Reasons for the Mongol invasion of Europe. Western campaign of the Mongols. Batu's campaign in Europe

However, in 1231-1234 the Mongols waged a second war with the Jin, and the westward movement of the combined forces of all uluses begins immediately after the decision of the kurultai of 1235, held in the vicinity of modern Nerchinsk, on the banks of the Onon.

In modern historical literature, the estimate of the total number of the Mongol army in the western campaign is dominant: 120-140 thousand soldiers, 150 thousand soldiers, but according to some estimates (L. N. Gumilyov, N. I. Veselovsky) initially amounted to 30-40 thousand .warriors, since part of the troops was busy suppressing the Muslims in Persia.

The size of the Mongol army in the western campaign is also estimated at approximately 60 thousand people at the start of the campaign, 40 thousand people after the departure of Mengu and Guyuk to Mongolia (taking into account the losses of the Mongols in battles with the Russian principalities, Kipchak-Polovtsy, Bulgars, Bashkirs, Ases, Mordovians and etc. + the withdrawal of troops from their uluses by Mengu and Guyuk after the end of the campaign against Russia) and about 30 thousand during the campaign against Hungary.

Left without allies, Bulgaria could not effectively resist a new attack. Realizing this, at first its ruling circles also tried to come to an agreement with the conquerors. As Rashid ad-Din writes, the Mongols:

The cities of Bulgar, Bilyar, Kernek, Zhukotin, Suvar were burned. Later, the Bulgar refugees were received by Yuri Vsevolodovich Vladimirsky and settled in the Volga cities.

At the same time, part of the Mongol troops, led by Munke and Buchek, brought the Polovtsians and Alans into submission in the lower reaches of the Volga. Rashid ad-Din writes about the leader of the Polovtsian resistance captured in the summer of 1237 (in the summer of 1238, according to R.P. Khrapachevsky), captured on one of the Volga islands: “Bachman begged that Mengu-kaan [himself] with his blessed hand brought his work to an end; he [Mengu-kaan] instructed his brother Buchek to cut Bachman in two.”

Campaign in North-Eastern Russia (1237-1238)

The Hungarian missionary brother Julian reports that in the fall of 1236, the entire Mongol army was divided into four parts, three of which were preparing to invade Russia:

Now, being on the borders of Russia, we have closely learned the real truth that the entire army going to the countries of the West is divided into four parts. One part near the river Etil (Volga) on the borders of Russia from the eastern edge approached Suzdal. The other part in the south was already attacking the borders of Ryazan, another Russian principality. The third part stopped against the Don River, near the castle Oveheruch, also Russian principalities. They, as the Russians themselves verbally conveyed to us, the Hungarians and Bulgarians who fled before them, are waiting for the earth, rivers and swamps to freeze with the onset of the coming winter, after which it will be easy for the whole multitude of Tatars to plunder the whole of Russia, the whole country of the Russians.

when the Tatars came, the Comans, who all fled to the seashore, entered this land in such huge numbers that they devoured each other mutually, living dead, as a certain merchant who saw this told me; the living devoured and tore with their teeth the raw meat of the dead, like dogs - corpses

In the summer of the same 1238, Batu's brother Berke, who acted independently, captured three Polovtsian commanders.

In the winter of 1238/39, according to the Tver Chronicle, the dating of which is confirmed by L.V. Cherepnin, a new campaign took place in the Volga-Oka region. It is also reported in the Laurentian Chronicle:

For the winter. taking Tatars Mordovian land. and Moore burned. and according to Klѧzma voєvasha. and grad̑ st҃'ıӕ Bts҃a. Gorokhovets burned. and themselves idosha in the stanı svoӕ

It is not entirely clear whether the chronicle refers to the same campaign that was already mentioned by Rashid ad-Din under 1237, or whether it was a new offensive of the Mongols. If the second assumption is correct, then the goal at this stage was probably the lands of the Erzi, whose prince refused to submit to the Mongols back in 1236. In any case, the Tver Chronicle indicates that this campaign was carried out separately (“inii Tatarovi Batyevi”) from the main forces Batu Corps: "In the summer of 6747 ... Ambassador Batu Tatarov and taking the city of Pereyaslavl Ruskiy ... And the monks of the Tatars Batyevi took Mordva, and Murom, and Gorodets Radilov on the Volza, and the city of the Holy Mother of God of Vladimir". That is, in addition to the Mordovian lands, the Mongols also plundered the neighboring Russian lands, which, apparently, did not suffer during the winter campaign of 1237-1238: Murom, Gorodets, Nizhny Novgorod and Gorokhovets.

seeing hail. marvel at its beauty. and sent his messengers to his majesty to Mikhailov and to the citizens. hotѧ e. seduce.

Prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich of Chernigov, who controlled the city at that time, then refused the peace proposals of the Mongols. A new attempt to capture Kiev was made by the Mongols almost a year later.

Hike to Central Europe through Southern Russia (1240-1242)

The corps led by Bukdai in the spring of 1240 was sent through Derbent to the south to help the Mongol troops operating in Transcaucasia. Around the same time, Batu decided to send home Munke, Guyuk and Buri, with whom he did not have a relationship. According to the Secret Legend of the Mongols in the summer of 1240, they were already in Mongolia. The remaining troops regrouped, replenished for the second time at the expense of the Polovtsy and the Volga peoples.

Campaign against Daniel of Galicia (1240)

The next goal of the Mongols was the Russian lands on the right bank of the Dnieper. By 1240, most of them (Galicia, Volyn, Kiev, and also, presumably, the Turov-Pinsk principalities) were united under the rule of the sons of the Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich: Daniil and Vasilko.

Not considering himself able to resist the Mongols on his own, on the eve of the invasion (that is, approximately in the autumn of 1240), Daniel went to Hungary, probably trying to persuade King Bela IV to help him. Having not achieved his goal, he, according to the Ipatiev Chronicle:

... returned from the king, and came to Sinevolodskoye, to the monastery of the Holy Mother of God ... and returned back to the Ugrians, because he could not go to the Russian land, since there were few squads with him.

