WALLACHIAN AND MOLDOVAN TROOPS IN THE NAPOLEONIC WARS
A guest post by Andrew Prockter
Much of the detail in this account is taken from two books published in the 19th century – The Present State of Turkey by Thomas Thornton published in 1807 and An Account of the present State of Moldavia and Wallachia from Campenhausen’s Travels through several Provinces of the Russian Empire featured in The Scots Magazine, Volume 73, 1811 as well as from Istoria armatei româneşti. Volumul 2 (de la 1599 până în zilele noastre) by Nicolae Iorga, Istoria Românilor: Curs Făcut la Facultatea de Litere din Bucureşti , 1800- 1830, Volume 8 and Acte şi fragmente cu privire la istoria românilor : adunate din depozitele de manuscrise ale Apusului. Volumul 2 : Extracte din corespondenţa ambasadorilor prusieni la Constantinopol şi Petersburg cu privire la Ţerile Romîne by Nicolae Iorga. Many of the features of military affairs were common in both Wallachia and Moldova and so should be read as such, unless otherwise indicated.
For military purposes pre-independent Wallachia was divided into ‘capitals’ (counties based on towns – judeţe in Romanian) at the head of which the Captain (Beşli-aga) who was both a military and administrative officer and was appointed by the Spătar (Hetman in Moldova), the commander in chief who, in turn, was appointed by the Sultan but who also reported to the Prince (Voivode). The Wallachian and Moldovan armies had been reduced in strength at the insistence of the Porte since the sixteenth century.
Under the Hetman or Spătar (who according to Thornton was normally a Phanariot – see separate article) was the Aga who besides being the commander in chief of the infantry was also the chief policeman of the principality.
The Voivode (Wallachia) had a personal bodyguard of a company of Slavs (probably Serbs). In addition there were regiments of Delhis (Deliu in Romanian) and Tufengkis (musketeers). These were mostly Greek-Orthodox Albanians – Arnauts - and, according to an account written in 1809, were brave and excellent shots, if not well disciplined or very honest. The overall Guard commander was the Bas-beşli-aga based at Bucharest.
The Vavoide of Moldova, who was also commander of the cavalry, had a bodyguard of 20 guards dressed in blue and 18 in red. The Hetman (Moldova) had his own bodyguard of 28 men consisting of captain, lieutenant, NCOs, trumpeters and drummers dressed in blue vests. It seems that their uniforms were indistinguishable from Turkish ones. The Aga also had his own bodyguard (in the case of Moldova it was formed of ten men dressed in green waistcoats). In the case of Moldova all these guards were often grouped together.
Romanian military organisation was very old-fashioned and, in some cases, very old, with titles and unit organisation that was centuries old. The army was about 6,000 men strong in each principality and under the command of the Spătar (Hetman in Moldova). The commander in chief was also military governor of the respective capital (Iaşi in the case of Moldova and Bucharest (that have been subject to a devastating earthquake in 1803) in the case of Wallachia). Johnson claims that the troops were militia (that Acte şi Fragmente confirms) but they were issued cloth once a year from which to make a coat. Although they were not paid, they qualified for tax-free status (which probably explains there non-too-squeamish approach to property). Although they had to provide their own nether garments this suggests that they had uniforms, even if the patterns of coat made up differed. They also had to provide all their other equipment (including horses if cavalry). They were also allocated to identified garrisons. Under the terms of treaties of capitulation that the Principalities signed with the Ottomans during the Middle Ages in peacetime Turks were not allowed to live in the territories (bar the Turkish divan (the Turkish-speaking secretary) at the Voivode’s court), nevertheless the Principalities’ armies used Turkish terms and Turkish garrisons occupied fortresses just outside the borders of Wallachia and Moldova.
Below the level of Aga was the Polkovnic or Bimbaşă (Colonel) (of which possibly there were six) who had bought his post from his superior and sold the commissions of lieutenant, possibly nine posts per ‘regiment’. It is possible that the captain often operated separately from the colonel, who would have had responsibility for a number of companies, because of the line of reporting direct to the Aga. The troops (known as Beşlis and were considered by Campenhausen also to be very courageous and wore bright red? uniforms) were allocated to the 17 judeţe in Wallachia on the basis of population. The militia were required to maintain public order, defend the frontiers and tackle brigandage.
In 1806 after the Battle of Austerlitz the Turkish Sultan, in alliance with Napoleon, decided to remove both voivodes of Wallachia and Moldova. At the same time French troops were transferred to Dalmatia. In order to block a possible invasion of Russia Emperor Alexander sent 40,000 troops into the Romanian principalities. These would stay there until the Treaty of Bucharest in 1812. As a consequence of their presence, some modernisation of Wallachian and Moldovan military organisation occurred. Legions of volunteers were also formed that fought alongside the Russian army against the Turks and in defence of Russia in 1806 and 1812-15.
After the treaty, under which the eastern part of Moldova (‘Bessarabia”) was granted to the Russians, rulers to the taste of the Sultan were installed in the Principalities.
