Day two of my Romanian tour started with a breakfast stroll around the fine city of Iasi (Jassy). Some fine 19th century architecture, although as it was a Monday, the museum was closed. The curse of museums.
Then off to Vaslui, fought on 10 January 1475 between Stephen III of Moldavia and the Ottoman governor of Rumelia, Hadım Suleiman Pasha. I have always wanted to visit this site, as it was one of the first display games I organised for GDWS at Claymore in 2005. We used copious amounts of cotton wool for the mist, which, 20 years later, I am still extracting!
The Romanian government has made this site proud with a magnificent new monument to Stephan the Great. There is also a small park with models of Moldavian castles. There is no explanation of the battle, although there was a shuttered building, so that may yet happen.
My next stop was at Stanilesti, the site of another GDWS show game we called Peter on the Prut. It was here in 1711 that the Ottomans trapped Peter the Great against the Prut River. He had to concede an unfavourable treaty, but it could have been worse. The whole history of Russia could have been changed if the Ottomans had finished him off.
The Moldavians were on Peter's side, so I wasn't expecting a grand monument. However, a nodding mention of this historic event is justified, but there isn't even a paved road. Nationalism and history!
My final stop was just over the border from Cahul in modern-day Moldova. The Battle of Kagul was fought here on 1 August 1770 during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774. The Russian Field Marshal Pyotr Rumyantsev won a decisive victory in one of the largest battles of the 18th century. I would have liked to cross over to see the battlefield close up, but this is the EU border and the queues can be horrendous. A Moldovan trip for another day and include Larga, a bit further down the river.
Braila for the overnight stay and then onto the Danube Delta.
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