Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...
had a
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
force for much of its history as an independent and, later, autonomous principality subject to the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
(14th century-1859).
Army
Middle Ages
Under the reign of
Stephen the Great, all farmers and villagers had to bear arms. Stephen justified this by saying that "every man has a duty to defend his fatherland"; according to Polish chronicler
Jan Długosz
Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...
, if someone was found without carrying a weapon, he was
sentenced to death
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
. Stephen reformed the army by promoting men from the landed free peasantry ''răzeşi'' (i.e. something akin to
freeholding yeomen
Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...
) to infantry (''voinici'') and light cavalry (''hânsari'') — to make himself less dependent on the
boyars
A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars wer ...
— and introduced his army to guns. In times of crises, The Small Host (''Oastea Mică'') — which consisted of around 10,000 to 12,000 men — stood ready to engage the enemy, while the Large Host (''Oastea Mare'') — which could reach up to 40,000 — had all the free peasantry older than 14, and strong enough to carry a
sword or use the
bow, recruited. This seldom happened, for such a
levée en masse was devastating for both economy and population growth. In the
Battle of Vaslui
The Battle of Vaslui (also referred to as the Battle of Podul Înalt or the Battle of Racova) was fought on 10 January 1475, between Stephen III of Moldavia and the Ottoman governor of Rumelia, Hadım Suleiman Pasha. The battle took place at P ...
, Stephen had to summon the Large Host and also recruited
mercenary
A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any ...
troops.
In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
and early
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
, the Moldavians relied on light
cavalry (''
călărași
Călărași (), the capital of Călărași County in the Muntenia region, is situated in south-east Romania, on the banks of the Danube's Borcea branch, at about from the Bulgarian border and from Bucharest.
The city is an industrial centre f ...
'') which used
hit-and-run tactics
Hit-and-run tactics are a tactical doctrine of using short surprise attacks, withdrawing before the enemy can respond in force, and constantly maneuvering to avoid full engagement with the enemy. The purpose is not to decisively defeat the en ...
similar to those of the
Tatars
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different ; this gave them great mobility and also flexibility, in case they found it more suitable to dismount their horses and fight in hand-to-hand combat, as it happened in 1422, when 400
horse archer
A horse archer is a cavalryman armed with a bow and able to shoot while riding from horseback. Archery has occasionally been used from the backs of other riding animals. In large open areas, it was a highly successful technique for hunting, f ...
s were sent to aid
Jagiellon Poland, Moldavia’s overlord against the
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians o ...
. When making eye-contact with the enemy, the horse archers would withdraw to a nearby forest and
camouflage
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...
themselves with leaves and branches; according to Jan Długosz, when the enemy entered the wood, they were "showered with arrows" and defeated.
[Długosz, p. 438] The heavy cavalry consisted of the nobility, namely, the boyars and their guards, the ''viteji'' (lit. "brave ones", small nobility) and the ''curteni'' — the Court Cavalry (all nominally part of the ''Small Host''). In times of war, boyars were compelled by the
feudal system of allegiance to supply the prince with troops in accordance with the extent of their
manorial domain.
Other troops consisted of professional foot soldiers (''lefegii'') which fulfilled the
heavy infantry
Heavy infantry consisted of heavily armed and armoured infantrymen who were trained to mount frontal assaults and/or anchor the defensive center of a battle line. This differentiated them from light infantry who are relatively mobile and l ...
role, and the ''plăieşi'', free peasants whose role was that of border guards: they guarded the mountain passes and were prepared to
ambush
An ambush is a long-established military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind mo ...
the enemy and to fight delaying actions.
In the absence of the prince, command was assigned to the ''Mare Spătar'' (Grand Sword-Bearer - a military office) or to the ''Mare Vornic'' (approx. Governor of the Country; a civilian office second only to the ''
Voievod
Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...
'', which was filled by the prince himself). Supplying the troops was by tradition-later-made-into-law the duty of the inhabitants of those lands on which the soldiers were present at a given time.