Much of the detail in this account is taken from two books published in the 19th century – The Present State of Turkey by Thomas Thornton published in 1807 and An Account of the present State of Moldavia and Wallachia from Campenhausen’s Travels through several Provinces of the Russian Empire featured in The Scots Magazine, Volume 73, 1811 as well as from Istoria armatei româneşti. Volumul 2 (de la 1599 până în zilele noastre) by Nicolae Iorga, Istoria Românilor: Curs Făcut la Facultatea de Litere din Bucureşti , 1800- 1830, Volume 8 and Acte şi fragmente cu privire la istoria românilor : adunate din depozitele de manuscrise ale Apusului. Volumul 2 : Extracte din corespondenţa ambasadorilor prusieni la Constantinopol şi Petersburg cu privire la Ţerile Romîne by Nicolae Iorga. Many of the features of military affairs were common in both Wallachia and Moldova and so should be read as such, unless otherwise indicated.
For military purposes pre-independent Wallachia was divided into ‘capitals’ (counties based on towns – judeţe in Romanian) at the head of which the Captain (Beşli-aga) who was both a military and administrative officer and was appointed by the Spătar (Hetman in Moldova), the commander in chief who, in turn, was appointed by the Sultan but who also reported to the Prince (Voivode). The Wallachian and Moldovan armies had been reduced in strength at the insistence of the Porte since the sixteenth century.
Under the Hetman or Spătar (who according to Thornton was normally a Phanariot – see separate article) was the Aga who besides being the commander in chief of the infantry was also the chief policeman of the principality.
The Voivode (Wallachia) had a personal bodyguard of a company of Slavs (probably Serbs). In addition there were regiments of Delhis (Deliu in Romanian) and Tufengkis (musketeers). These were mostly Greek-Orthodox Albanians – Arnauts - and, according to an account written in 1809, were brave and excellent shots, if not well disciplined or very honest. The overall Guard commander was the Bas-beşli-aga based at Bucharest.
The Vavoide of Moldova, who was also commander of the cavalry, had a bodyguard of 20 guards dressed in blue and 18 in red. The Hetman (Moldova) had his own bodyguard of 28 men consisting of captain, lieutenant, NCOs, trumpeters and drummers dressed in blue vests. It seems that their uniforms were indistinguishable from Turkish ones. The Aga also had his own bodyguard (in the case of Moldova it was formed of ten men dressed in green waistcoats). In the case of Moldova all these guards were often grouped together.
Romanian military organisation was very old-fashioned and, in some cases, very old, with titles and unit organisation that was centuries old. The army was about 6,000 men strong in each principality and under the command of the Spătar (Hetman in Moldova). The commander in chief was also military governor of the respective capital (Iaşi in the case of Moldova and Bucharest (that have been subject to a devastating earthquake in 1803) in the case of Wallachia). Johnson claims that the troops were militia (that Acte şi Fragmente confirms) but they were issued cloth once a year from which to make a coat. Although they were not paid, they qualified for tax-free status (which probably explains there non-too-squeamish approach to property). Although they had to provide their own nether garments this suggests that they had uniforms, even if the patterns of coat made up differed. They also had to provide all their other equipment (including horses if cavalry). They were also allocated to identified garrisons. Under the terms of treaties of capitulation that the Principalities signed with the Ottomans during the Middle Ages in peacetime Turks were not allowed to live in the territories (bar the Turkish divan (the Turkish-speaking secretary) at the Voivode’s court), nevertheless the Principalities’ armies used Turkish terms and Turkish garrisons occupied fortresses just outside the borders of Wallachia and Moldova.
Below the level of Aga was the Polkovnic or Bimbaşă (Colonel) (of which possibly there were six) who had bought his post from his superior and sold the commissions of lieutenant, possibly nine posts per ‘regiment’. It is possible that the captain often operated separately from the colonel, who would have had responsibility for a number of companies, because of the line of reporting direct to the Aga. The troops (known as Beşlis and were considered by Campenhausen also to be very courageous and wore bright red? uniforms) were allocated to the 17 judeţe in Wallachia on the basis of population. The militia were required to maintain public order, defend the frontiers and tackle brigandage.
In 1806 after the Battle of Austerlitz the Turkish Sultan, in alliance with Napoleon, decided to remove both voivodes of Wallachia and Moldova. At the same time French troops were transferred to Dalmatia. In order to block a possible invasion of Russia Emperor Alexander sent 40,000 troops into the Romanian principalities. These would stay there until the Treaty of Bucharest in 1812. As a consequence of their presence, some modernisation of Wallachian and Moldovan military organisation occurred. Legions of volunteers were also formed that fought alongside the Russian army against the Turks and in defence of Russia in 1806 and 1812-15.
After the treaty, under which the eastern part of Moldova (‘Bessarabia”) was granted to the Russians, rulers to the taste of the Sultan were installed in the Principalities.
These 28mm figures from the Editor's Ottoman army of the period are probably not far off at least one of the unit types.