Later he moved to Poland: first to Sandomierz (where he met his family), and then to Mazovia, to his ally Konrad. Daniil Vasilko's brother was also there. The princes remained in Mazovia until they learned about the departure of the Mongols from their lands.

take his strong voevodı. Ourdu. and Baidar. Biryui Kaidan. Bechak. and Mengou. and Kuyuk (…) is not his kind. but be the governor of his feathers. Sebѣdѧi rich. and Bouroundai bogatyr and others from the Bulgarian land. and Souzhdalskou. inѣkh beschisla governor.

The Mongols began their offensive with the conquest of Porose - the region dependent on the Kiev princes Cherny Klobuk. After Poros'ye, the Mongol forces laid siege to Kiev. The defense of Kiev was led by the thousand Dmytro.

Regarding the timing and duration of the siege of Kiev, there is a contradiction in the sources. The main source for the events of the siege - the Ipatiev Chronicle - does not contain any dates. The Laurentian chronicle under 1240 reports that Kiev was taken by the Mongols " to Rzhs̑tva Gs̑nѧ. on Nikolin days”- that is, December 6th. At the same time, according to the relatively late (XV century) Annals of Abraham, the siege of Kiev lasted 74 days from September 5 to November 19: “ Tatarov came to Kiev, September 5, and stood 10 weeks and 4 days, and barely took him, November 19, on Monday».

According to modern researcher R. Marshall:

For the winter, Batu settled down near Przemysl - at his springboard to Europe. The question arose: where and when to carry out the next attack? From the point of view of common sense, it was necessary to choose the best weather for the campaign and wait for spring. The obvious target was Poland, which was now in close proximity to the Mongol army. But Batu and Subedei had a much more complex campaign plan in mind.

It was decided to strike the main blow of the new campaign in Hungary.

One way or another, but the remaining troops were divided into several corps and in 1241 continued their march to the west.

Campaign in Poland and Moravia (1241)

The Mongol troops allocated for the march to Poland (according to R. Khrapachevsky there were 3 tumens) led Baydar and the Horde: skirting the Carpathians from the north, they proceeded to Poland through the southern part of the Beresteyskaya land. There is information about the destruction of Berestye by the Mongols. In January 1241 they captured Lublin and Zawichost. On February 13, 1241, Sandomierz fell. On the same day, they defeated the Lesser Poland militia near Tursk. The Krakow troops of the voivode Vladislav Klemens and the Sandomierz troops - the voivodes Pakoslav and the castellan Yakub Ratiborovich tried to close the path to Krakow, but were defeated, respectively, near Khmilnik (Shydlovce) on March 18 and near Torchok on March 19. On March 22, the Mongols occupied Krakow, and then Bytom. Prince Bolesław V of Krakow fled to Hungary with his mother, and then hid for some time in a Cistercian monastery in Moravia.

In early April, the Mongols broke through Racibórz and Opole to Wroclaw, whose inhabitants fled, after which the settlement was burned by the soldiers of the Silesian prince. On April 9, in the battle near Legnica, the Polish-German army of Henry the Pious suffered a terrible defeat. Taking advantage of Henry's death, Konrad Mazowiecki occupied Krakow. The Czech troops, led by King Wenceslas I, were 1 day late near Legnica and were sent to Lusatia across the way from the alleged path of the Mongols.

Military operations in Hungary and Croatia (1241-1242)

The Middle Danubian lowland occupying the territory of Hungary is an organic continuation of the southern Russian steppes and, long before the Mongols, attracted the attention of various nomadic peoples (Huns, Avars, Hungarians) who wanted to settle in close proximity to European states with a settled population. It was in this region (bypassing the Carpathians through Wallachia or forcing them through various mountain passes) that the main blow of the Mongol troops was directed.

It is noteworthy in the light of Daniel’s relationship with Belaya IV that the advice of the Kiev thousand Dmitri Batu taken prisoner by the Mongols looks like:

According to its results, the king fled under the protection of the Austrian Duke Friedrich II, and the entire transdanubian part of the Hungarian kingdom was under the rule of the Mongols. Having finished the persecution of the Hungarians in Pest, the Mongols began to organize a temporary administration in the conquered territory: all the lands were divided into districts, headed by officials, in their functions close to the French bails.

The plight of Hungary prompted Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II Hohenstaufen (back in 1239, excommunicated by the Pope

Under the name of the Western campaign of the Mongols in world history, the campaign of the troops of the Mongol Empire through the territories of Central and Eastern Europe, which took place from 1236 to 1242, is known. Khan Baty led them, and Subedei was the direct commander. In this article, we will talk about the background, main events and results of this important historical event.

Prerequisites

For the first time, Genghis Khan thought about the Western campaign of the Mongols, who in 1221 set the task for Subedei to conquer the Polovtsy and reach Kiev. However, after the success in the battle on the Kalka River, the Mongols refused to go further, and on the way back they were also defeated by the Volga Bulgars.

Batu received from his grandfather a covenant to fight for the expansion of land. According to most modern historians, from 120 to 140 thousand soldiers took part in the Western campaign of the Mongols.

Start of hostilities

Batu began to show aggression in 1236 on the lower and middle Volga. There are not enough reliable sources, so the first years of the Western campaign of the Mongols can only be reconstructed approximately. As a result of an unexpected attack, the aggressors managed to defeat the Polovtsians. Some of them went west to ask for help from the Hungarians, while the rest joined Batu's army. The Mongols managed to negotiate with the Mordovians and Bashkirs.

As a result, Bulgaria was left without allies and could not offer worthy resistance to the enemy. Realizing this, the ruling circles began to try to conclude an agreement with the conquerors, who at first made concessions to them, but then nevertheless burned several large cities. By the summer of 1237, the defeat and conquest of Bulgaria could be considered complete.

