Wallachian military forces
According to historian Constantin Rezachevici [ro], in the first phase of the battle which lasted two days, the Hungarian army was stopped in the valley and attacked with ranged weapons.
[20] In 1430, a document issued by King Sigismund of Luxembourg mentioned that Wallachia and Moldavia could raise an army of 10,000 pancerati,[21][a] and in 1448 a contingent of 4,000 archers led by the Voivode participated in the Battle of Kosovo.
[24] During his four reigns as Voivode between 1522 and 1529, Radu of Afumați fought in 20 battles with Ottoman-supported pretenders to the throne such as Vladislav III and Mehmed Bey.
Forced out of the country in a new campaign launched by Mehmed, Radu gained support from John Zápolya, the Voivode of Transylvania, and defeated the pretender in the autumn of 1522.
[37] Besides the local troops of Roșii, Călărași, and Dorobanți, Michael's armies were composed of various mercenaries including Cossacks, Székelys, Serbs, Moldavians, and Germans.
[40] During the time of Leon Tomșa, there were 10,000 horsemen and 2,000 footmen in the Wallachian army, as the Voivode recounted to Paul Strassburg, a secret counselor of King Gustav II Adolph.
Since Cantacuzino had secretly allied himself with the Holy League, the troops under his command were ordered to sabotage the Ottoman siege works and left the battlefield soon after Sobieski's attack without taking part in the battle.
Due to the Voivode's hesitations, Spătar Toma Cantacuzino left with eight cavalry regiments to join with the Russians on 22 June.
On 18 October, the Austrian vanguard of 5,000 Hungarian Hussars and 300 Germans was attacked and destroyed at Pitești, forcing the main army corps to retreat towards Oltenia.
The next year, an Austrian attack was repelled at Cozia and the troops under Constantin Mavrocordat forced a Russian army to retreat to Transylvania.
In April 1830, a committee composed of General Starov, Lieutenant Alexandru Ghica, Colonel Ment, and Lieutenant-colonel Ion Odobescu was formed.
[5] In 1843, with the occasion of a visit to Constantinople and advised by Lieutenant Ion Emanuel Florescu, Prince Gheorghe Bibescu requested and received four cannons for equipping the Wallachian army.
After arresting the revolution leaders, the Ottoman army began marching towards the city on 25 September, dividing their forces in three columns.
The larger second column, led by Fuat and Omar Pasha, forced their entry through the barrier at Beilic Bridge (Calea Șerban Vodă).
[57] The third Ottoman column, led by Kerim Pasha advanced along Calea Pandurilor, heading to the barracks on Dealul Spirii.
[59] Due to the entry of the United Kingdom and France into the war on the side of the Ottomans, the Russians were forced to retreat from the Principalities.
An Ottoman and an Austrian brigade were to be stationed in Bucharest, and General Johann Baptist Coronini-Cronberg was named commander of the occupation troops.
In order to disrupt an enemy's advance in the country, the population was often required to retreat to the wooded or mountainous regions, while the army engaged in hit-and-run tactics and avoided direct confrontations.
For example, according to the Italian chronicle "Cronaca Carrarese", Radu I of Wallachia acquired a number of 10,000 suits of armour from the Republic of Venice around the year 1377.
The use of guns in Wallachia was first mentioned in the mid-15th century when Vlad Dracul used two bombards during the siege of Giurgiu in 1445 as part of the Burgundian crusade led by Walerand de Wavrin.
[2] A prior mention from 1432 of the purchase of firearms from Brașov also exists, while archeological evidence suggests that the first guns of Wallachia date to the rule of Mircea the Elder.
[53] The use of wagon forts by Wallachia was first noted during the battle [ro] of Râmnicu Sărat in November 1473, when Radu the Handsome used one against the army of Stephen the Great of Moldavia.
[65] After its establishment, the standing army of Wallachia was to be equipped in a similar way to the Russian military, with muzzleloading flintlock muskets and bayonets for the infantry; pistols, sabers, and lances for the cavalry; fascine knives (tesace) for the sub-officers and drummers.
Due to the poor condition of these weapons, new guns were acquired from Saint Petersburg in 1833, after a previously agreed intervention of General Kiselyov.
[52] The transition to percussion cap firearms began in 1851 with an order for 3,000 "standard French model" rifles placed in Liège.
After the Crimean War and the confiscation of firearms by the retreating Russian forces, new rifles and bayonets were bought from Liège by order of Prince Barbu Știrbei in 1856.
These soldiers were recruited from the free peasants and the townsfolk and organized into military-fiscal guilds (bresle militare) grouped by village or town.
During this expedition led by Walerand de Wavrin, the Wallachain Voivode Vlad Dracul offered to guide the Burgundian fleet on the Danube.
According to Turkish chronicler Mustafa Selaniki, in 1596 the Wallachians used some 200 șăici to transport an army of over 2,000 soldiers and attack Ottoman positions in the Babadag region.
[81] In 1793, Alexander Mourouzis obtained the approval of The Porte to build a small flotilla of "bolozane, șăici, caïques, and other vessels, to carry out the emperor's orders".
