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Even though the Empire had been soundly defeated at the battle of Plocnik, the fall of Gol's indirectly threatened the Empire's base in their capital. They changed their battle strategy to guerrilla warfare. The Balt Rhein forces no longer counterattacked. Instead, they took cover behind their fortified fortresses by taking advantage of the natural defences in the north of Balt. At the same time, they conducted reconnaissance and launched proradic attacks targeting enemy commanders directly. and this strategy was quite successful in inflicting temporary losses on the Turkish forces. In this case, Lelederik and Gralat, an heir to the Imperium throne as well as a commander who played a major role in the fall of Phoenicia, were the brains behind this strategy.

on the 20th, Seker, 79 CTR. after spending several months of winter in Gol. and entering early spring, where the ice began to melt and the weather began to warm up. Mahmut Pasha, again began military operations targeting the north of Balt. This was to protect his rear position, so that he would not be stabbed in the back by either Balt Rhein or Hermann's forces. Mahmut Pasha reached Turbezzel and had little difficulty in conquering the town, as it was guarded by only a few thousand Balt Rhein troops and supported by the superiority of the siege cannons. Turbezzel surrendered, and opened its doors to the Turkiye forces. Mahmut Pasha made Turbezzel a temporary base for his military operations.

3 days after the conquest of Turbezzel. Candarli Ibrahim Pasha moved northward and reached Vidin, the town at the end of the Danube River that formed the border between Balt Rhein and Wallachia, after a siege and continuous cannon and trebuchet shelling that destroyed its mediaeval fortifications. The count of the town raised the white flag and asked Ibrahim Pasha for security guarantees so that his troops would be ready to leave the town and surrender it voluntarily to the Turkiye. Vidin's troops then headed for Scheenestrum, where Lelederik and his men were based.

Baba Vida, a fortress in the Balt Rhein-controlled town of Vidin, which bordered the Danube River and Wallachia.

Lelederik began to devise his next plan to trap the Turkiye troops. and he was convinced that the enemy troops would be heading for Schenestrum. For this, he decided to mobilise the famously tough Elvades Mountain troops, along with several thousand regular troops of the Empire, to hide in the bush or in the highlands. With a plan, he would have the troops move to surround Schenestrum. Then, when he was caught off guard, he would attack them, break through the troop formation, and behead their commander-in-chief.

On the 25th, Mahmut Pasha travelled cautiously from Vidin to Scheenestrum due to the steep terrain. Upon arrival in front of the fortress, Mahmut had not yet installed his siege cannons and instead set up a tent while negotiating with the count of Scheneestrum, Wiilhelm Weissner. Mahmut was unaware that the fortress guards in the city were fewer than usual, and he did not realize that he and his troops had been set up by Lelederik. At night, Lelederik launched a blind attack without lighting torches, and the Turkiye troops attempted to repel it. However, the darkness of the night and fighting in low-light conditions caused the effort to fail. Elvadesberg's troops even managed to break through to Mahmut Pasha's main tent. Upon seeing this, Mahmut quickly emerged from his tent and set it ablaze to gain a clearer view of the enemy's position while withdrawing his troops. The Turkiye troops were defeated and decided to retreat to Vidin. In this battle, Hasan Ulubat and his younger brother Hussein died as martyrs, along with several thousand Janissary and Sipahi troops under their command, in order to protect the main troops.

Schneesturm City

The morale of the Empire's troops was boosted by the defeat of the Turkiye Army at the hands of Lelederik, which demonstrated that the Turkiye Army could still be defeated. However, despite the victory, the Empire's troops were unable to launch a counterattack. Lelederik was also dissatisfied with the victory he had obtained at Scheneesturm and decided to launch a counterattack against the enemy troops. Despite the defeat at Schneestrum, Mahmut Pasha remained undeterred. In fact, he was even more determined to succeed and would not allow Lelederik a second chance. As a result, he mobilised a small army with the task of ambushing Lelederik and his men. If Lelederik was defeated and killed, it would demoralise the Imperium troops, making it easier for Mahmut Pasha to conquer Schneestrum.

On the other hand, Lelederik's skill made it difficult for Ishaq Pasha to face him. He was successfully cut by two slashes of Lelederik's knives. Lelederik insulted him, thinking that he had won and decided to lead his troops. However, unexpectedly Ishaq Pasha pounced on him from behind and stabbed him repeatedly. The deaths of Lelederik and Gralat really destroyed the morale of the Imperium troops.

