Battu Khan, the eldest son of Genghis Khan, the second ruler of the Golden Horde, in Russia, his name is adorable and hateful, he is synonymous with war and terror, he is the fire and sword that swept through the Rus' principalities, he extended the territory of the kingdom of Juchi westward to the settlement of the West Slavs, and once captured the Hungarian capital, which frightened all of Eastern and Central Europe.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" >, Battu Khan who embarked on the road to the West</h1>
Battu, in Mongolian, means strong, reliable, benevolent, but he was never kind to those who dared to resist him. On his way to conquer Eastern Europe, he destroyed countless principalities with fire and sword, crushed countless Eastern European armies, and his Mongol army plundered everything of value along the way, from gold and silver jewelry to copper and iron utensils to cattle and horses, even people rich and poor.
Many European historians are very happy to share the horrors of Battu Khan's western expedition, such as the monk Kalpini, who once said in his own book that the Mongols ransacked many Saxon and Slavic villages in the Baltic region and tried to conquer the natives. But the Mongol armies were not merciful, and they used the most terrifying methods to force their opponents to submit, and if anyone dared to resist, they were ready to meet the baptism of fire and sword.
Batu Khan's grandfather Genghis Khan unified the Mongol tribes in 1207 and established a powerful empire within thirty years, his army ravaging Eurasia, his archers skillful in their various arrows, his light cavalry agile and cunning, his heavy cavalry armor bright and thick, and his siege weapons destroying countless fortresses.
And Batu Khan himself, one of Genghis Khan's most beloved grandsons, surpassed his 19-year-old brothers cheng over his more than thirty brothers after the death of his father, Shuchi, and established his father's khanate into a powerful Golden Horde. At the Kuritai Assembly in 1229, the sons of Wokoutai proposed to continue the conquest of Genghis Khan, marching to India, to Europe, and to North Africa.
Around 1236, Battu Khan gathered a large Mongol army, and there is still controversy about how many people this army was, and the historical documents of the Rus' principalities recorded the number of Mongol troops in different places, ranging from 140,000 to 1.2 million (exaggerating the number of enemies may allow oneself to lose decently, but this maximum number is too exaggerated). Researchers of modern Russian history believe that the Mongol army will not exceed 300,000 at most.
During the sweep of the Rus' Principality by Battu Khan's army, many villages and towns were destroyed, the armies of the nobles were crushed, thousands of people were captured by the Mongols, and even more so they joined the Mongol army to plunder their compatriots.
A year later, when Battu Khan's army attacked the Principality of Ryazan, Prince Yuri Igorevich decided to send negotiators to meet with Battu Khan in the forest of Voronezh. Unfortunately, their arrogance in believing themselves to be the dominant side in the negotiations eventually angered Battu Khan, and none of them returned to Prince Yuri for his life. Yuri managed to seek help from all the Rus' princes, but most of them chose neutrality, not wanting to provoke Battu Khan, after all, even if they were united, they might not be able to defeat the Mongol army.
The Mongols then besieged Ryazan, and day and night they suppressed the defenders in the city of Ryazan, arrows and huge stones fell into the city like dense raindrops, and when the resistance weakened, the Mongol army began to formally attack the city. The warlord Kolovrat, the overseer of the Prince of Ryazan, tried to organize a street battle, but he was shot as a hedgehog by the Mongol army. The Mongol army quickly sacked the city and then marched towards Moscow.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > two, the fire and sword that swept through Rose</h1>
The prince of Moscow led his army to a meeting with Battu Khan, but the negotiations also broke down. Although the prince's army was not numerically inferior, they did not stop the Advance of the Mongol Army, and the Prince's army was defeated, and the Mongol army entered Moscow.
On 3 February 1238, Battu Khan led his army to continue the attack, and at the same time he also sent a part of his soldiers to attack Suzdal, the capital of the Duchy of Suzdal, although the defenders of the city tried to defend the city, but in the face of the Mongol army with firepower superiority, they still failed, Suzdal was burned, most of the resisters were killed, and a small number of people became prisoners of the Mongol army.
As the Mongol army attacked Suzdal, Grand Duke Vladimir Vyssyvrovidovich carefully designed a trap for the Mongol army, intending to lure the Mongols to fight on the frozen ice so that the Mongol army could be destroyed once and for all. The Slavs liked to use this trick very much, and it could be said that they had tried and tried, but this time they must not have imagined that they would be frustrated.
However, while his army was still building fortifications, the Mongol army launched a surprise attack, and the result of the battle was naturally a complete victory for the Mongol army. In fact, after more than a month the Mongol army could not adapt to the extremely muddy road environment of the Moscow-Novgorod region and returned to the Volga steppe region, if the Grand Duke of Vladimir chose to retreat tactically and used space for time to delay for a few weeks, he would not be beaten by the Mongols and could not find the north.
