Battle of Torvioll 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 . Background . George Kastrioti Skanderbeg , the son of the powerful prince John Kastrioti , had been a vassal of the Ottoman Empire as a sipahi , or cavalry commander . After his participation in the Ottoman loss at the Battle of Niš , Skanderbeg deserted the Ottoman army and rushed to Albania alongside 300 other Albanians . By forging a letter from Murad II to the Governor of Krujë , he became lord of the city in November 1443 . Hungarian captain John Hunyadi ' s continued operations against Sultan Murad II gave Skanderbeg time to prepare an alliance of the Albanian nobles . Skanderbeg invited all of Albania ' s nobles to meet in the Venetian - held town of Alessio ( Lezhë ) on 2 March 1444 . Alessio was chosen as the meeting point because the town had once been the capital of the Dukagjini family and to induce Venice to lend aid to the Albanian movement . Among the nobles that attended were George Arianiti , Paul Dukagjini , Andrea Thopia , Lekë Dushmani , Teodor Korona , Peter Spani , Lekë Zaharia , and Paul Stres Balsha . Here they formed the League of Lezhë , a confederation of all of the major Albanian princes in alliance against the Ottoman Empire . The chosen Captain ( ) of this confederation was Skanderbeg . The League ' s first military challenge came in the spring of 1444 , when Skanderbeg ' s scouts reported that the Ottoman army was planning to invade Albania . Skanderbeg planned to move towards the anticipated entry point and prepared for an engagement . Campaign . Prelude . Ali Pasha , one of Murad ' s most favoured commanders , left Üsküp ( Skopje ) in June 1444 with an army of 25 , 000 – primary sources say 40 , 000 – in Albania ' s direction . After having brought together an army of 8 , 000 cavalry and 7 , 000 infantry - altogether 15 , 000 men - from the League of Lezhë , Skanderbeg exhorted to his soldiers the importance of the upcoming campaign . Orders were given for the distributions of the soldiers ' pay and for religious services to be held . Afterward Skanderbeg and his army headed towards the planned place of battle in Lower Dibra , which is thought to be the Plain of Shumbat , then called the Plain of Torvioll , north of Peshkopi . On the way there he marched through the Black Drin valley and appeared at the expected Ottoman entry point . Skanderbeg had chosen the plain himself : it was seven miles long and three miles wide surrounded by hills and forests . After having camped near Torvioll , Skanderbeg placed 3 , 000 men under five commanders , Hamza Kastrioti , Muzaka of Angelina , Zecharia Gropa , Peter Emanueli , and John Musachi , in the surrounding forests with orders to attack the Ottoman wings and rear only after a given signal . While Skanderbeg was preparing his ambush , the Ottoman Turks under Ali Pasha arrived and encamped opposite the Albanians . The night before the battle , the Ottoman soldiers celebrated for the day to come , whereas the Albanians extinguished all the campfires and those who were not on guard were directed to rest . Parties of Ottomans made approaches to the Albanian camp and provoked the Albanians , but they remained quiet . Skanderbeg sent out a scouting party to obtain information about the Ottoman army and ordered his cavalry to engage in small skirmishes . Albanian Positioning . On the morning of 29 June , Skanderbeg arranged his army for battle . Apart from the 3 , 000 hidden forces in the area behind the Ottoman army , Skanderbeg left another reserve force of 3 , 000 under the command of Vrana Konti . The Albanian army was positioned in a crescent shape curving inwards . They were split into three equal groups each composed of 3 , 000 men . They were all placed at the bottom of a hill , with the intention of luring the Ottoman cavalry - based army into a downhill charge . The Albanian left wing was commanded by Tanush Thopia with 1 , 500 horse and a like number of foot . On the right wing , Skanderbeg placed Moisi Golemi in the same manner as Thopia . In front of the wings , foot archers were placed to lure the enemy in . In the center , there were 3 , 000 men under the command of Skanderbeg and Ajdin Muzaka . 1 , 000 horsemen were placed in front of the main division with orders to blunt the initial Turkish cavalry charge . Next to these horsemen was placed a like number of archers who were trained to accompany the horses . After the archers was the main body of infantry commanded by Ajdin Muzaka , whose experience proved vital that day . Battle . After the army was marshalled , Skanderbeg would not permit the trumpets to give the signal for battle until he saw Ali Pasha advancing . After looking upon the Albanian army , the Pasha ordered his army to charge with one of the units ahead of the rest . The Albanian frontline retreated ; Skanderbeg sent a body of horsemen to prevent the line from breaking and marshalled the retreating troops back to their places . Ali Pasha believed he had the Albanians trapped . The same situation occurred on the left wing and , when all were in their places , the army prepared for the main offensive . As it began , the wings were fiercely led on by Thopia and Golemi and pushed back the Ottoman wings . In the centre , Skanderbeg assaulted a selected battalion . When the proper signal was given , the 3 , 000 horsemen hidden in the woods sprung out and charged into the Ottoman rear , causing large parts of their army to rout . The wings of the Albanian army turned towards the Ottoman centre ' s flanks . Ajdin Muzaka , having charged the Turkish centre , was met by fierce resistance and the Turks continued to pour in fresh forces until Vrana Konti came in with his reserves and decided the battle . The Turkish army was surrounded . The Ottoman front ranks were annihilated except for 300 soldiers . Ali Pasha ' s personal battalion fled although the commander nearly met his death . Aftermath . 8 , 000 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 .