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Vlad the Impaler's Night Raid of 1462

Type Event Region Wallachia Time 1462

In 1462 Ottoman sultan Mehmed II personally led a large army against Wallachia;…

Timeline

  1. c. 1462Wallachia · RomaniaBecause Vlad III had stopped paying tribute and raided the Ottoman frontier, Mehmed II personally led a force of about 100,000 into Wallachia. Vlad used scorched-earth tactics and guerrilla warfare to delay the enemy, and the Ottoman army suffered major supply and morale difficulties advancing on Târgoviște.
  2. c. 1462Târgoviște · RomaniaVlad led elite troops in a night raid on the Ottoman main camp, causing heavy casualties and attempting to assassinate the sultan. Though he failed to capture Mehmed II, the raid severely shook Ottoman morale, becoming a famous anti-Turkish episode in European chronicles and reinforcing Vlad's terrifying image as Dracula.
  3. 1462Wallachia · RomaniaAfter failing to fully conquer Wallachia, Mehmed II withdrew but left Radu the Impaler to replace Vlad. Vlad went into exile in Hungary and pleaded his case to Matthias Corvinus; though the 1462 campaign became an anti-Turkish legend, it failed to secure his throne.

Sources