Attack on North-Eastern Russia

The conquest campaign of the Mongols continued in the direction of Russia. 3/4 troops were initially prepared for it. In December 1237, the troops of the Ryazan principality were defeated, the city was surrendered to the invaders. At the beginning of 1238, Kolomna fell. After that, Yevpaty Kolovrat, who promptly returned from Chernigov, hit the rearguard.

The most stubborn resistance to the invader in the Western campaign of the Mongols was offered by Moscow. But still, on January 20, she was also taken. This was followed by the turn of Vladimir, Tver, Torzhok, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Kozelsk. In March 1238, taking advantage of the surprise factor, the Mongol corps led by Burundai destroyed the united Russian army, which was in the parking lot, was killed

After the capture of Torzhok, the Mongols opened the way to the largest city in the northern part of the Volga trade route - Veliky Novgorod. But they didn't go for it. Instead, we went to Chernigov and Smolensk. In the spring of 1238 they withdrew to the southern Russian steppes to regroup.

Third phase

The Tatar-Mongol campaign resumed in the summer of 1238. The Crimea was taken, several Polovtsian commanders were captured. In autumn they attacked the Circassians. In the winter of 1238-1239, the so-called campaign in the Volga-Oka region was organized. His goal was the lands of the Erzi, who refused to submit to the invaders two years ago. In addition, they plundered the neighboring Russian lands, in particular Nizhny Novgorod, Gorodets, Gorokhovets and Murom. In March 1239, as a result of a successful assault, Pereyaslavl-Yuzhny was captured.

Fourth phase

The fourth phase of the first campaign of the Mongols, after another respite, began at the end of 1239. It began with an attack on the city of Minkas. It was captured in a few days, and then completely destroyed, about 270 thousand inhabitants were killed. In the same period, the Mongols struck at the Chernigov principality. After the siege, the city surrendered on 18 October.

Travel to Central Europe

From the southern regions of Russia, the crusade of the Mongols moved to Central Europe. On this path in the spring of 1240, the Russian lands on the right bank of the Dnieper became the target of the invaders. At that time, they were divided between the sons - Vasilka and Daniel. Daniel, realizing that he could not give the Mongols a proper rebuff, went to Hungary, trying to persuade King Bela IV to help, but to no avail. As a result, together with his brother, he ended up in Poland.

The next point on the path of Batu was Kiev. The conquest of these lands by the Mongols began with the capture of Porose - a territory dependent on the Kiev princes, and then laid siege to the city itself. Various sources contradict the duration and timing of the siege of Kiev. Presumably it lasted about two and a half months. As a result, Kiev fell, after which a real panic began in the ruling circles of Volhynia and Galich. Many princes fled to Poland, while others, as rulers of the Bolokhov land, submitted to the conquerors. Taking a short rest, the Mongols decided to hit Hungary.

Attack on Poland and Moravia

The Western campaign of the Mongols against Europe continued with an attempt to conquer Poland. This part of the army was led by the Horde and Baidar. They entered the territory of Poland through the Beresteisky lands. At the beginning of 1241, Zavikhost and Lublin were captured, soon after that Sandomierz fell. The Mongols managed to defeat the powerful Polish militia near Tursk.

The Polish governors failed to close the road to Krakow. On March 22, this city was also occupied. A crushing defeat in the battle of Legnica was suffered by the combined Polish-German army, led by Henry the Pious. After that, Batu's order was delivered to Baydar to move south as quickly as possible in order to join the main forces in Hungary. As a result, the Mongols turned around at the borders of the German Empire, going to Moravia, defeating cities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia along the way.

Invasion of Hungary

In 1241 the Mongols invaded Hungary. Batu had plans to conquer this country from the very beginning. Back in 1236, he offered Bela IV to submit, but he ignored all proposals. Subedey proposed to attack from several directions in order to force the enemy to be divided as much as possible and then to break the Hungarian army in parts. The main forces of the Mongols defeated the Polovtsians near the Siret River, and then entered Hungary through the eastern Carpathians.

Bela IV's conflict with the barons prevented him from promptly gathering a united army. As a result, the existing army was defeated by Batu. By March 15, the advanced Mongol detachments were near Pest. Having set up camp 20 kilometers from the remnants of the royal army, Batu kept the Hungarians on their toes, waiting for reinforcements for a decisive blow.

Disagreements arose among the Hungarians. The king spoke in favor of waiting tactics, while others, led by Bishop Hugrin, called for active action. As a result, the decisive role was played by the numerical advantage (there were twice as many Hungarians) and the presence in the Batu corps of the Russian contingent, unreliable for the Mongols. Bela IV agreed to advance without waiting for the reunification of the Mongol army.

Batu for the first time in this campaign evaded the battle and left Pest. Only by uniting with the detachments of Subedei, the invaders felt the strength in themselves to accept the general battle. It took place on April 11 near the Shaio River, ending in a crushing defeat for the Hungarians. Under the rule of the invaders was the transdanubian part of the kingdom, Bela IV himself fled under the protection of Frederick II. In the new territories, the Mongols began to form temporary administrations, dividing the lands into districts.

The Germans were going to oppose the Mongols, but at first they postponed the date, and then completely abandoned active operations. The balance was maintained until the end of 1241. In the second half of January 1242, the Mongols headed for Croatia, seeking to neutralize the Hungarian king. At that time, Zagreb was destroyed. From there they moved to Bulgaria and Serbia.

Campaign results

Summing up the Western campaign of the Mongols briefly, it can be noted that in March 1242 it actually ended. The movement of the Mongols began in the opposite direction through Serbia, Bosnia and Bulgaria. The latter state, without entering into an open conflict, agreed to pay tribute to the Mongols. Why this campaign ended is not known for certain, the researchers have four main versions.

According to one of them, Khan Ogedei died in December 1241, so some researchers believe that Batu had to return to the east in order to participate in the election of a new khan. According to another version, they initially did not want to go beyond the steppe region, which always provided them with food for horses.

