Battle of Botoșani

During the Polish campaign against the Principality of Moldavia and the broader Polish–Ottoman War, Moldavian voivode Stephen the Great launched an invasion of Poland in 1498, in response to the Polish invasion a year prior.^[6]

Although the Ottoman Empire was on the side of Moldavia in this war and were de jure suzerains of the Moldavian Principality, Stephen's relations with Sultan Bayezid II remained tense. This led to armed confrontations between the Ottoman Empire and Moldavia during 1498–1500, as Stephen wanted to curb Ottoman influence over Moldavia.^[2][6] Stephen was also unhappy with Tatar raids close to his border, which were enabled by the Ottomans.^[7]

In November 1498, the 70,000-strong Ottoman army of Sultan Bayezid II was returning with loot from their raids on the Kingdom of Poland, which affected Galicia and Podolia regions in particular.^[2][3] The size of the Moldavian army is unknown, but could've reached up to 55,000, in the case of Stephen the Great implementing full mobilization.^[1]

The Ottoman army begun to suffer from cold, as they were passing through Moldavia.^[8] Voivode Stephen the Great of Moldavia exploited this opportunity to strike Sultan's forces, utilising the environment in his favour. The Moldavians disguised themselves as Polish troops, unexpectedly striking the exhausted Ottomans with a "speed of the Tatars and an agile bravery that was not to be found anywhere else".^[5] Stephen inflicted a crushing defeat on Sultan's army, leading to disastrous losses among the Ottomans.^[2][4][5]