The Imperial forces retreated to Schneestrum. Mahmud Pasha besieged the fortress on the 3rd of the month of Seker for three days, which ended in a Turkish victory. Wilhelm Weissner negotiated with Mahmud to surrender the city in exchange for the withdrawal of all his troops. The fall of Schneestrum was considered the greatest humiliation for the Balt Rhein. Refusing to retreat, Weissner was sentenced to death by Prime Minister Louis two days later.

Mahmud Pasha crossed the Elvadesberg mountains and began the Invasion of the Balt Territories.

Elvasdesberg Mountain

The deaths of Lelederik and Gralat paved the way for Mahmud Pasha to conquer further Balt territories. However, he had to face various natural obstacles, the Elvadedesberg Mountains. These mountains were still covered in snow even though spring had entered. In addition, the path that could be passed was very winding, prone to avalanches, and made supply lines difficult. This would be a challenge for the 40 thousand Turkish troops, 60 cannons, and 90 transport trains.

Mahmud Pasha decided to cross the road to Eascherung at an altitude of 3000 feet. Because this distance was the closest distance, entering the 9th, the first line troops led by Radu Bey and Bayazid Pasha began the climb. To prevent avalanches, they marched at midnight. With very strict silence. They covered a distance of 2 miles. and only took about an hour and a half to travel. However, due to the difficulty in transporting the cannons and the lack of wood that could be used as rolling wheels, Bayazid's troops were forced to start the battle without siege artillery. Fortunately, the Imperial forces had already been decimated, and at the insistence of the locals, they were forced to surrender. Eascherung submitted without a fight.

Despite the difficult terrain, Mahmud's main force was able to reach Eascherung in 2 days. But with great sacrifice, he was forced to leave more than 40 cannons in the rear line to reduce the burden of the climb. and many transport trains were left behind. for that, Era (Orban's daughter who joined the expedition) proposed to choose another route by using a lower climb and lifting the cannons and goods using a pulley designed by her father, thus speeding up the rate of supply mobilization.

Bayazid's troops continued to clean up the climbing path which was sometimes filled with Balt Rhain troops and then descended to Saint Simon on the banks of the Danube River. Bayazid Pasha attacked the Balt Rhain guard troops in the city by surprise. Even with makeshift siege cannons, his shots were able to destroy part of the city walls. With a short battle, the Balt Rhain troops surrendered on the 14th.

but the next challenge still awaits as the Turkish troops deepen into Elvadesberg. The Elvades Mountain Troops are still a frightening specter for the Turks. because of their guerrilla capabilities by hiding in the gaps of the mountain cliffs. this time with the leadership of Gorge Argile, along with 8000 of his troops came out of Ghilman, and were able to defeat the Turkish troops in the battle in the Maelnbron valley (22nd) near this city. however, the victory of the Elvasdesberg troops did not prevent the Mahmud Troops from capturing the Ghilman fortress (24th-25th) Gorge Argile decided to retreat to Shafina and Arima while providing logistical support to the Balt Rhein troops who were defending.

The leader of the Elvades mountain army, Gorge Argile.

The defense of Shafina and Arima was entrusted to Erden and Reiren Magendorf. The Imperial government had ordered both commanders to defend the two cities until the end. In the first three days, the Turkish army's attack on the Arima fortress which began on the 27th ended in failure. With 800 Janissaries as victims. Argile decided to go back out in the hope of seizing supplies and even Turkish artillery. However, this time Mahmud Pasha had learned from his strategic mistake in Maelnbron by forming Wagenfort, placing Musketeers, and archers to ward them off. As a result, Argile's attack proved to be a failure, and he was forced to return to the city fortress.

Mahmud Pasha could not be patient with the siege of the city. So he decided to advance with 20,000 troops with the remaining artillery to immediately besiege the Arima fortress. While the siege of the Shafina fortress was handed over to Bayazid Pasha. Within 4 days Mahmud Pasha was able to defeat Reiren and capture Arima even though he had fought with all his might. To deceive Mahmud, Reiren made a peace treaty, as a guarantee of security for his troops, so he came out and attacked Mahmud suddenly with his troops. But he himself was killed first. There was a brief battle around the city of Arima which Turkiye could easily win. Because the formation of the Balt Rhein troops was irregular. Angry at this betrayal, Mahmud chased the remaining Balt Rhein troops who tried to escape, were captured, and then executed.