There is also an opinion that the Mongol troops, as a result, were actually bled dry by a protracted campaign, they felt that further advance to the west would end in fatal consequences. Finally, there is another version, according to which the Mongols were given the task of carrying out a reconnaissance campaign, and they intended to decide on the final conquest much later.

The military campaign of Genghis Khan's grandson Batu to the West began in 1235. Then there was a kurultai, a military council, which gave rise to an attack on Eastern Europe. Quite quickly, the Mongols were able to conquer the fragmented Russia. Europe could expect the same fate.

Having walked across Russia, having devastated the largest centers, the Mongols did not long idly rejoice. They scrupulously collected information about Western Europe. The Mongols knew everything that could be physically known: the economic, political, social situation of Europe at that time. Europeans, however, only heard rumors about the Mongols, told by refugees.

The alignment of forces before the invasion

The famous Mongol commander Subudai, who commanded the army of the Mongols, left only 30,000 soldiers to control Russia, while a 120,000-strong army was preparing to invade Central Europe. He realized that together Hungary, Poland, Bohemia and Silesia could put up an army that far outnumbered the Mongol army.

Moreover, the invasion of Central Europe could well lead to conflict with the Holy Roman Empire. But the information obtained by the Mongol spies encouraged Subudai and Batu - in Europe at that time there were too strong contradictions between the centers of power: the Pope and the emperor, England and France. And the Balkans with the eastern border of Central Europe were not a conflict-free space. The Mongols expected to deal with everyone in turn.

Before the invasion of the Mongols, the east of Central Europe and the north of the Balkans were constantly at war. Serbia barely restrained the aggression of Hungary, Bulgaria and what was called Byzantium before the Fourth Crusade. The expansion of Bulgaria was stopped only because of the invasion of the Mongols.

Defeat at Legnica

Reading detailed reports of hostilities one is amazed at the swiftness of the Mongols. In a matter of weeks from January to March 1241, dozens of Polish cities fell. Sowing horror and panic, the Mongol tumens (detachments of 10 thousand soldiers) reached Silesia. The Europeans considered that the Mongol army had more than 200 thousand people.

In northeastern Europe, they believed in the terrible stories about the Mongols, but still they were ready to fight to the last. Silesian prince Henry the Pious gathered 40 thousand Germans, Poles and Teutonic knights. They took up positions at Legnica. The Bohemian king Wenceslas I was in a hurry to connect with Henry and also sent 50 thousand soldiers to Legnica.

Wenceslas I did not have time for the decisive attack of the Mongols. Only two days were missing. The king of Poland was killed, Henry's army was defeated, and his remnants fled to the west, the Mongols did not pursue them. The northern detachments of the Mongols, operating on the Baltic coast, won a victory there and turned south to join the main army in Hungary. Along the way, they devastated Moravia.

Defeat of the Hungarians

Wenceslas' army moved to the northwest to join up with the hastily recruiting detachments of German knights. At the same time, the Mongols acted no less effectively in the south. After three decisive battles, by mid-April 1241, all European resistance in Transylvania was broken.

Battle on the river Chaillot. Miniature 13th century

Hungary at that time was one of the main military and political forces in Eastern Europe. On March 12, the main troops of the Mongols broke through the Hungarian barriers in the Carpathians. Upon learning of this, King Bela IV convened a military council in the city of Buda on March 15 to develop a plan to repel the raid. While the council was in session, the Mongol vanguard had already arrived on the opposite bank of the river. Not succumbing to panic and considering that the advance of the Mongols was held back by the wide Danube and the fortifications of the city of Pest, the king, at the cost of incredible efforts, gathered almost 100 thousand soldiers.

Hungarian king Bela IV flees from the Mongol army

In early April, Bela IV went east of Pest with an army, confident that he would be able to drive the invaders away. The Mongols feigned retreat. After several days of careful pursuit, Béla ran into them near the Chaio River, nearly 100 miles northeast of present-day Budapest. The Hungarian army unexpectedly quickly recaptured the bridge over the Shio from a small and weak Mongol detachment. Having built fortifications, the Hungarians took refuge on the western bank. From loyal people, Bela IV received accurate information about the forces of the enemy and knew that his army was much larger than the Mongol one. Shortly before dawn, the Hungarians found themselves under a hail of stones and arrows. After a deafening "artillery preparation" the Mongols rushed forward. They managed to surround the defenders. And after a short time, it seemed to the Hungarians that a gap appeared in the west, where they began to retreat under the onslaught of the attack. But this gap was a trap. On all sides, the Mongols rushed on fresh horses, slaughtering the exhausted soldiers, driving them into the swamps and attacking the villages where they tried to hide. Literally a few hours later, the Hungarian army was almost completely destroyed.

Crossing the Alps

The defeat of the Hungarians allowed the Mongols to gain a foothold throughout Eastern Europe from the Dnieper to the Oder and from the Baltic Sea to the Danube. In just 4 months, they defeated the Christian armies, which were 5 times larger than their own. Having suffered a crushing defeat from the Mongols, King Bela IV was forced to hide, finding refuge on the coastal islands of Dalmatia. Later, he managed to restore the central government and even increase the power of the country. True, not for long - he was soon defeated by the Austrian Margrave Friedrich Babenberg the Grumpy and never achieved success in a long war with the Bohemian king Ottokart II. Then the Mongols invaded the lands of Bukovina, Moldavia and Romania. Slovakia, which was then under the rule of Hungary, suffered seriously. In addition, Batu also advanced westward to the Adriatic Sea, invaded Silesia, where he defeated the army of the Duke of Silesia. It seemed that the way to Germany and Western Europe was open...

In the summer of 1241, Subudai consolidated his hold on Hungary and developed plans to invade Italy, Austria, and Germany. The Europeans' desperate resistance efforts were poorly coordinated and their defenses proved highly ineffective.

