The Ottoman expansion into Europe was generally successful, yet every state they attacked
managed to resist, and this resistance gave Lazar, Skanderbeg, Hunyadi, Vlad Tepes and
others the status of legends.
In this episode, we will cover the resistance of another legendary historical figure – the
prince of Moldavia Stephen III, the battles of Vaslui and Valea Alba and how they shaped
the region for many years to come.
We left our series on Ottoman history on the battle of Otlukbeli during which the Ottoman
sultan Mehmed II fought against Uzun Hasan – the leader of the new Turkic power - the
Akkoyunlu.
But to tell this story, we will need to go back a few decades to the princedom of Moldavia.
In 1451 the prince of Moldavia Bogdan II was murdered by his brother Peter, who took the
title.
The new prince secured the realm by becoming vassal to the Polish king Casimir IV.
He also started to pay tribute to the Ottomans in 1456.
However, the son of Bogdan Stephen was supported by the leader of the Hungarian armies John
Hunyadi, and then the prince of Wallachia Vlad III.
In 1457 Stephen received troops from Vlad and entered Moldavia, defeating Peter at Orbic.
He became the prince as Stephen III.
The new ruler continued to pay tribute to the Ottomans and used the respite to reform
the princedom.
The power of the aristocracy was curbed, and the serfs became the free tenants who allowed
them to join the army.
The military was improved and strengthened with artillery units and new fortresses were
built along the borders.
Stephen gained the city of Khotyn from Poland either through the diplomacy or military action
and as his opponent Peter was in exile in Transylvania, he attacked this region, which
was under Hungarian protection.
His old ally Vlad III lost his title to the Ottoman satellite Radu in 1462 and Stefan
used that to take the strategic city of Chilia in 1465, and that gave him control over the
Danube delta.
In 1466 Stephen supported the anti-Hungarian rebellion in Transylvania.
In late 1467 the king of Hungary Matthias I dealt with the uprising in Transylvania
and moved into Moldavia with an army that had between 20 and 40 thousand troops and
a few hundred cannons.
At the place called Baia Stephen and his 15 thousand strong army managed to defeat the
Hungarians, killing more than 10 thousand and wounding Matthias.
The Moldavian prince invaded Transylvania on a few occasions over the next few years
but also was forced to defend his lands.
In the Summer of 1470, he soundly defeated the Golden Horde at Lipnic, in the battle
that marked one of the last occasions the Horde went on an offensive.
Later that year his rival Peter invaded Moldavia, but was defeated at Targu, and then executed.
Another invasion from Wallachia was stopped at Soci in 1471.
It was around this time the relationship between Mehmed II, and Stephen began to weaken.
In 1471 the Ottomans demanded Chilia return to Wallachian control.
Stephen refused and in 1472 started plotting with Uzun Hasan against the Ottomans.
The next year Stephen used the Ottoman-Akkoyunlu war to his advantage: he stopped paying tribute,
attacked Wallachia, defeated Radu at Ramnicu Sarat and installed Basarab III Laiotă to
the throne.
Back east, the Ottomans defeated the Akkoyunlu at the battle of Otlukbeli in 1473, and as
his Eastern borders were now secured sultan, sultan Mehmed turned his gaze to Europe.
By the end of the year, Radu was restored.
In 1474 Laiotă regained the title supported by Stephen.
The Ottoman sultan couldn’t tolerate this anymore.
Mehmed sent an ultimatum: Stephen had to pay tribute, return Chilia and cease his attacks
on Wallachia.
As the prince declined, the sultan assigned the governor of Rumelia Hadim Suleiman Pasha,
who was busy with the siege of Venetian controlled Skhoder to end his campaign and move his troops
against Moldavia.
Suleiman followed the order and reached Sofia in September of 1474.
The number of troops the Ottomans had is highly contested with the numbers ranging from 50
thousand to 120.
We know that up to 20,000 Bulgarians joined Suleiman Pasha in Sofia, but it is not clear
if these were troops or engineers as stated in the Ottoman sources.
We also know that Laiotă switched sides and joined the Ottomans with up to 15 thousand
Wallachians.
Meanwhile, Stephen knew that his refusal to accept the ultimatum would provoke an attack,
so he asked Hungary, Poland, and the Pope for help.
His standing army of 10 thousand was reinforced by thousands of Moldavian peasant recruits,
2000 Poles, 2000 Hungarians and 5 thousand Szekelys for a total of between 30 and 40
thousand.
He also had 20 cannons and a small unit of handgunners.
Suleiman crossed the Danube in November of 1474, and although the campaigning season
was over, he gave his troops two weeks of rest and then continued his march towards
Moldavia, reinforced by Laiotă around Bucharest.
In December the Ottomans entered Moldavia, yet Stephen was prepared and used a scorched
earth tactic against them: The villages were burned, the wells were poisoned, and the population
was moved to create supply problems for the Ottoman army.
This was a war of attrition and Stephen, who was used to fighting superior opponents had
mastered it, continually harassing the Ottomans with his hit and run tactics.
The hungry and exhausted Ottoman army moved to the north for a month.
On January 10th, 1475 the Ottoman scouts reported whole villages south of Vaslui in a valley
where the Barlad river passes.
With heavy fog and rain accompanied with frigid temperatures, Suleiman decided that he could
rest his troops south of Vaslui while waiting for the entire Moldavian army to show up.
However, as the Ottoman troops started passing to the other side of the river over the only
bridge in the area, Moldavian battle drums were heard to the north.
