The Terror of Vlad the Impaler

Vlad the Impaler wasn't just a warrior, he was a tactician who turned psychology into a weapon.

When he was young, the Ottomans held him hostage. They tortured him, broke him down,

taught him that survival meant becoming what your enemies feared most. Years later,

when he returned to rule Wallachia, he faced an impossible choice. The Ottoman Empire,

the most powerful force in the world, demanded submission. Vlad refused. But he knew he couldn't

win a direct battle. So he invented a new kind of warfare. He poisoned every well his enemies

would drink from. He burned every field they'd march through. He sent soldiers

dressed as Turks into Ottoman camps at night, slaughtering them in their sleep.