At the end of December, the Mongols marched across the frozen Danube to the west. Their forward detachments crossed the Julian Alps and headed for northern Italy, while their scouts approached Vienna along the Danube plain. Everything was ready for the final assault. And then the unexpected happened... From the capital of the Great Mongol Empire, Karakorum, news came that the son and successor of Genghis Khan Ogedei had died. The law of Genghis Khan unambiguously stated that after the death of the ruler, all the descendants of the clan, wherever they were, even if they were 6 thousand miles away, should return to Mongolia and take part in the election of a new khan. So, in the vicinity of Venice and Vienna, frightened to death, the Mongolian tumens were forced to turn around and move back to Karakorum. On the way to Mongolia, their wave swept through Dalmatia and Serbia, then east through northern Bulgaria. The death of Ögedei saved Europe.

Mongol army at the walls of Legnica

Europe at the beginning of the thirteenth century was in many ways simply ignorant of the new threat coming towards it from the East. Information slowly coming with caravans and travelers spread slowly. Europe itself, mired in chronic cruel feudal strife, was little interested in what was happening somewhere in distant lands - to put things in order in their own. The first data, very vague, about events in the distant steppes of Asia began to reach the courts of the monarchs in the 20s. XIII century, when the armies of Jebe and Subedei invaded the Polovtsian steppes. Having reached the limits of Russia, suffering from princely strife, the troops of the Mongol Empire in 1223 defeated the Russian troops near the Kalka River and, taking a lot of booty, migrated back to Central Asia.

The first of the European powers that be worried was the Hungarian king Bela IV. He dispatched a Dominican friar, Julian, with several representatives of other monastic orders, on a reconnaissance mission in the Volga region to deal with the situation on the ground. For three years from 1235 to 1238, Julian collected information, with which he successfully returned. The stories of the scout monk about the hordes of the steppe cavalry were so impressive and eloquent that they preferred not to believe them. While Julian's warning speeches were lazily brushed aside in Europe, the East again became, to put it mildly, anxious. The huge army of Batu invaded Russia, and outlandish embassies began to appear at the courts of sovereign persons. Delegates dressed in strange clothes with slanting eyes and faces weathered by the steppe winds handed letters to the local authorities. From these messages it followed that a certain person who calls himself the Great Khan demands obedience and submission from kings and other rulers. Somewhere they were surprised at such impudence, somewhere they laughed - in other places the ambassadors were even treated impolitely, violating diplomatic etiquette, because the Mongols accused Bela IV of the same fact that several embassies from Hungary did not return.

But after the ambassadors from the east, refugees followed - and they became less surprised, and stopped laughing altogether. In 1239, the Polovtsian Khan Kotyan turned to the Hungarian king with a request set out in a letter. Its essence was to ensure that Bela accepted on its territory the Polovtsians fleeing the invasion, in exchange for their adoption of Catholicism. Prior to this, the Polovtsians professed a mixture of Orthodoxy and worship of the Turkic deity Tengri. In the autumn of 1239, Bela IV met Kotyan with almost 40 thousand tribesmen on the border of his state and gave them permission to settle in Hungary. However, the local feudal nobility was afraid of too much strengthening of royal power (there were more than four centuries before the absolutist “state is me”) and plotted. On the eve of the Mongol invasion of Europe in 1241, Kotyan, who converted to Catholicism, and members of his family were treacherously killed in Pest. The Polovtsy renounced Catholicism and migrated to the Balkans.

The union with the Hungarian kingdom of the Russian principalities did not take place either. This union was persistently sought by the Galicia-Volyn prince Daniil Romanovich and Chernigov - Mikhail Vsevolodovich. King Bela IV, under various pretexts, evaded any agreements. Other states of Europe did not show any interest in the joint preventive curbing of the aggressor. The German Emperor Frederick II Staufen, an exquisite expert in languages ​​and strategic intrigues, publicly laughed off the Mongol messages with a demand for obedience - he modestly asked the Great Khan to appoint him as a court falconer. In fact, according to some reports, he entered into a secret correspondence with the Khan, intending to use this power in an increasingly growing conflict with the Pope. Pontiff Gregory IX himself was obviously well aware of the threat from the East, for the Catholic Church at that time had, perhaps, the best agents in Europe. The Pope had his own views on the Mongol military machine, hoping to use it in the anti-Arab direction as an instrument of indirect actions in the Middle East policy. In the north, the Livonian Order, which had an impressive military force, was preparing for an armed version of the preaching of Catholicism in the Baltic states and in the north-east of Russia and, concentrating on the realization of its ambitions, did not show any interest in confronting some Mongols. Ignoring the impending danger, which in its significance could not outweigh the traditional small-town feudal showdowns, cost the Europeans dearly.

East vs. West

Heavily armed Mongol warrior and his equipment

The military power of the Mongols was to some extent weakened by the stubborn resistance of the Russian principalities, but it was a significant force. Under the Mongol khans, there were a sufficient number of scientists and geographers, so that the command of the nomads was aware of the lands to the west of Russia, to a much greater extent than the Europeans knew about the newcomers from the east. Since the main blow was delivered to Hungary, it can be assumed that Batu planned to use the Hungarian valley as an operational and fodder base in the center of Europe. Presumably, the general concept and plan for the raid on Eastern Europe was developed by Subedei, one of the best commanders of the Mongol Empire. He envisaged an invasion of Hungary from several directions in order to force the enemy to split their forces, thereby reducing the level of resistance.

Three tumens (the main Mongol tactical unit numbering 10 thousand soldiers) remained as an occupying contingent on the territory of Russia. Two tumens under the command of the grandsons of Genghis Khan Baydar and Kadan were to make a reconnaissance and sabotage raid in a northwestern direction towards Poland. It was only supposed to test the strength of the Poles, to explore how capable the local troops were of defense, and then turn south to the main forces. The younger brother of Batu Shiban with one tumen had to sneak along the northern outskirts of the Carpathian Mountains and enter Hungary from the north. Batu himself, with an army consisting of at least four tumens, struck through Transylvania, diverting attention to himself, and the author of the plan, Subedei, moving along the banks of the Danube, was preparing to invade the kingdom from the south with the main forces. Some researchers believe that the onslaught on Europe was concentrated on Hungary, since Batu allegedly was going to limit himself to it only. Another version is that the defeat of Bela IV was only a stage on the way to further expansion. If the Christian army tried to advance towards Batu or Subedei, in any case it exposed its rear to the blow. The operation was well thought out.

