Battle of Obertyn The Battle of Obertyn ( August 22 , 1531 ) was fought between Moldovan Voivode Petru Rareş and Polish forces under hetman Jan Tarnowski , in the town of Obertyn , north of the Dniester River , now in Ukraine . The battle ended with a Polish victory and the reconquest of Pokutia . Background . In 1490 , Stephen III of Moldavia conquered Pokutia , detaching it from the Polish kingdom . He tried to have the land recognized as his and was supported by the Kingdom of Hungary . After Stephen ' s death ( 1514 ) , the land was retaken by the Poles . Between 1529 and 1530 , the Moldavians campaigned in Pokutia . Since Moldavia was a vassal state to the Porte , King Sigismund I the Old sent a letter to Sultan Suliman the Magnificent to ask him where he stood on the conflict . The Sultan replied that the Poles were allowed to battle in the disputed Pokutia , but were not permitted to set foot on Moldavian soil , as that would be seen as a declaration of war on the Ottomans . This restriction was disadvantageous to the Poles , mainly because of the greater mobility of the Moldavian troops . The battle . Preparations . The Poles were led by the " Crown Hetman of Hired Soldiers " , Jan Tarnowski , to lead the army , as the Polish Parliament voted to raise taxes on their serfs in order to recruit mercenary soldiers . Tarnowski was given 4 , 800 cavalry , 1 , 200 infantry , 12 cannon , and a Tabor wagon train of unknown size . He picked the town of Obertyn , north of the Dniester River , as his operation point . Between June 3 and 5 , Tarnowski sent 1 , 000 cavalry that ousted the Moldavians from the region , and then quickly moved back to Obertyn . He then placed 100 infantry to defend the town Gwoździec ( now known as Hvizdets ) , located a few kilometers south of Obertyn . Between June 6 and July 18 , Rareş responded by sending 6 , 000 cavalry against Gwoździec and started to besiege the town . The Polish main army moved from Obertyn to Gwoździec and engaged the Moldavians , whom they routed . From July 18 to 21 , the Moldavians advanced with 18 , 000 cavalry , 50 cannon , and some infantry against the 6 , 000 - strong Polish army that had recently regrouped . Tarnowski left some of his infantry in Gwoździec and made a slow retreat to defensive location defended by forest , north of Obertyn , where he fortified his army with his Tabor wagons . The artillery was placed in three corners of the camp and a part of the infantry was placed in the wagons , as the rest of his force , with the cavalry , was deployed in the middle of the camp . On July 22 , the Moldavians sent light cavalry to attack the Tabor wagons in the forest , but were repelled by the Polish infantry . The Moldavian cannons then started to fire on the Tabors , but were unsuccessful . Instead , the Polish artillery inflicted great damage on the Moldavian cannon . One - third of the Polish cavalry then launched several successful attacks on the Moldavian left , forcing Rareş to reinforce it . He , however , left some infantry to defend his right and secure the route to Obertyn , in case he needed to retreat . The remaining Polish cavalry attacked the Moldavian right and routed it , but suffered casualties from the Moldavian artillery . A final Polish attack routed the entire Moldavian army . The Moldavians lost around 7 , 000 cavalry , 1 , 000 that were taken prisoners , and all the cannons , while the Poles lost only 256 men . Aftermath . The Sultan removed Rareş from office with the explanation that " he had disturbed the Porte ' s best friend , the King of Poland . " The Moldavians made another unsuccessful attempt to reconquer Pokutia in 1538 .