Again Constantine thanked God and the Virgin for bringing him Giovanni. When the wall exploded he was sure the city was going to fall. The quick action of the Italian brought the reserves to the breach quickly. Courageous fighting and the superior armor and weapons of the Greeks had prevented the fall of the city, but Constantine knew they would have been doomed without the wooden structure that was even now being frantically constructed. Miraculously, the Ottomans had pulled back from their furious attack when all seemed lost. This allowed the Greeks to work quickly in the early morning of May 8 to construct a new and far more extensive wooden barricade. In only a few hours the full hole was stopped up with the solid wood barrier. This new barrier was showing the same remarkable ability to withstand cannon shot, and Giovanni assured Constantine it would hold so long as materials and men were ready to repair it as necessary. The attack had been very costly to the defenders.