The problem for the Europeans was also that practically no one knew anything about the methods and methods of warfare used by the Mongols. Of course, the term "Mongols" is clearly collective, since the army that appeared at the beginning of 1241 at the walls of Europe was a real international cocktail, which included representatives of various peoples and nationalities. The avalanche that escaped from the boundless steppes of Mongolia, like a sponge, absorbed whole layers of different cultures. Together with them, knowledge and skills were acquired. Those that proved useful were reworked and put into practice by the conquerors. European chivalry will have to face a completely unknown opponent, experienced, skillful, skillful and courageous. It was not a formless, hooting crowd of savages fleeing at a serious obstacle. A perfectly organized, trained and, most importantly, experienced army was advancing on Eastern Europe. She was bound by iron discipline, shed blood in abundance and the ruthless will of the khans. Countless victories with rare defeats contributed to the proper level of morale.

The main part of the Mongolian army consisted of cavalry - light and heavy. There were also elite units from the commander's immediate guard, keshikten, a kind of guard. The main Mongol warrior was a composite bow made of yak horns and wood 130–150 cm long. The weapon had great power and range: arrows 90–95 cm long could hit targets at a distance of about 300 meters, and at a closer distance they were able to pierce armor. Each warrior carried with him several bows and quivers for them - the entire shooting kit was called saadak. Heavy cavalry with armored warriors, armed with swords, maces and shields, entered the battle at a decisive moment, when the light cavalry had already exhausted the enemy as it should, bringing him to the appropriate condition. The personnel of the army was divided according to the decimal system: ten, one hundred, one thousand, and the largest tactical unit - tumen, consisting of ten thousand. The army was completed at the rate of one warrior out of ten people. This rule first extended to the original Mongol lands, and then, as they advanced, to part of the conquered. The recruit came to the service with his weapons and several horses. The Mongols were famous for their skill in conducting sieges and had a sufficient amount of equipment used in the storming of fortresses and cities.

Onslaught

At the very beginning of 1241, the Mongol army invaded Poland according to the original plan. In January, they broke through to the Vistula, where Lublin and Zavikhost were captured and plundered. An attempt by a hastily put together local militia and chivalry to resist ended in defeat on February 13 near Tursk. It was here that the Europeans first experienced the unprecedented tactics of the Mongols. The initial onslaught of the Poles was strong, and the light cavalry of the allegedly disorganized and wild enemy began to retreat in complete disorder. Carried away by the chase, the pursuers, without noticing it themselves, turned into game surrounded on all sides and were killed. On March 10, Baydar crossed the Vistula at Sandomierz, after which, having separated from his forces a detachment led by Kadan, sent him to ruin the region, and he himself went to Krakow. The natural desire of the Poles to cover the Krakow direction led to a new, larger battle on March 18 near Khmilnik. Baydar this time was opposed by the Krakow governor Vladimezh Klemens and the Sandomierz contingent under the command of Pakoslav. The Polish troops were demoralized even before the start of the battle by the actual desertion of the Krakow prince Bolesław the Shy, along with his mother, the Russian princess Gremislava Ingvarovna, and family. Far away from sin, the prudent prince left for Hungary.

And again the Mongols showed themselves as the most skillful warriors. Since the Polish troops were concentrated in Krakow, it was decided to lure them out of there. A mobile group of light cavalry broke into the suburbs, looting and ruining there. The enraged Poles, seeing that there were few enemies, could not resist the temptation to give chase. The Mongolian detachment allowed them to chase after themselves for several tens of kilometers, skillfully without breaking the distance. After that, the pursuers were surrounded by horse archers and exterminated. Many Lesser Poland (Lesser Poland - a historical region in southwestern Poland) chivalry and both governors perished. The remnants of the troops dispersed, some of them ran to the city, bringing disorganizing confusion. Panic began to spread around the area. Krakow, left without defenders and almost without inhabitants, was captured on March 22 and was already subject to a thorough ruin.

Having finished with Krakow, Baidar moved on - the Oder was waiting for him ahead, which still had to be crossed - bridges and crossings were destroyed in advance. The construction and search for boats, rafts and other watercraft somewhat delayed the Mongol army. By the time the vanguard of the Mongols appeared at Wroclaw, its inhabitants had already prepared for defense. The city itself was abandoned and partially burned, and the inhabitants, together with the garrison, took refuge in a well-fortified fortress. Provisions were also concentrated there in case of a siege. An attempt to capture Wroclaw on the move failed - the defenders repulsed the enemy's onslaught with heavy losses for him. Having failed in a swift attack, the Mongols withdrew to the main forces of Baydar to regroup. By this time, the sabotage campaign of this northern group had already attracted too much attention. Local authorities, who quite recently listened with obvious skepticism to stories about hordes of nomads sweeping everything in their path and perceived them as about the mythical kingdom of John the Presbyter, now faced this disaster face to face. The enemy was no longer somewhere far away - he was ruining the country. And the reaction, albeit belated, followed.

Battle of Legnica

Jan Matejko. Henry the Pious

Prince Heinrich the Pious, recognizing the threat as very significant, began to gather an already large army. Troops were moving towards him from different places. From the southern part of Poland, the brother of the deceased Krakow governor Sulislav arrived with a detachment. The contingent from Upper Silesia was commanded by Mieszko. Henry himself stood at the head of the Lower Silesian troops. Foreign formations in the united army were under the command of Boleslav, son of the Moravian margrave Diepold. By the way, there were members of the Order of the Knights Templar. In any case, the Grand Master Ponce d'Aubon, in a letter to the French King Louis IX, said that in the battle of Legnica the order lost about 500 people, including 6 knights. There was also a small detachment of knights of the Teutonic Order. The fact is that the father of Henry the Pious, Henry I the Bearded, transferred a certain piece of land under the control of this order in exchange for help. Prince Heinrich turned to his neighbor, the Czech king Wenceslas I, for help, and he promised to send an army. Heinrich decided to still try his luck in a field battle - his army, mostly infantry, included a large number of experienced warriors. A big stake was traditionally placed on the strike of heavy knightly cavalry - in European customs of warfare, this was one of the main axioms of victory. The difficulty of the situation was that non-Europeans fought against Henry. He led his army to Legnica, a city in Silesia, where Wenceslas I was moving, who decided to personally lead the army.

