Warmatrix

Skanderbeg was an Albanian nobleman who waged a very effective guerrilla war against the mighty Ottomon empire, holding the Turks at bay for a quarter century.
Skanderbeg was born in 1405 CE as George Castriot in Albania, the son of a nobleman who ruled over two villages. At the age of 10 and again at 18, he was sent to the Ottoman court as a hostage, where he received military training. He fought for the Turks and gained some lands close to those of his father, whose territory was reduced by other Turkish commanders. It appeared that Skanderbeg was loyal to the Turks: he ignored an Albanian rebellion in 1432 CE and kept on fighting for the Ottomans. He was rewarded with more lands, eventually those of his father too and received the titles of sipahi, vali and finally sanjakbey. The Turks called him Iskender bey, meaning lord Alexander, which was corrupted into Skanderbeg.
In 1443 CE, in a complete about-face, he suddenly defected with 300 Albanian cavalrymen and established himself in his ancestral lands as an independent ruler. He denounced islam and proclaimed himself avenger of his family and country. A year later, in the Plain of Torvioll, he led an army of 15,000 men to victory against a larger Turkish army under command of Ali Pasha. This stunned both friend and foe and gained him a lot of fame and support.
For the next 2½ decades, he used his army to wage a guerrilla war against the Turks with a force that hovered around 15,000 men, fighting Turkish armies that were much larger. He got support from the local Albanians and from Venice, though these relations were fickle. For two years Venice thought him more dangerous than the Turks and fought the Albanians instead, but he defeated them near Scutari. This forced them to peace, however strife and conflict between Venice and Albania remained.
In 1450 CE the Ottomans besieged the castle at Krüje, Skanderbeg's major stronghold. Though they failed to take it, the fighting cost Skanderbeg nearly all of his lands and money. He appealed for support to Alfonso of Aragon and the pope in Rome, who sent money and some troops, especially after the Ottomans took Constantinople. The christians in the west envisaged a crusade against the Turks, but never raised enough support to realize that. The Ottomans, after having secured the city, turned their attention back to Albania. Skanderbeg was hampered by infighting and treason among his fellow Albanians, though scored a major victory against the Turks at Battle of Albulena in 1457 CE. This secured a five-year peace treaty.
Skanderbeg now had his hands free and from 1460 CE to 1462 CE got involved in an Italian war. When the peace treaty expired the Ottomans attacked again and now Venice backed up the Albanians. Again the Turks failed to storm Krüje, but their troops overwhelmed the region. In 1468 CE, in the middle of reforging a coalition of Albanian forces, Skanderbeg got malaria and died. Ten years later the Ottomans finally took Krüje, Scutari a year later and finally Durazzo too, reconquering Albania. The country remained under Turkish rule until 1912 CE.
In his battles against the Turks, Skanderbeg made good use of the mountainous terrain of Albania, tying attackers down at strongpoints and counterattacking when opportunity presented itself. Thus he was able to defeat forces much larger than his own. His charisma and diplomatic skills helped to bind the unruly Albanians together and planted the first seeds of national awareness. Nonetheless Albania would have been overrun earlier if it would have been more important to the Ottomans, who had their hands full fighting in Wallachia, Moldavia and Hungary.