Wallachian military forces
The military of Wallachia existed throughout the history of the country. Starting from its founding to 1859, when it was united with the Moldavian army into what would become the Romanian Army.
The army mainly consisted of light cavalry which was used in hit-and-run tactics, though various other units existed as well. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, the army was mostly formed from mercenary units. In 1830, following the Organic Regulation, the standing army of Wallachia was created.
File:Machetă Sfert de Șaică.jpg|thumb|Scale model of an 1845 class=notpageimage
The Wallachian fleet used riverboats of various sizes between the 15th and 17th centuries. In 1794, a small flotilla was created with the approval of The Porte. After the regulations of 1830, a military flotilla was created as well. The Wallachian flotilla was merged with the Moldavian one in 1860, forming the Danube Flotilla Corps, the precursor of the Romanian Naval Forces.
Middle Ages
Before the establishment of Wallachia
Before the formation of a Wallachian state, some Romanian leaders controlled lands south of the Carpathians. During the Mongol invasion of Europe, two such leaders, Bezerenbam and Mișelav, fought against the invading Mongol armies. Bezerenbam's army was defeated in the Ilaut Country, while Mișelav's army was defeated by Budjek.In 1277, the Wallachian voivode Litovoi, first mentioned in the Diploma of the Joannites, fought against the Hungarians over the lands claimed by the Hungarian crown. Litovoi was killed in the battle, and his brother, Bărbat, was captured and forced to pay a ransom and recognize Hungarian rule.
14th–15th centuries
One of the first military actions after the founding of Wallachia was the Battle of Velbazhd in 1330. There, an army led by Basarab I fought alongside the Bulgarians. The battle ended in a defeat.Wars against Hungary
In the same year, Wallachia was invaded by Charles I of Hungary who was seeking to recapture the "marginal lands" held by Basarab. The Hungarian royal army captured Severin in September, appointing Dionysius Széchy as Ban. Due to the poor supplies of Charles' army, he was compelled to sign an armistice and retreat from Wallachia. His army was ambushed by Basarab in a mountain valley on 9 November. According to historian Constantin Rezachevici, in the first phase of the battle, which lasted two days, the Hungarian army was stopped in the valley and attacked with ranged weapons. The last two days of battle were primarily fought in melee combat, which marked the character of the battle. While portrayed only as peasants armed with bows and rocks in the Illuminated Chronicle, the Wallachian army of Basarab was just as well equipped as the King's army, as noted by Stephen, the son of the Cuman Ispán Parabuh.Wars with Hungary continued during the reign of Vladislav Vlaicu, with Vlaicu defeating an army led by Nicholas Lackfi on the Ialomița valley in the autumn of 1368. In 1369, the Voivode captured the Hungarian-occupied city of Vidin to restore its ruler, Ivan Sratsimir. However, following the successful campaign of Louis I in the summer of the same year, he had to submit to the Hungarian king.
Launching another offensive against Wallachia after escalating religious tensions, Louis managed to take the Banate of Severin in 1375 from Vladislav who in turn allied himself with Ivan Shishman of Bulgaria and Murad I. Still, the King failed to bring Vladislav under his rule and the Voivode took back Severin in 1377. For a battle against the Hungarians, Vladislav's successor, Radu I, equipped his army with armour from Venice as described in Cronaca Carrarese by Galeazzo and Bartolomeo Gatari. His army was defeated, however, in the clash according to the chronicle, although the Hungarian campaign of 1377 was unsuccessful in bringing Radu under the rule of the Hungarian crown.
Wars against the Ottomans
The first battles with the Ottomans took place during the reign of Vladislav Vlaicu. Shortly after reinstalling Ivan Sratsimir in Vidin, Vlaicu had to fight against Tsar Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria who was attempting to take control of the city with Ottoman support. During the successful campaign of Vladislav, the knight Ladislaus Dobokai distinguished himself in the fighting against the Turks. Voivode Vlaicu also joined Ivan Sratsimir and Louis I of Hungary in a crusade against the Ottomans and Bulgarians in February-March 1371, which resulted in the capture of Sofia.During the reign of Mircea the Elder, Wallachia faced the Ottomans again. A victory was achieved at the Battle of Rovine, and Mircea also participated in the Battle of Nicopolis. In 1430, a document issued by King Sigismund of Luxembourg mentioned that Wallachia and Moldavia could raise an army of 10,000 pancerati, and in 1448 a contingent of 4,000 archers led by the Voivode participated in the Battle of Kosovo.
In 1444, a contingent of 4,000 Wallachian cavalrymen, according to Jan Długosz, under the command of Mircea II aided King Vladislaus of Poland and Hungary in the Crusade of Varna. According to Michael Beheim, the Wallachians participated in the siege of fortress, with Mircea ordering his troops to bring up ladders and scale the walls. Failing the direct assault, the Wallachians intercepted the Turks who were attempting to flee through a secret tunnel after the Hungarian cannons had breached the walls. During the Battle of Varna, the Wallachian banner fought on the right flank of the crusader army, later breaking away, likely following an order from John Hunyadi, and engaging the Ottomans on the left to prevent a flanking maneuver. Breaking through the Ottoman flank, the Wallachians stopped for plunder and left the battlefield after being threatened with the killing of Mircea's two brothers.
