The Battle of Călugăreni was a battle in the history of early modern Romania. It took place on between the Wallachian army led by Michael the Brave and the Ottoman army led by Koca Sinan Pasha. It was part of the Long Turkish War, fought between Christian and Ottoman forces at the end of the 16th – beginning of the 17th centuries. The whole Ottoman force was estimated at 100,000 men, but not all of their troops were on the battlefield at Călugăreni. It seems that only about 30,000-40,000 Ottoman soldiers were involved in the battle. Michael the Brave had in total about 15,000 men and about 12 large field cannons, with Transylvanian (Székely) detachments. Michael the Brave strategically positioned his forces south of the village of Călugăreni, where the Câlniştea river flows into the Neajlov river. The terrain there was a muddy marsh, surrounded by forests that would negate the Ottoman's military superiority. The battle had three different phases. A narrow bridge over the Neajlov river was used by Michael as a mandatory pass point where he successfully held a large Ottoman attack, although a second Ottoman assault supported by flanking cavalry forced the Wallachians to retreat. However a Wallachian counterattack on the pursuing Ottomans forced them back over the river, ending the battle as Michael would retreat during the night. The Ottomans suffered much heavier casualties. First phase of the battle The day of 23 August started with probing cavalry attacks. The Wallachian cavalry surprised the Ottoman cavalry in front of the village and pushed it over the Neajlov river. Michael the Brave positioned himself with 10,000 troops and 10 cannons north of the Neajlov river and south of the village. The Székely mercenary Captain Albert Király was in charge of the reserve of 6,000 Székely troops. The reserve was positioned rather far, north-west of the village, to stop any possible attack from the direction of the village of Singureni. After the cavalry skirmish, Koca Sinan Pasha sent forward a force 12,000 strong. Michael the Brave waited for the Ottoman forces to cross the river and, after a heavy artillery bombardment, attacked fiercely pushing the Turks back over the river. The first phase of the battle ended favorably for the Wallachians. Second phase of the battle The second phase started at noon, when Sinan Pasha launched a decisive attack with all the forces he had at that moment.