The fall of Arima and the death of Reiren further depressed Eden Magendorf, coupled with the rapid unrest of the citizens and famine hit the city of Shafina. Although supported by thousands of guards and sufficient Elvades troops, the city's defenses were unable to withstand the onslaught of Turkish cannons that came crashing down. For that, they hoped to drive the enemy out of the city by holding a Guerrilla war. On the 6th, with the leadership of Gorge Argile, regular troops and Elvades launched a surprise attack in the middle of the night on the Turkish camps and managed to bring some enemy supplies. Angrily, Bayazid Pasha ordered a general attack on the fortress, hoping to immediately seize the city gates and enter. However, Eden and Argile and held the situation so that they were able to repel the Turkish troops and push them back. But other bad news came when Mahmud Pasha had come to surround the city from the south side. Another general attack was launched right at midnight entering the 8th to prevent guerrilla warfare operations by the enemy. The city walls began to collapse and fierce fighting broke out between the Turkiye Army and the Balt Rhain and Elvades troops inside the city. As the sun rose, most of the Balt Rhain troops admitted defeat, Eden and Argile with their remaining troops fled. The city of Shafina fell after being besieged for 10 or 11 days.

Eden Magendorf asked St. Michael for help to send troops to the Balts. However, no response was forthcoming. Having no choice, Eden and Gorge decided to fight the Turks alone. Their forces met at Tharza (Hali, 16th) and were soundly defeated and suffered heavy losses. (10,000 troops according to Hammer) In the battle, Eden was wounded and fell from his horse but managed to escape after changing his horse and disguising himself as a common soldier. While Gorge fell as a prisoner. According to Tucnhman's report, this battle was the end of Elvadesberg's resistance in the Balts.

According to Sukrullah Celebi's notes, Mahmud Pasha invited Gorge Argile to his camp. Mahmud Pasha convinced Argile to accept Islam and join his army, with his diplomatic skills and gentle and tolerant offers, making Argile feel flattered by his high respect and ethics. He converted to Islam, followed by all his men. Then he merged the Elvades army into the Turkiye army. He even participated in helping Mahmud in his conquest.

According to Warren Treadgold, despite these successful efforts, it is highly questionable the indifferent reaction of the Balt Rhain to the fall of their main cities to the Turks in the north, along with the joining of the elvades to their side. Eden Magendrof, desperate to seek help from the Empire. Fortunately, he still had the support of Count Cave and Count Jourdain, to launch a counterattack. Through the report of Goz Kulak, Mahmud Pasha decided to attack them first, in the next battle, at the city of Cave, the Balt Rhain troops tried to block the Turks through frontal warfare, but were defeated. They retreated to the fortress to defend. However, they did not have enough supplies. The city of Cave decided to surrender on the 19th. This surrender was strongly rejected by Eden and threatened Count Cave, St. Albans to kill him as a betrayal. The dispute escalated into a one-on-one duel which St. Albans won. After that, he faced Mahmud Pasha to surrender his city, even he decided to convert to Islam voluntarily, after Mahmud issued a decree to his troops not to loot city.

one by one the cities to the fortress in Balt were successfully controlled by Turkiye, but in the expedition to Jourdain on the 22nd, a fierce battle took place for 10 days. because of the tenacity of the fortress guard troops, and they were able to inflict losses and momentary defeats on Mahmud's troops, however, the city of Jourdain was successfully conquered by force. The Imperial troops thought that Mahmud would let them escape, but it turned out, Mahmud sent 300 Sipahi Cavalry to chase them to be captured as slaves.

Aftermath

Mahmud was content with the conquest of Jourdain, he did not even touch Novo Bordo or Smedrevo where the city was located in the lowlands and vulnerable to attack. Possibly, he wanted to rest his troops, he was also worried about the trap of the Balt Rhain troops that might have been prepared if he decided to leave Elvades, he preferred to secure the base behind him first. Besides, surprisingly, (in the memoirs he wrote) there was no significant resistance that he passed through in his operations in Balt, except for local initiatives such as Lelederik, Gralat, Argile, and Eden. Mahmud wrote a letter to Zaganos Pasha about his successful military career in Balt written in Poetic Couplets.

The Turkiye invasion of Balt and Elvades had a negative impact on the Empire. Several prominent advisors and commanders of the empire were disappointed with the neglect of Louis' ministers and King GoldeBalt himself. This neglect was inseparable from the emergence of external reactions in the form of new opposition parties opposing Louis' ministerial policies after the heavy defeat at Plocnik. According to Irene's notes, some ministers, troop commanders, and Hermanns actually rejected all of his policies. The Hermanns actually removed their proud badges and wandered as ordinary citizens in Balt, some settled in Rhein. (The definite answer to why there were no more Hermanns deployed by Balt Rhine after the defeat at Plocnik). Louis' ministers continued to enforce the policies of his pro-war faction by issuing new conscription decrees, even without hesitation sending troops to drag citizens into military service. However, this only added to the internal political chaos of the empire. In addition, dissatisfaction with the Empire in the South increased. which paved the way for the Turkiye Invasion of Rhein afterwards.