Baydar was only one day's march from the city. Having learned about the approach of Henry and having received information from well-placed intelligence about the threat of his unification with the Czechs, the Mongol commander set out to meet the enemy in order to impose a battle on him and prevent the merger of the two armies. He notified Batu and Kadan, who continued to repair ruin in Mazovia, by letters of his decision.

Knight of the Teutonic Order

The forces of the opposing sides are generally comparable in number, but differ in composition. According to some reports, Baydar had 1,000 skirmishers to harass and lure the enemy, 11,000 mounted archers, and 8,000 heavy cavalry. In total, his army is estimated at almost 20 thousand people. Henry and his allies could counter this with 8,000 heavy cavalry, 3,000 light cavalry, and 14,000 infantry. Apparently, the Europeans planned to beat off enemy attacks with their light cavalry, bleed him, and then deliver a crushing blow with heavy knightly cavalry.

Opponents met on April 9, 1241 near Legnica. Baidar positioned his skirmishers from the "lure group" in the center, with mounted archers on the flanks. The heavy cavalry was stationed at some distance in the rear. Heinrich placed his light cavalry in front, behind which the heavily armed horsemen stood in the second echelon. The infantry formed the third line. The battle began with an exchange of ridicule and insults, which was soon supplemented by mutual archery. The allies began to get more, so their light cavalry rushed to the already annoying skirmishers. However, successful at first, the attack began to be smeared - the enemy on his undersized horses drove off for a certain distance and again continued to fire, all the while keeping a distance from the allies. Then Henry ordered the heavy cavalry to join the battle, which was promptly executed.

The emboldened vanguard, having regrouped, resumed the onslaught, and the Mongols, seeing the change in the situation, began to rapidly retreat, spreading in flank directions. The allies began the pursuit of the seemingly fleeing enemy at full speed. And then the Mongols applied one of their many non-standard tricks for Europeans: they arranged a smokescreen from bundles of wood, grass and brushwood prepared in advance. Puffs of smoke began to cover the retreating skirmishers, and the entire Allied cavalry armada rushed right through the clouds of smoke, not seeing anything around.

Schematic of the Battle of Legnica

At this time, mounted archers on the flanks began to surround the enemy cavalry, generously showering them with arrows. When the inertia of the attacking knights was extinguished, they, exhausted by shelling and poorly oriented in the situation, were hit by the completely fresh Mongol heavy cavalry, which had been in reserve until then. Unable to withstand the onslaught, one of the Polish detachments tried to flee, but only weakened the formation.

The blow of the Mongols turned the recently still furiously advancing Europeans to flight. The infantry, seeing nothing because of the clouds of smoke and actually performing the role of extras, was not even aware of the ever-growing defeat. Finally, the fleeing knights appeared from behind the smoke, and the Mongols tirelessly chasing them. This turned out to be a complete surprise - the fleeing horsemen crashed into the dense ranks of their infantry, a scuffle began, which quickly gave rise to panic. The formation crumbled, and the Allied army fled, no longer representing an organized force. A real massacre began - the Mongols did not really need prisoners. The destruction was complete. The initiator of the campaign, Henry the Pious, died in battle. Late literally for a day to the battlefield, Vaclav, having learned about the defeat of an ally, preferred to urgently retreat. Baidar's warriors cut off the ears of the dead and put them in large bags, of which there were nine pieces. The body of Prince Heinrich was beheaded, and his head was impaled on a pike. With all these attributes of intimidation, the Mongols approached Legnica, demanding to surrender the city, but the inhabitants, rightly deciding that it was better not to count on the mercy of such visitors, put up serious resistance and fought off several attacks. Having devastated the surroundings, the steppes left.

Hungary. Battle of Chaillot

The information obtained by the monk Julian, of course, caused some skepticism, but the Hungarian king took certain measures to increase the country's defense capability. Some fortresses were reconstructed, stockpiles of weapons were accumulated. When the Polovtsian Khan Kotyan, along with his fellow tribesmen, came to emigration - and not because of a passion for travel, but because he was driven from his native nomad camps by the Mongols - Hungary was alarmed in earnest. The situation was complicated by the numerous and ambitious feudal nobility, who constantly intrigued against the royal power and stubbornly did not want to strengthen the center, which resulted in the treacherous murder of Kotyan.

The first information about the appearance of the Mongols in the eastern outskirts at the court was received in January. King Bela IV, who was then in Pest, instructed the palatine (the highest official after the king in Hungary until 1853) Dionysius to set up outposts in the Carpathians. On March 10, 1241, news came of a large-scale invasion by a large Mongol army through the so-called "Russian Gates" (Veretsky Pass). It was Batu with a whole staff of experienced military leaders - his army numbered tens of thousands of people. The conflict with the nobility, who dreamed that the royal army would not exceed the number of palace guards, did not allow timely advance of reinforcements to the border. On March 12, the limited forces of Dionysius were scattered, and the highly mobile enemy began to flood over the country. Already on March 15, the vanguard of Batu, under the command of his younger brother Shiban, reached the Pest region, where the king frantically gathered an army.

