Moldavian–Ottoman War (1475–1476)

Moldavian–Ottoman War (1475–1476)
Part of the Moldavian–Ottoman Wars and Ottoman wars in Europe

Battle of Vaslui (1975 Romanian postage stamp)
Date6 January 1475 – 10 August 1476
Location
Moldavia
Result Moldavian victory[1]
Belligerents
 Moldavia
Limited support:
 Ottoman Empire
Crimean Khanate
Nogai Tatars
 Wallachia
Commanders and leaders
Stephen III
Alexandru		 Mehmed II
Hadım Suleiman
Basarab III
Strength
1475:
40,800–53,800[a]
1476:
12,000–20,000[b]		 1475:
60,000–120,000[c]
1476:
90,000–150,000[d]

The Moldavian–Ottoman War (1475–1476) or Moldavian Campaign (1475–1476) was a conflict between the Ottoman Empire of Mehmed the Conqueror and the Principality of Moldavia of Stephen the Great, supported by their respective allies. It took place from 6 January 1475 to 10 August 1476 in the form of two campaigns, resulting in Moldavian victory.[1][2][3]

Prelude

In 1471, Moldavian voivode Stephen the Great refused to pay annual tribute to the Ottoman Empire. On 23 November 1473, Stephen invaded Wallachia and expelled Ottoman loyalist Radu III, replacing him with Basarab III (who later defected to the Ottomans).[3] Stephen intended to undermine Ottoman influence over Wallachia in order to deprive them of resources and support they received in Wallachia.[4] These provocations led to Mehmed the Conqueror ordering the Ottoman army of Hadım Suleiman Pasha to invade and conquer Moldavia.[3][5]

War

1475 campaign

Battle of Vaslui

Main article: Battle of Vaslui

On 6 January 1475, the Republic of Venice was informed of the war that broke out between the Ottoman Empire and Moldavia.[2] Moldavia had limited support from the Kingdom of Poland and Kingdom of Hungary, while the Ottomans were supported by the recently defected Wallachians of Basarab III.[5] However, the Moldavians were able to count on a favourable environment when the Battle of Vaslui took place on 10 January 1475.[6] The environment consisted of foggy marshes surrounded by mountains[3]

As the battle took place, Moldavians repelled numerous Ottoman assaults on their positions. The turning point of the battle occurred when Stephen ordered his reserve force on the left flank to strike. The Ottoman army was subsequently routed, with their remnants fleeing in the direction of Siret and Danube.[7] The Ottoman retreat lasted three days, during which they were harassed by Moldavian cavalry and suffered thousands of casualties.[8]

Mehmed the Conqueror wanted to launch another campaign into Moldavia under the command of Uszun Hassan in 1475, but was unable to due to his illness, which forced him to limit his operations. Stephen attempted to organise a Christian anti-Ottoman crusade during this time, but diplomatically he achieved only a limited success and insufficient military support.[7] Nonetheless, Stephen's increasing popularity in the rest of Christian Europe led to Pope Sixtus IV naming him the Athleta Christi ("Champion of Christ").[3]

1476 campaign

Battle of Ștefănești

Main article: Battle of Ștefănești

On 29 May 1476, Stephen the Great was located at Iași. The Ottoman fleet with Tatar support assaulted Cetatea Albă and Chilia, but were unable to capture these fortresses. During this time, Wallachians assaulted the southern Moldavian borders, while the 30,000 Nogai and Crimean Tatars assaulted Ștefănești, Botoșani. This manuver forced Stephen to leave some of his forces in the south, while his main army headed to north Moldavia to deal with the Tatar threat. However, some of his irregular troops wanted to return home, a request to which Stephen agreed and he subsequently only had 10,000 of his regular troops remaining in the army.[9] Stephen was in unfavorable position, but despite this his army managed to defeat the Tatar forces in northern Moldavia.[8]

Battles of Valea Albă

Main article: Battle of Valea Albă

Stephen employed scorched earth and wore down the Ottoman forces in attempts to halt their advance from the south.[10] Stephen's army was now in unfavorable condition and didn't have the advantageous environment on his side, as they established their defense at Valea Albă.[11] In addition, the irregular troops of Stephen didn't unite with his regular army and the Ottomans made further advances into Moldavia as they crossed the river in July.[12] On 25 July, the Moldavians defeated Ottoman vanguard heading towards Suceava.[13][14] However, Mehmed the Conqueror's larger Ottoman army dispersed Moldavians and Stephen took shelter in the mountains.[13]