Due to the constant internal and external conflicts, Vlad Dracula organized a small army of 6,000 to 8,000 soldiers composed of small land owners, boyars, courtiers, and a hired personal guard of trabants from Transylvania. Vlad also made use of artillery, which was likely operated by foreign mercenaries.
With this army, Vlad campaigned against the Transylvanian Saxons who supported his rivals. He also defeated an Ottoman army led by Hamza Bey in 1460. In 1462, Vlad launched a campaign south of the Danube. Dividing his army into six columns, he attacked strategic settlements near the river. Vlad led the army heading towards Nicopolis. During this offensive, he utilized culverins in his attack on Svishtov, and also destroyed a number of 50 Ottoman ships. During the night attack on Mehmet's camp near Târgoviște in 1462, the Voivode's army took heavy losses.
The large host
The large host was an army that consisted of peasants and city dwellers. The number of soldiers in this army could reach 30 to 40,000. Once the Prince ordered the call to arms, special envoys were dispatched to the territory to deliver the message. Territorial governors then passed the call to arms to villages and towns. In an Ottoman document from 1521, it is specified that this mobilization took at least 20 days.The first documented mention of the large host comes from the reign of Mircea the Elder in 1408, when the Voivode granted a village to the abbot of the Snagov Monastery, who was exempt from all taxes but not from service in the large host. Vlad the Impaler tried to raise this army in the summer of 1462, during Mehmet's invasion. Due to the relatively short time, Vlad failed to form the army and only relied on his small host. From the first half of the 16th century, this army was no longer raised. The last mention of the large host comes from Vlad Înecatul, who mentioned that villagers were still required to serve in this army. After this mention, the large host never appeared in any documents or other sources.
Early Modern Period
16th–17th centuries
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. He won an important victory against Mehmed Bey at Grumazi. 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.The army of Radu Paisie participated in the Ottoman expedition in Hungary under the command of Ban Șerban of Izvorani. In 1538, the Voivode himself led a 3,000-strong army in support of the invasion of Moldavia against Petru Rareș. To better equip his army with cannons for an upcoming anti-Ottoman offensive, Voivode Petru Cercel established a bronze cannon foundry in Târgoviște. The foundry, organized with the help of Venetian craftsmen, functioned until the end of his reign.
Voivode Michael the Brave carried out several successful campaigns. In 1594, he captured several Turkish forts along the Danube and won at the Battle of Călugăreni a year later. With new support from Transylvania, Michael launched another offensive against the Ottomans in the summer of 1595, continuing with his attacks as far as Adrianopole. His anti-Ottoman campaigns lasted until 1599. After the peace with the Ottomans, Michael then attacked Transylvania and disposed of Andrew Báthory following the Battle of Șelimbăr. His last victory came at the Battle of Guruslău against Sigismund Báthory in 1601.
Besides the local troops of roșii, călărași, and dorobanți, Michael's armies were composed of various mercenaries including cossacks, Székelys, Serbs, Moldavians, and Germans. Over the course of his reign their number increased, and by 1598 there were over 13,000 mercenaries.
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. Prince Matei Basarab increased the number of soldiers in his army. The army, divided into roșii, servants, and mercenaries reached around 40,000 soldiers. In 1646, Matei Basarab hired additional mercenaries, the Serbian Seimeni. With this army and with his Polish allies, he defeated Vasile Lupu at the Battle of Finta.
File:Constantine's victory over Maxentius - Horezu Monastery fresco.jpg|thumb|Fresco from the Horezu Monastery showing various Wallachian soldiers
As the Seimeni did not receive their pay after the battle, they began revolting against the Voivode. Initially, the revolt was stopped with the threat of invasion from George II Rákóczi. Due to the cost of maintaining the army, the new Prince, Constantin Șerban, disbanded the Seimeni in 1655. After this action, the uprising started again, this time the Seimeni being joined by the dorobanți and some roșii, and was aimed towards the boyars. The rebelling army reached a number of 20,000 soldiers and 30 cannons. They plundered churches, monasteries, and boyar estates, killing 32 boyars in the process. With help from Rákóczi, the rebel army led by Hrizea of Bogdănei was defeated in battle at Șoplea after the betrayal of some rebel commanders who joined forces with the Prince. The remnants of the Seimeni were further defeated at Târgul Bengăi. The uprising, although subsided, continued until 1657.
As an Ottoman vassal, Prince Șerban Cantacuzino was required to participate in the siege of Vienna in 1683. The 4,000-strong army raised by the Prince was given auxiliary tasks, such as building bridges, as the Ottomans did not have much faith in them. 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.