Batu approached and camped about 20 km from the main forces of the Hungarians. The nomads constantly kept the enemy in suspense with their presence, and in the meantime, flying detachments ravaged the surroundings, collecting rich booty, provisions and fodder. On March 15, they captured the city of Vats, a little later, Eger. Bela's forces, meanwhile, increased - significant reinforcements came up to him in the person of the army of the Croatian Duke Koloman, and now their total number reached, according to various estimates, at least 60 thousand people. Opinions on how to proceed have been controversial. Part of the leadership, headed by Archbishop Ugolin of Koloch, demanded the most active action. The zeal of the modest minister of the church was so great that he personally, without the approval of the king, made a diversionary sortie to the camp of the Mongols with a couple of thousand soldiers. There, of course, the bishop was ambushed and returned with only a few men. This initiative got away with him, because not everything went smoothly at the headquarters of the Christian army: Bela's vassal, the Austrian Duke Friedrich Babenberg, quarreled with his overlord and departed for his homeland. Realizing that further inaction only loosens the army, and being confident in his superiority - now the king had 60 thousand against Batu's 30 thousand - in early April, Bela ordered the united army to leave Pest. Not wanting to accept the battle on unfavorable terms, the Mongols retreated. Overloaded with convoys and a large proportion of infantry, the Hungarian-Croatian army slowly dragged along. A few days later, the main forces under the command of Subedei approached Batu - communication among the Mongols through the system of messengers was excellently established, which made it possible to assemble a shock fist at the right time in the right place in the shortest possible time.

After a week of pursuit, Bela camped near the Chaillot River. The camp was surrounded by a palisade and wagons. There was a bridge on the left flank of the position. For some reason, the king decided that the enemy would not be able to cross the river, and left him to cover him with only one thousand soldiers. Batu decided to surround the enemy and destroy him. He separated Subedei's corps, which was ordered to covertly force the river to the south at night and bypass the enemy camp. The khan himself spent the whole day on April 9 in disturbing allied activities. On the one hand, he did not let them rest and kept them in suspense, on the other hand, the enemy saw that the Mongols had become much smaller, and cheered up, lowering their vigilance. April 10 passed in preparation for the operation.

Scheme of the battle on the river Chaillot

On the night of April 10-11, Subedei secretly crossed Shio according to plan and actually entered the flank and rear of the allied army. In the morning, widely using stone-throwing tools, Batu successfully knocked down the barrier from the bridge and captured it. Soon, the Mongol cavalry poured through it to the other side. The news of the appearance of the enemy took the Hungarians and Croats by surprise. While the alarm was sounding, the steppes took up comfortable positions on the heights, showering arrows in the camp with a shower. Soon, stone-throwers were also brought there. By two o'clock in the afternoon, according to a contemporary of the events, the historian Archdeacon Thomas of Split, the camp was tightly blocked by the Mongols, who massively used lit arrows. Resistance began to weaken, and the army began to panic. The flight of individual feudal lords with detachments began, which soon grew into complete chaos. Batu prudently did not completely surround the enemy, leaving him a small loophole - otherwise the allies could start fighting to the death, and then his army would have suffered completely unnecessary losses.

The Mongols were masters not only of tactical retreat, but also knew how to competently and stubbornly pursue the enemy. The crowd, which had been an army a few hours ago, having lost everything - from fighting spirit to banners and baggage - was now being driven towards Pest, from where it had recently set out. On the shoulders of the fleeing Mongols broke into Pest. The city was sacked and burned. The destruction was complete. The losses of the Hungarians and Croats are estimated at more than 50 thousand people. The kingdom lost not only the army, but also the king. Bela IV did not find another way out, how to run to his vassal, the Austrian Duke Friedrich Babenberg. The demoralized king gave him almost the entire treasury (10 thousand marks) and three counties for help in the fight against the invasion and, probably, for providing asylum. The seriously wounded Duke Koloman with the remnants of his detachment retreated to Croatia.

Unfinished hike

Mongolian detachments, almost without resistance, continued the unhindered devastation of the country. The greatest advance of the Mongols to the west was recorded in the spring of 1242, when the tumen of Kadan, capturing cities and fortresses along the way, went to the Adriatic. Batu himself, with Baydar approaching him from Poland, began to ruin the Czech Republic. And then the steppes took and plundered many cities. Bela IV, who found himself in forced exile, tried to raise a resonance due to the extremely plight of his state, and indeed of all of Eastern Europe. He sent letters asking for help to two of the most powerful figures of the time: the German Emperor Friedrich Staufen and Pope Gregory IX. Naturally, absorbed in clarifying the relationship between themselves, these politicians did not care about the lamentations of the Hungarian king. The emperor sympathetically replied that, they say, the Mongols are very bad, and the Pope referred to worries, limiting himself to words of support and consolation. The hospitality of the Austrians soon also dried up, and Bela was forced to flee to Dalmatia. It is not known how events would have taken place further if at the end of 1241 Batu had not received an emergency message about the death of the Great Khan Ogedei. Now the highest Mongol nobility had to gather for kurultai with the aim of electing a new ruler of the colossal empire. The activity of the Mongols in Europe is gradually decreasing. Despite the activities of individual, even large, detachments, a gradual retreat to the East begins. There are several versions of the cessation of the campaign to the West, and one of them is that the death of Ogedei was only an excuse for the retreat of the army, exhausted by battles and heavy losses suffered in the fight against the Russian principalities and in Eastern Europe. Perhaps there were plans to repeat such a campaign in the future, but in the light of the civil strife that was increasingly embracing the Mongol Empire, this plan was not carried out.

King Bela IV, soon after the departure of the aggressors, safely returned to the performance of his state duties and did a lot to strengthen royal power. Already in 1242, he set out with an army against the Duke of Austria, forcing him to give up the counties actually taken from the Hungarians. Batu, or Batu Khan, settled in the capital of his ulus, Saray-Batu, actively participating in the political life of the Mongolian state. He no longer made any military campaigns in the West and died in 1255 or 1256. Europe, frozen in a fit of horror before the hordes of impetuous steppe nomads, after their departure took a breath and took up the usual routine feudal squabbles. The vast lands of Russia, stretched to the east, were waiting for hard, tragic times, the blood-covered grass of the Kulikovo field and the frozen banks of the Ugra River.

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