Convinced the whole Moldavian army was ahead Suleiman rushed his troops forward in dense
fog and ordered the army to form up on the western side of the river.
As the drumroll continued, more Ottoman soldiers crossed the river and moved through the mud
to the north, forming up along the way.
The valley the Ottomans entered was narrow and not suitable for their cavalry charges.
Meanwhile, the front lines of the Ottomans finally entered into contact with the Moldavians.
Stephen’s light cavalry attacked the flanks of the Ottoman column, luring it into the
valley.
Stephen placed his best troops – Moldavian professionals and Szekely units here, and
they also slowly retreated.
The Ottomans were ordered to advance, yet, they were surprised when the Moldavians stopped
at a designated location.
At that moment, Stephen hidden artillery units, archers and handgunners were ordered to start
shooting at the Ottoman units.
Suleiman who was at the rear of his army was unable to assess the situation on the frontlines
and tried to rush his remaining forces across the river.
This, along with consistent Moldavian cannon fire caused the wooden bridge to collapse,
slowing the Ottoman reinforcements.
The less loyal Wallachians did not cross the river in support of Suleiman.
Meanwhile, the Moldavian infantry started a slow retreat yet again, and Stephen has
sent his light cavalry to provoke the Ottoman cavalry to move up the valley where he was
about to spring his trap.
The sipahis were successful in pushing the left wing of the Szekelers and the Moldavian
professionals, however, this lured them in even more.
Suddenly, the Moldavian war drums were heard from the forest to the left of the Ottoman
line.
Completely exposed, Ottoman commanders panic and Suleiman, never fully aware of the tactical
situation, tries to form a secondary line to defend against the threat on his left side.
The main Moldavian attack was planned on the Ottoman right and the heavy boyar cavalry
of Stephen, which was hidden behind a hill until now charged into the rear and side of
the Ottoman army.
Despite, still outnumbering their opponents, the Ottomans thought that they were surrounded
from three sides and panicked.
They tried to retreat only to be run down by the Moldavian cavalry.
This retreat went on for three days, and Stephen’s troops continuously harassed the Ottomans.
Contemporary sources indicate Stephen lost 4500, whereas Suleiman's casualties were around
45.000.
Many Ottoman leaders were taken captive and then executed.
The Moldavian victory was the biggest the Ottomans suffered against the Christian forces
until now, only overshadowed by the crushing defeat at Ankara, while Stephen gained the
prestigious Athleta Christi – the Champion of Christ title from the Pope.
However, Stephen knew that he would have to face the Ottomans again and even this did
not force his neighbors to mobilize to his defense.
Mehmed, realizing he had to get the job done himself, moved into Moldavia with more than
100.000 men in the Summer of 1476.
His allies from the Crimean Khanate attacked from the east and invaded Bessarabia.
Mehmed captured the crucial fortress of Akkerman on the Black Sea coast thus accomplishing
one of the critical objectives of the campaign.
Stephen realized that facing the Ottoman army in an open field would result in disaster
and opted for his previous tactics: attrition warfare and a scorched earth policy.
Mehmed did not repeat the mistakes of Suleiman and marched slowly, ensuring the safety of
his supply lines.
Eventually, Stephen’s 30 thousand strong army had to face the massive forces of Mehmed
in Valea Alba on July 26, 1476.
We have limited knowledge of this engagement, yet we know that the Moldavians used fire
and the heat of summer to hinder the Ottoman advance.
The forest where Moldavian forces expected the foe was set on fire, and the Ottoman forces
suffered casualties.
Moldavian cannons and handgunners inflicted even more damage.
However, the Ottomans outnumbered the Moldavians, and due to their sheer numbers, the makeshift
barricades built by the Moldavians were soon overrun.
Stephen, realizing this would be a pivotal moment in the battle unleashed his 4000 strong
cavalry upon the Sultan’s forces.
Unfortunately for him, these units were pushed back, while Mehmed ordered his horsemen to
make into an assault and it was more successful.
This success was short-lived, however, since Stephen had 1000 horsemen hidden in the forest
and the attacked the Ottoman cavalry.
Realizing that the battle could only be won through his involvement and losing troops
in this forth and back combat, Mehmed II used his guard to rally his forces and crushed
the defending Moldavians.
The Janissaries hunted down Moldavian troops in the dense forest while the flanking reinforcements
prevented fleeing forces from an all-out retreat.
At the end of the day, the forest was full of the dead bodies, and this defeat became
a dark page in the history of Romania and Moldavia.
Casualties from both sides added up to nearly 30.000 men according to contemporary sources.
Yet, even such a victory did not ensure the conquest of Moldavia for the Ottomans.
Stefan retreated towards the Polish border recruiting a new army, while the Ottomans
had failed to take the fortresses of Suceava and Neamt.
They started to suffer from starvation and an outbreak of the plague and were also harassed
by local resistance.
And as the voivode of Transylvania Stephen V began forming a new army in the area, assisted
by Vlad III, Mehmed decided to retreat from Moldavia in August.
By that time both sides were exhausted and although Stefan and Mehmed fought over Wallachia
for some time, eventually the Moldavian prince agreed to peace and started paying annual
tribute again.
This was not the end of independent Moldavia and the Ottoman campaigns in the region were
not halted.
Our series on the Ottomans will continue, so make sure you are subscribed to our channel
and have pressed the alarm bell to learn more about the decisive battles of history.
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