Siege of Neamț Citadel

Main article: Siege of Neamț Citadel

Despite Mehmed the Conqueror's victory at Valea Albă, the Ottomans were unable to capitalize on it and this Ottoman victory had proven to be only a temporary setback for Moldavians.[10] The Ottoman forces unsuccessfully besieged Suceava, Neamț and Hotin.[13] The Moldavian fortresses put up a fierce resistance to the Ottomans. The scorched earth strategy of Stephen, Moldavian units reorganising, failure to capture Neamț Citadel, diseases and hunger, in addition to the news of incoming Hungarian army forced Mehmed with his army to retreat on 10 August 1476.[3][10][13]

Aftermath

Moldavia repelled the invasion.[1] Stephen the Great's victory in a war against the Ottoman Empire during 1475–1476 secured Stephen's power and shaped the international perception of him.[15] Pope Sixtus IV named Stephen the Athleta Christi ("Champion of Christ").[3]

In 1477, Stephen made another attempt at organising an anti-Ottoman crusade together with other Christian states. However, on January 1479, the Republic of Venice signed a peace agreement with the Ottoman Empire. This led to Stephen also pursuing a less aggressive policy towards the Ottomans. However, this didn't prevent further conflicts from occurring with the Ottomans in the coming decade.[3] Although the Ottomans abandoned their attempts to fully conquer or completely subjugate Moldavia.[10]

Notes

  1. ^ 40,800–53,800 at Battle of Vaslui.
  2. ^ 12,000–20,000 at Battle of Valea Albă.
  3. ^ 60,000–120,000 at Battle of Vaslui.
  4. ^ 90,000–150,000 at Battle of Valea Albă.

References

  1. ^ a b c
    • Eagles 2013, p. 57, "Tactically, the main factor that secured Moldova’s overall victory in the campaigns of 1475 and 1476 was the enforcement of scorched earth."
    • Zănescu, Ionel (2011). "Ştefan Cel Mare Şu Demersurile Sale Îi Ţara Romănească" [Stephen the Great and His Efforts in Wallachia] (PDF) (in Romanian). Personalităţi Bucureştene. p. 296. În vara anului 1476, evenimentele aveausă se precipite ca urmare a înfrângerii trupelor turceşti în marea campanie din Moldova. Victoria obţinută de trupele lui Ştefan cel Mare a asigurat independenţa Moldovei. [In the summer of 1476, events were to accelerate following the defeat of the Turkish troops in the great campaign in Moldavia. The victory achieved by Stephen the Great's troops ensured the independence of Moldavia.]
    • Zhukovsky, Arkadii (1993). Moldavia. Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Retrieved 1 January 2026. He repulsed the Hungarians in 1467, the Turks in 1475–6, and the Poles in 1497, after which Moldavia enjoyed full independence until 1538.
    • Giurescu, Constantin C. (1974). Chronological History of Romania. Editura enciclopedică română. p. 96. The lack of efficiency of the campaign of Mohammed II against Stefan cel Mare, who was facing alone the Ottoman torrent, places the victory on the Moldavians side.
    • Hale, Julian (1972). The Land and People of Romania. Lippincott. p. 27. ISBN 0397312881. Stephen, harassed by a simultaneous attack from the Tatars in the north, was temporarily defeated, but rallied with Hungarian support and made the Turks retreat. This victory gave Moldavia several years of peace.
  2. ^ a b Ovidiu Cristea (2018). "THE AFTERMATH OF A VICTORY: AN EPISODE OF STEPHEN THE GREAT' S DIPLOMACY AFTER THE BATTLE OF VASLUI (10 JANUARY 1475)" (PDF). BANATICA. On 6 January 1475, four days before the battle of Vaslui, the government of Venice was aware that the war broke out between Moldavia and the Ottoman Empire.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Ernest H. Latham (2022). "Stephen the Great". EBSCO.
  4. ^ Rosetti 1927, pp. 97–98.
  5. ^ a b Rosetti 1927, p. 98.
  6. ^ Rosetti 1927, pp. 98–99.
  7. ^ a b Rosetti 1927, p. 99.
  8. ^ a b Eagles 2013, p. 56.
  9. ^ Rosetti 1927, p. 101.
  10. ^ a b c d Eagles 2013, p. 57.
  11. ^ Eagles 2013, pp. 56–57.
  12. ^ Rosetti 1927, pp. 101–102.
  13. ^ a b c d Rosetti 1927, p. 102.
  14. ^ Eagles 2013, p. 58.
  15. ^ Eagles 2013, p. 55.

Bibliography

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.