The Turks were lured out of their protections in Ohrid and ambushed by the Albanian cavalry . Skanderbeg won the resulting battle and his men earned 40 , 000 ducats after captured Ottoman officers were ransomed . Pius died before the planned crusade began , however , forcing Skanderbeg to fight his battles virtually alone . Background . Pope Pius II ' s crusade against the Ottoman Empire was declared in November 1463 . Skanderbeg , the leader of the Albanians , was a vital ally to this effort and would have become one of its main leaders . The Venetians , who had also joined the crusade , could not persuade Lekë Dukagjini , Skanderbeg ' s lukewarm ally in northern Albania , to join until the pope intervened . Furthermore , the major European powers were reluctant to join the pope ' s crusade . Among those inquired were the city of Florence , Francisco Sforza of Milan , Louis XI of France , and Ferdinand I of Naples , all of whom declined for their own reasons . The Republic of Venice , however , decided to aid Skanderbeg by sending 500 cavalry and 500 infantry under the " condottiero " Antonio da Cosenza , also known as Cimarosto . Once the campaign season began , Mathias Corvinus of Hungary recaptured many of the Bosnian strongpoints , including Jajce , which had been taken from the Kingdom of Bosnia by the Ottomans . Mehmed II marched into Bosnia , pillaging the countryside , hoping that his enemies would surrender . The Hungarian resistance , however , was stiff . The Ottomans still managed to make headway against the Hungarians who had been trying to lift Ottoman the siege on Jajce with a ruse . The Sultan continued his siege while Mathias escaped from the fortress with a force of men , but the retreating army was harried with two - hundred soldiers being captured and sent to Constantinople for execution . Despite the setback , Jajce held out and Mehmed retreated from Bosnia . Campaign . After Skanderbeg ' s raid into Macedonia the year before , the Sultan decided to strengthen his fortresses in the area . Franco p . 335 . He then sent Şeremet bey to Ohrid , a city close to Skanderbeg ' s domains , with 14 , 000 cavalry to prevent another Albanian incursion . After learning of this , Skanderbeg prepared to march against Şeremet . The pasha ' s men , however , were stationed both inside and outside the city , making it difficult to defeat them . Franco p . 336 . Before marching , Skanderbeg received news that Pius had arrived in Ancona and died upon seeing the crusader fleet . Francione p . 168 . He left Cimarosto with an Italian force in Valikardhë near modern day Bulqizë in eastern Albania . Frashëri p . 418 . Skanderbeg then decided to march against Şeremet anyway and set off with 12 , 000 cavalry three hours after dusk . After one day of marching , Skanderbeg reached Macedonia and began pillaging the land . Battle . Once he reached Ohrid , Skanderbeg gave a speech to his men , encouraging them for the coming battle . Franco p . 336 - 337 . He then assigned Pekë Emmanuali and Peter Engjëlli , Pal Engjëlli ' s brother , as commanders of a 500 - man troop of cavalry where they were to approach the gates of Ohrid and provoke the Turks to attack . Franco p . 337 . They were to throw smoke and dust into the air to irritate the garrison . Francione p . 169 . Then they were to feign retreat where the pursuing Ottoman cavalry would be ambushed by the main Albanian force . On 14 or 15 September , everything went as planned and the trap was sprung . Skanderbeg ' s assault came out and killed 10 , 000 Turkish men and captured twelve Turkish forces , among them Şeremet ' s son . The Turkish forces were pursued by the Venetian forces alongside the Albanians . The Albanian - Venetian losses were few . Aftermath . Skanderbeg celebrated the event by dining off " letnica " ( Ohrid trout ) , a fish found in Lake Ohrid that was sent to the Byzantine emperors every Friday for their supper meal . The twelve captured officers were ransomed for 40 , 000 ducats . Skanderbeg distributed this amount through his force , with every man receiving his fair share . He then besieged Ohrid for a short time before returning to Albania ; the Venetian Senate ( Signoria ) hailed the campaign as a victory despite not being able to take Ohrid . The crusade seemed to have gone well for the Christian side but , after Pius ' death , the remaining cardinals lost their hope and handed the money raised for the crusade to the Venetians . Mehmed saw Skanderbeg ' s vulnerability and sent Ballaban Badera , an Albanian janissary , to Albania where they met at Vaikal and he was defeated . Ballaban had replaced Şeremet as the commander in Ohrid after the latter fell out of favor with the sultan . Ballaban would meet Skanderbeg several more times in battle before being mortally wounded in action at the second siege of Krujë .