The Sultan

[Flo]

Sultan Selim observes Ottoman troops march past towards their staging areas along the Danube - August, 1780
September 25, 1780
The Danube River

It had taken several months to prepare, but a quickly assembled army of Jannisaries and peasant militia, as well as a large number of Turkish cavalry. As well, there were several groups of Anglo-Frankish advisors assisting the Ottoman leadership, and there were some new artillery pieces from France.

This adventure in Wallachia, so the Ottoman leadership hoped, would resolve some of the friction between military leadership and the new tactics and tools being implemented by the Sultan. Shared victory, it was assumed, could cure all disagreements, and defeating the Wallachian Prince, Nicolae Caragha, would be useful in its own right. Since being granted independence of the Sultan earlier in the century, they had proven violent and aggressive neighbors. The various Princes had each promised to solve the problems and take care of the marauders coming from his borders, but these had proved to be empty promises as Ottoman subjects continued to be killed and there were those in the Sultans courts who believes the Princes were in fact encouraging the raids.

Taking Bucharest would not be easy, however. The terrain in Wallachia was difficult, and though the Ottomans had significant numbers, the Wallachians always found a way to be tricky in battle.

Still, the Sultan had high expectations for the military action. Annexing Wallachia was not necessarily the goal, though that could be a potential outcome. Instead, punishing the Wallachians and demanding retribution for years of raiding and attacking could be a more suitable solution, and probably less costly.