But according to the Chronicle of Tver, no town of the Kings of Rus fell without a fight, and most of the Rus' nobles had the titles of brave, fearless, defender, who were not afraid of death, who were not afraid of battle, who had the courage to face everything, even in the face of the Mongol army, even if they knew that they were invincible, they did not flinch, and then with unprecedented courage they were trampled by the Mongols...
It is said that the fighting in the town of Kozelsk was completely unexpected by Battu Khan, a town of only a few thousand people, which killed more than 4,000 soldiers of the Mongol army. The defenders of the city were warriors sent by The "fearless" Prince Dmitry of Kiev, all of whom were heroes and good men who were one and ten. Legend has it that in the later Battle of Chernigov, the "fearless" Prince Dmitry personally led hundreds of his warriors to launch a surprise attack, crushing nearly 10,000 Mongol soldiers and even nearly breaking into the golden tent of Battu Khan, of course, these are Russian and Ukrainian anecdotal legends.
The truth is that The great army of Battu Khan defeated Kiev's army at Chernihiv, and then invaded Kiev in December 1240, killing more than a dozen Rus' princes and forcing the Grand Duke of Kiev to submit to him. Still unsatisfied after capturing Kiev, the Mongol armies destroyed Warren to the west and crossed the then dense Lublin Forest into eastern Poland and the Carpathians.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > three, the conqueror Battu Khan</h1>
The Mongol armies launched an offensive against Poland, Hungary and Moravia, and even to Romania in late 1240. The news that the main mongol army led by Battu Khan himself entered the Hungarian plains shocked all of Europe, and subsequently all countries sent troops to support Hungary and Poland to a greater or lesser extent.
However, in the Spring of 1241, at the Battle of Lower Silesia, the Mongol army defeated the Teutonic Knights who came to support, and it is said that 20,000 Teutonic Knights soldiers collapsed, but it is also said that the Teutonic Knights sent several flag bearers to give the Poles courage and a sense of presence, but the Polish army did suffer heavy casualties. Batu Khan then defeated the Moravian army at Olomouc, so the Austrian and Shinra nobles began to march to Moravia, of course, the nobles did not all go to support Moravia, but also went to the downground to take advantage of the fire.
After several heavy losses, the nobles of Poland and Hungary, as well as in Moravia, mostly chose to hold on to the city, their brick and stone fortresses were stronger than those of the Duchy of Rus, and no one dared to go out of the city and fight with the army of Battu Khan, but this did not mean that the Mongol army could not take their fortress.
The largest battle between the Mongol and Hungarian armies broke out in March 1241, when the Hungarian king planned to hold firm along the Sayo River and build a fortified fortress. The Mongol army was at a loss for initial tentative attacks, but in the evening the Mongols set up trebuchets and threw stones at the Hungarian bridgehead and the royal camp on a nearby hillside. (The Hungarian strategy was correct, and the field battles were in line with the Mongols' wishes, but the Mongols were not NPCs and would not follow the Hungarian script.) ）
When the Hungarians tried to counterattack the trebuchets that destroyed the Mongols, they were ambushed by the Mongols, the confused Hungarians and their allies were in disarray due to the scramble to retreat, and the Mongol light cavalry raided the rear of the Hungarian royal army, which led to a complete victory for Battu Khan, and then the Mongol army entered Budapest. (Hungary had tried its best, but there was no rear reserve line, there were not enough reserves, the counterattack out of the city was dead, the retreat would be driven away by the Mongol army, and Hungary did not have strategic depth, and the retreat could only go to Austria to crouch.) ）
After occupying the Hungarian capital, Battu Khan's army destroyed many Hungarian cities, and for a time the Hungarians trembled, and old Europe once again remembered the fear of being dominated by the Huns. Later, in 1242, Battu Khan lost the battle against the remnants of the Rus' principalities, and after that he devoted himself to strengthening his control over the Rus' princes, and did not personally lead a large army to the west, but his army continued to expand the territory of the Golden Horde into the Danube region.
In the Chronicle of Matthew in Paris, two priests who visited Eastern Europe once said: "Battu Khan established the magnificent city of Astrakhan, there were a large number of Orthodox believers in the Mongol army, the ruler of Kiev was the vassals of Battu Khan, from Chernihiv to Puertoria, all under the direct control of the Mongols, the Mongol nobles even tried to learn the local language to strengthen their rule, and many East Slavs joined the Mongol army, and they participated in the subsequent invasions of Poland and Hungary and Romania." ”
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > concluding remarks</h1>
Later in Tsarist Russia, the Soviet Union and Russia, there were numerous authors who wrote literary works with Battu Khan as the protagonist, a statue of Battu Khan in Turkey, and even a street named after Battu Khan in Ulabaatar, Mongolia.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > references:</h1>
The Golden Horde
The Formation and Decline of the Golden Horde
Genghis Khan and Battus Khan
"Khan Who Is Not the Great Khan - Battu Khan"
The Mongol Invasion of Russia
Russian Peoples and Nomads
The Mongols of Asia and Europe
The Rulers of Russia: Battu Khan