Battle of Călugăreni

Battle of Călugăreni
Part of the Long War (Ottoman wars)
Date 23 August 1595 Location Călugăreni Result Wallachian victory
Belligerents
Wallachia	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Michael the Brave	Sinan Pasha
Strength
10,000 Wallachians c. 5,000 mercenaries.	100,000
Casualties and losses
1,000	10,000-15,000

The Battle of Călugăreni was one of the most important battles in the history of early modern Romania. It took place on 23 August (13 August on old style calendar) 1595 between the Wallachian army led by Michael the Brave and the Ottoman army led by Sinan Pasha. It was part of the Long War, fought between Christian and Ottoman forces at the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th centuries.

The whole Ottoman forces were estimated at about 100,000 men, but not all of their troops were on the battlefield at Calugareni. It seems that about 30,000-40,000 Ottoman soldiers were involved in the battle.

Michael the Brave had in total about 16,000 men and 12 large field cannon, with Transylvanian (Székely) detachments. Being heavily outnumbered, Michael the Brave strategically positioned his forces near a swampy field (near Neajlov River) that would negate the Ottoman's military superiority. South of the village of Călugăreni, where the Câlniştea river flows into Neajlov river, the terrain is a muddy marsh, surrounded by forests. A narrow bridge over the Neajlov river was a mandatory pass point. The battle had three different phases.

The day of 23 August 1595 started with probing cavalry attacks. The Wallachian cavalry surprised the Ottoman cavalry in front of the village and pushed it over the Neajlov river. Michael the Brave positioned himself with 10,000 troops and 10 cannons north of the Neajlov river and south of the village. The Székely mercenary Captain Albert Király was in charge of the reserve of 6,000 Székely troops. The reserve was positioned rather far, north-west of the village, to stop any possible attack from the direction of the village of Singureni.

After the cavalry skirmish, Sinan Pasha sent forward a force 12,000 strong. Michael the Brave waited for the Ottoman forces to cross the river and, after a heavy artillery bombardment, attacked fiercely pushing the Turks back over the river. The first phase of the battle ended favorably for the Wallachians.

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Wikipedia