Wallachian-Ottoman Wars: The Night Attack

June 17, 1462 - Vlad III Dracula of Wallachia launches his "Night Attack" against the army of Sultan Mehmed II. After provoking war by refusing to pay tribute to the Ottomans and raiding into Bulgaria where he impaled 23,000 Turks, Dracula prepared to repulse the invasion of his home territory. Mehmed advanced north with an army of approximately 90,000 with the goal of subduing Wallachia and adding it to the empire. After failing to prevent the Turks from crossing the Danube River, Dracula and his 30,000-man army resorted to a scorched earth campaign along with executing hit and run attacks against Mehmed's forces.

With Mehmed approaching the Wallachian capital at Târgovişte, Dracula planned an audacious attack on the Turkish camp. Riding with 24,000 men, he struck the Turks three hours after dark on June 17, inflicting heavy casualties in both men and horses. Some sources claim the assault would have been a greater success had one of his commanders, a boyar named Galeş, launched a simultaneous attack as originally planned. Casualties were approximately 15,000 lost for the Turks and 5,000 for the Wallachians. Following the "Night Attack," Mehmed advanced to Târgovişte where he found an additional 20,000 Turks impaled. Horrified by the sight and with his army's morale low, Mehmed withdrew from Wallachia beginning on June 22.

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