The Moldavians' (as well as Wallachians') favourite military doctrine in (defensive) wars was a
scorched earth policy combined with harassment of the advancing enemy using
hit-and-run tactics
Hit-and-run tactics are a tactical doctrine of using short surprise attacks, withdrawing before the enemy can respond in force, and constantly maneuvering to avoid full engagement with the enemy. The purpose is not to decisively defeat the en ...
and disruption of communication and supply lines, followed by a large scale ambush: a weakened enemy would be lured in a place where it would find itself in a position hard or impossible to defend. A general attack would follow, often with devastating results. The shattered remains of what was once the enemy army would be pursued closely and harassed all the way to the border and sometimes beyond. A typical example of successful employments of this scenario is the
Battle of Vaslui
The Battle of Vaslui (also referred to as the Battle of Podul Înalt or the Battle of Racova) was fought on 10 January 1475, between Stephen III of Moldavia and the Ottoman governor of Rumelia, Hadım Suleiman Pasha. The battle took place at P ...
.
Decline and refounding
Towards the end of the 15th century, especially after the success of
gun
A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, p ...
s and
cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
s, mercenaries became a dominant force in the country’s military. With the economic demands created by the
stagnation of the Ottoman Empire, the force diminished and included only mercenaries such as the ''
seimeni
Seimeni (plural of ''Seimen'') designates the group of flintlock-armed infantry mercenaries charged with guarding the ''hospodar'' (ruler) and his court in 17th and 18th century Wallachia and Moldavia. They were mostly of Serb and other Balkan ...
''.
The 1829
Treaty of Adrianople allowed Moldavia to again maintain its own troops, no longer acting as an auxiliary under strict Ottoman supervision, and assigned red over blue
pennants (''see
Flag and coat of arms of Moldavia
The flag and coat of arms of Moldavia, one of the two Danubian Principalities, together with Wallachia, which formed the basis for the Romanian state, were subject to numerous changes throughout their history.
History
The recognised emblem belon ...
''). Their renewed existence under
Mihail Sturdza
Mihail Sturdza (24 April 1794, Iași – 8 May 1884, Paris), sometimes anglicized as Michael Stourdza, was prince of Moldavia from 1834 to 1849. He was cousin of Roxandra Sturdza and Alexandru Sturdza.
Biography
He was son of Grigore Sturdza, s ...
was a major symbol and rally point for the
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
cause, aiding in bringing about the
1848 Moldavian revolution
The Moldavian Revolution of 1848 is the name used for the unsuccessful Romanian liberal and Romantic nationalist movement inspired by the Revolutions of 1848 in the principality of Moldavia. Initially seeking accommodation within the political f ...
.
Fleet
An early mention of a Moldavian
naval fleet
A fleet or naval fleet is a large formation of warships – the largest formation in any navy – controlled by one leader. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land.
Purpose
In the modern sense, fleets are usually, but not ne ...
is found in connection with the rule of
Aron Tiranul
Aaron the Tyrant ( ro, Aron Tiranul) or Aron Vodă ("Aron the Voivode"; Church Slavonic: Apѡн вода), sometimes credited as Aron Emanoil or Emanuel Aaron (german: Aaron Waida, it, Aaron Vaivoda, tr, ArvanMaxim (1994), p. 23 or ''Zalim'';Kohe ...
, who used it to help
Wallachian ruler Michael the Brave
Michael the Brave ( ro, Mihai Viteazul or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593 – 1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Transylvania (1599 – 1600). ...
establish his control over the
Chilia branch of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
and
Dobruja
Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...
.
The Treaty of Adrianople provided for a Moldavian self-defense naval force, to be composed of
caicque vessels.
Schooners armed with
cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
s were first built in the 1840s. Along with patrolling the Danube, these made their way on its tributaries, the
Siret
Siret (; german: Sereth; hu, Szeretvásár; uk, Серет, Seret; yi, סערעט, Seret) is a town, municipality and former Latin bishopric in Suceava County, northeastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovina. Siret is ...
and the
Prut River.
References
*
Gheorghe I. Brătianu
Gheorghe (George) I. Brătianu (January 28 1898 – April 23–27, 1953) was a Romanian politician and historian. A member of the Brătianu family and initially affiliated with the National Liberal Party (Romania, 1875), National Liberal Par ...
, ''Sfatul domnesc şi Adunarea Stărilor în Principatele Române'', Bucharest, 1995
*Ştefan Ştefănescu, ''Istoria medie a României'', part II, Bucharest, 1991
*{{in lang, ro}
''Marina română la Dunăre'' on the
Romanian Navy
The Romanian Navy ( ro, Forțele Navale Române) is the navy branch of the Romanian Armed Forces; it operates in the Black Sea and on the Danube. It traces its history back to 1860.
History
The Romanian Navy was founded in 1860 as a river flo ...
site
Armies by country
Warfare of the Middle Ages
Moldavia