Battle of Posada

Timeline

1. 1330Wallachia · WallachiaBasarab I refused to continue paying tribute and handing over fortresses as a Hungarian vassal, so Charles Robert raised a large army and crossed the Carpathians southward. The Hungarians at one point occupied and destroyed Basarab's residence; the Wallachian field army avoided a decisive battle, luring the enemy to withdraw along the mountain paths once supplies ran out.
2. 1330Posada pass · CarpathiansAfter entering a wooded valley with steep sides where cavalry could not deploy, the Wallachians hurled stones and shot arrows from above and cut off exits front and rear. Days of continuous ambush inflicted heavy losses on Hungarian nobles and knights, whose formations broke apart in the narrow 'Posada'. Terrain and ambush tactics completely negated the Hungarian advantage in armored cavalry.
3. 1330–1331Wallachian-Hungarian border · Southeast EuropeCharles I escaped only by changing his armor; many Hungarian nobles were killed or captured. For the following years Hungary was unable to restore effective overlordship over Wallachia. Basarab consolidated rule over the north bank of the Danube and the valleys south of the mountains, and Wallachia entered the political stage of Southeast Europe as an independent principality.