Following the attacks launched by the Wallachian voivode into the Ottoman territories in early 1462, the Sultan launched a campaign against Wallachia in May. The
Ottoman army, led by Mehmed himself, amassed 15 divisions of soldiers. The
Prince of Wallachia, who was well acquainted with Ottoman tactics and strategies, believed that the Ottoman armies would not head toward
Vidin or
Belgrade. Instead, he anticipated that Mehmed II would bring his ships to the
Danube and assemble his land army in
Philippopolis. Based on this assessment, Vlad began to implement his own defensive plan. His objective was to try to stop Mehmed II at the Danube, delay him through a river-crossing operation, and prevent his advance. Having failed to mobilize the population, Vlad had to rely on his
small army, which numbered around 7,000 to 10,000 soldiers consisting mainly of
courtiers,
boyars and some
mercenaries. Apart from a few
Transylvanian units and the weak promises of assistance from
Matthias Corvinus, Vlad had no other support. As for the Ottoman army,
Doukas mentions 150,000 soldiers, while
Chalkokondyles adds another 100,000. However, these figures are exaggerated, as was the case with many medieval battles. Even if we consider the recorded numbers to be inflated, the army was undoubtedly extremely large, with modern estimates ranging between 25,000 and 35,000 men. Only the central units remained with the Sultan. He continued his advance from Philippopolis with a force of 15,000 men. == Battle ==