Polish-Ottoman War (1620–1621)

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Polish-Ottoman War (1620–1621) or First Polish-Ottoman War was a conflict between Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Ottoman Empire, who fought over Moldavia. It ended with Commonwealth withdrawing its claims to Moldavia.

From the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century, the magnates of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth intervened in the affairs of Moldavia, which the Ottoman Empire considered within its sphere of influence. Additionally, the Ottomans were aggravated by the constant raids of Cossacks, then nominally subjects of the Commonwealth, across the border into Ottoman territories.

In the meantime, the Thirty Years' War was raging across Europe. The Commonwealth was relatively uninvolved in this war but the Polish king, Zygmunt III Waza, sent an elite and ruthless mercenary unit, the Lisowczycy, to aid his Habsburg allies. They defeated George I Rákóczi of Transylvania at the Battle of Humienne in 1619, and Gabriel Bethlen asked Sultan Osman II for aid. Also, Gaspar Graziani, ruler of Moldavia, switched sides and joined Poland. Thus, sultan agreed to help Bethlen, and a large Ottoman army was gathered with the intent of a punitive invasion of the Commonwealth. In 1620, he crushed the Commonwealth army at the Battle of Ţuţora (Cecora). The campaign was suspended for the winter but, in 1621, both sides resumed hostilities.

In 1621, an army of 100,000 to 250,000 soldiers (sources vary), led by Osman II, advanced from Istanbul and Adrianople in April, towards the Polish frontier. The Turks, following their victory in the Battle of Ţuţora, had high hopes of conquering Ukraine (then a part of Poland), and perhaps even toppling the Commonwealth entirely and reaching the Baltic Sea. This time they were however stopped by a Commonwealth army, aided by a large Cossack detachment, at the Battle of Khotyn. The ensuing peace treaty resulted in no border change but Commonwealth agreed to stop its interference in Moldavia, but both sides claimed victory, as Commonwealth saw the battle of Khotyn as a successful stopping of Ottoman invasion of its mainland.

Polish-Ottoman border would remain relatively peaceful until the Polish-Ottoman War (1633–1634) and Polish-Ottoman War (1672-1676).