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Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

author:Cantaloupe talks about history

Do you know what the exploits of the second khan of the Mongol Empire, Ögedei Khan, were

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

Wokotai is very talented

He transformed the Mongols from a tributary state into a tax-based empire

and built the capital city of Hala and Lim

Created caravanserais and banknotes

and the imperial examination system, which is open to the whole people

It is also extremely tolerant of the religions of all ethnic groups

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

This is a huge shift from nomadic governance to bureaucratic governance

The Mongol Empire passed a period of peace and prosperity

In the following decades

The Mongol conquest had three main directions

Central and southern parts of the Central Plains

Central Asia, Iran, the Caucasus and the Middle East, as well as modern-day Russia and Eastern Europe

All three directions are independent states

Starting with the invasion of Europe

1235

The Mongols decided to send a large army to conquer Europe

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

Batu is the commander-in-chief

The total number of troops reached 130,000

In 1237 Volga Bulgaria was occupied

Conquered Kemilia

The next target is Allen in Kyiv Jack

Until the end of summer

All the lands east of the Don River were included in the Mongol territory

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

Soon the Mongols hit the capital of the Vladimir principality

In 1238 many principalities were destroyed

Their capital was razed to the ground

The Mongols acted quickly

Divide and conquer along the way

The principalities were not allowed to unite together

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

The largest open battle of the campaign took place along the river

The Mongols were victorious

Only Novgorod and Bend were not destroyed

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

Because they surrendered to Mongolia on their own initiative

After that, the Mongols began to retreat

And send an army south to conquer the Caucasus

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

1240

Batu began to recruit troops locally

In the summer of the same year

The Mongols attacked again

The largest and most prosperous Kyiv was besieged in September

The Mongol envoy sent was also killed

After a three-month siege

The city eventually fell

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

The Russian principalities were also incorporated into what would become the Golden Horde

Batu then set his sights on Central Europe

The Venetians gave the Mongols treasure information about the kings of Central Europe

This allowed Batus to wage a devastating campaign against all of Europe

December 1240

The Mongols prepared a raid on Poland and Hungary

Several envoys were sent to meet with Henry II, Grand Duke of Poland, and King Bila IV of Hungary

The messengers were killed

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

The Mongols began to invade Central Europe in three ways

The first set of tasks was to distract Poland

The second force was mainly led by Batu and Subutai

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

They crossed the Kolba Thousand Mountains

Then cross the Wanike Pass

The third army advanced along the Danube

Soon the first troops advanced towards Poland at an alarming pace

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

February 13th

Lublin and Sandimes were sacked at a rate of 50 miles a day

They divided their forces in half and were ordered to go to central Poland

The other half of the army swept south

Defeated a small detachment in the Battle of Kursk

Late 1240

Krakow, the capital of Poland, was abandoned

It was soon sacked by the Mongols

The Mongols then set out for the central Silesian city of Slao

The Polish nobility was not fortified

Hopefully, more time will be gained to gather troops

During the day, Kayden received a report saying

A large army is marching on them

So they turned to intercept the Polish army

Then the Polish army hurried to join the Bohemian army

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

Eventually, the two armies met in April

The Polish army under Henry II numbered about 7-8 thousand people

Most of them are from Poland

There were also contingents from Moravia, Bavaria and the Teutonic Knights

The Mongol army led by Dahl was only 6,000 men

The Polish army consisted of heavy cavalry, infantry and peasants

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

Ah, the Mongol army was made up of the usual assault soldiers and heavy lancers

The battlefield is a plane surrounded by a small river

The center of the Christian army consisted of three platoons of cavalry and infantry

Henry led the flank troops and smaller reserves in the rear

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

The troops there were divided into four divisions

Each division had mounted archers and infantry cavalry

The advance of the Polish cavalry launched an attack on the Mongol front-line troops

But after some initial victories, it was repulsed

Poland continued to send the remaining cavalry charges

This turn the Mongols were forced to retreat

The Polish Allied cavalry began to pursue

The Mongolian commander gave the signal

Set fire to the plants growing in the field

This creates a dense smoke and smell

Make it unbearable for the Christian army

The infantry on the flanks could not see the battlefield clearly

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

At that moment

Mongol cavalry archers began to shoot at riders who were disoriented by the smoke

The cavalry of the Christians was annihilated

Only unarmed peasants remained on the battlefield

The flanks are completely exposed

In the absence of any assistance

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

Both Polish flanks were slaughtered

The commander tried to flee the battlefield

But was captured and beheaded by the Mongols

600 km south of Nietzel

The Hungarian king Béla was busy slaughtering Polish nobles

Six days after his pursuit, the main Mongol force led by Batu also began to line up their armies and prepare for battle

He built carriages near the Siyao River, but the Mongols refused to take the bait

Although the terrain is flat

But the river has overflowed

Only a narrow 200-meter-long bridge can be crossed

The Mongols had an army of about 15,000 to 20,000 people

Numerically it is not dominant

And the other side had 40,000 powerful Hungarian soldiers

Of these, the cavalry was 15,000 kilometers

The cadets were armed with contingents from Croatia, Austria, and the Knights Templar

After hearing that the Mongols crossed the bridge under the cover of darkness

The Hungarians marched seven kilometers in the dark

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

And destroyed the vanguard of the Mongols at midnight

Because their archers were exposed at night

Defenseless against enemy crossbowmen

Hungarian troops celebrate when they return to the camp

A small army was left to guard the bridge

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

Thought that the Mongols had all been repulsed

April 11 at 12:41

Subutai sent a force north across a shoal in the river

And he was heading south to a makeshift bridge

meanwhile

Batu ordered seven heavy catapults to bombard and distract the soldiers guarding the bridge

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

The northern army then went around to the rear and attacked the guards on the bridge

and crush them

In the Hungarian camp

A heated argument broke out

Because the king was accused of not being fully prepared for battle

This gave the Mongols time to cross the river

Due to the battle, it was not possible to organize the troops into proper formation

The Mongols were pushed to the river with nowhere to run

Subutai miraculously joined the fray

Attack the Hungarians from the rear

Then a force was assembled

The enemy suffered heavy casualties

They were then ordered to surround Bella's retreating Hungarian camp

The Mangen-Ale attacked the camp with stones

Archers also shoot flaming arrows

The Hungarians tried to break through the encirclement three times

But each time it was repulsed

The Mongols left a gap

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

Deliberately gave the Hungarian army hope of escape

Most of the defenders fled for their lives

Only to be chased by more ambushed archers

This trick meant that the Mongols would kill their enemies as they fled

And not to fight for their enemies

The Hungarian army was completely annihilated

Bella fled to safety

When the entire Hungarian people were at the mercy of the Subutai army

In two days, the most powerful kingdom in Central Europe was defeated

During the Hungarian rule

The Mongols did what they did best

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

Began to loot and ravage the villages

More than half of the fixed distance points on the Hungarian plain were destroyed

Hungary is said to have lost nearly 500,000 people

Mongols: Western Expansion - Battle of Legnica and Moshi 1241

The Mongols then invaded Serbia and Bulgaria

All these lands have been ravaged

Bulgaria was forced to become a tributary state for the Mongols for decades

The situation is getting more and more serious

The Pope called for an anti-Mongol crusade

meanwhile

The Holy Roman Emperor began to recruit troops and organize defenses

The Mongols were planning to reach the Atlantic

But there were no strong enough armies to stop them

Fortunately, it didn't happen

Ögedei Khan died on December 12, 1241

Batu and most of his troops had to return to Mongolia

Take part in the election of the next Great Khan of the Mongol Empire

He was finally saved

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