The battle of Kalugereni was one of the most important in the history of the Balkans for many reasons. In principle, it was one of the most humiliating defeats of the Turks, although they were outnumbered 7:1. It was also the beginning of the national awakening of the Romanians, but also a glimmer of hope for all the enslaved Balkans.
The battle took place near the village of Kalugareni near the current Romanian-Bulgarian border. The head of the Romanian forces was the ruler of Wallachia, Michael the Brave, whose mother was Theodora Kantakuzini of Greek origin.
Michael had 16,000 men at his disposal, Vlachs, mercenaries and Transylvanians. Facing him was Sinan Pasha's Turkish army of at least 100,000 men. In order to neutralize the overwhelming enemy numerical superiority, Michael ordered his forces to a field near the small river Neavol where the marshy ground did not allow the Turks to fully develop their forces.
A small bridge over the river was a mandatory crossing point for the Turks to engage Michael's forces, who had placed 12 cannons at its height.
Michael wanted to trap the Turks by causing them to cross the river by the bridge . The Turks could not all pass together and he could hit the first Turkish corps. If he won, the Turks would be destroyed trying to retreat, causing panic in the friendly sections that followed.
Attacks and maneuvers
On August 13 (old calendar, 23 with the new) 1595 Michael attacked the Turks with the intention of provoking them. Sinan fell into the trap and ordered 12,000 of his horsemen to counterattack and pursue the insolent opponents... As soon as they were on the opposite bank, the Turks received concentrated fire from Michael's guns and the counterattack of his forces.
Pressed, the Turks tried to retreat but many perished in the marshes or drowned in the river. After this development Sinan repeated the attack with every available man. His fanatical janissaries attacked the bridge while at the same time units of his cavalry maneuvered on either side of the Romanian positions looking for a passage to the river in order to encircle Michael's army.
The fanaticism of the janissaries had an effect, and the one division of cavalry sent by Sinan discovered a ford of the river on the left flank of Michael's army. Faced with the threat, Michael ordered an immediate retreat, abandoning his guns.
But he regrouped his forces before Kalugareni and stopped the enemy. Also taking advantage of the arrival of a body of 400 horsemen under Captain Kokea, Michael counterattacked against the Turkish forces threatening their flank. The Turks were defeated and pressed back towards the bridge falling on the janissaries. Pandemonium ensued with the Turkish infantry and cavalry mixed up, unable to maneuver and fight.
Michael's men reached the bridge slaughtering the panicked Turks, retrieving their cannons and pushing back the enemy. Sinan tried to react but Kokea's cavalry in a clever maneuver reached the Turkish camp spreading panic.
According to some sources, Michael personally attacked Sinan and threw him from his horse. The Turkish Pasha fell into the marsh but was rescued by one of his slaves. At the same time, the second Turkish cavalry division that Sinan had sent to flank Michael appeared on the battlefield without its commander, Hasan Pasha, knowing what had happened.
In a display of tactical flexibility, Michael stopped the pursuit of Sinan and with all his forces turned against Hassan, defeating him.
The victory was overwhelming. With losses of around 1,000 dead and wounded, Michael had caused losses of the order of 10-15,000 men to the Turks. However, he knew that he could not remain there since the enemies, despite the defeat, were still overwhelmingly superior to his strength.
So he retreated north, abandoning Bucharest, which was occupied by the Turks. But they did not enjoy it for long as, reinforced by 7,500 Transylvanians and 2,000 Austrians, Michael counterattacked and defeated the Turks at Targoviste, Bucharest and Giorgiu, driving them out of Wallachia.
