The Moldavian Campaign was a military operation carried out by the Ottoman Empire against the Principality of Moldavia, one of its vassal states, in 1574.

[1] Subsequently, reinforced by Turkish units from Vidin, Nikopol, Vučitrn, Bender, and Silistra, Ioan III successfully repelled the Polish forces in Moldavian territory.

The campaign was planned to encircle the Moldavian army from the north and south, cutting off escape routes from Moldavia.

The Transylvanian Voivode was to bring his soldiers and cannons to Hotin, where he would join the troops led by the Bender Sanjak-bey to block the route to Poland.

In response, Ioan launched a preemptive strike, sending a force led by Polish Hetman Osztroczki to attack the Bender fortress, which was only lightly defended by an Ottoman garrison.

On June 10, 1574, during the Battle of the Kartal Plain, the Moldavian army was defeated following a northern assault by Crimean cavalry.

The new Voivode, Petru IV, met with Sinan Pasha and Crimean Khan Devlet I Giray, expressing concerns over the difficulties in collecting annual tribute due to the devastation and requesting the release of Moldavian prisoners.

In response, Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha reminded them that Poland had supported Ioan III with 2,000 soldiers during the Battle of the Kartal Plain.

[7] On September 7, 1574, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth assured the Ottoman envoy that although some Polish Hetmans and Cossacks had supported Ioan III, Poland as a state had not.