In 1235 AD, the Great Khan of Wokoutai gathered the kings in the khanate capital of Hala and Lin and decided to send a large army on a second expedition to Europe to realize Genghis Khan's legacy of conquering Europe.
Because the Western Expedition was led by the eldest son of the four kings of the four lineages, this Western Expedition was also known as the "Firstborn Western Expedition".
Mongol army in the Western Expedition
The commander-in-chief of the Western Expeditionary Army was Genghis Khan's eldest son Shu chi second son Batu (Shu Chi's eldest son was Shu'er Da, but he knew that his talent was far inferior to Batu, so he "gave way" to Battu according to Mongolian customs), and the deputy general was Subutai ,a fierce general familiar with the situation in southeastern Europe (also the actual commander-in-chief of this western expedition).
The Western Expeditionary Army was divided into four routes:
The First Army (Shuchi System): commanded by Battus, with one army each led by Erda, Xiban, and Tangguti;
Second Army (Chagatai System): Commander Buli (the eldest son of Chagatai's eldest son Motugan, who died in battle against Huarazimo, so buli succeeded his father as the eldest grandson), and his deputy was Baidar (Buri's uncle);
The Third Army (WoKoutai System): the commander is Guiyu (Wo Kuotai eldest son, later Yuan Dingzong), and the deputy will be Hedan (the sixth son of Wo Kuotai, the eldest son of Shu);
Fourth Army (Toura System): Commander is Möngke (Tuolei's eldest son, later Yuan Xianzong), and his deputy is Buzhike.
A mighty march
It is worth noting that not only the Mongol army participated in the western expedition, but also the armies of many conquered peoples. According to historical records, the manpower invested in this western expedition is about 150,000.
In the spring of 1236, the Mongol Western Expeditionary Army was assembled at the Battu Commandery, and the legendary "Western Expedition of the Eldest Son" was officially launched.
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In the winter of 1236, the Mongol army was the first to break through the eastern barrier of Rus' called Bulgar. The following summer, he defeated the southern barrier of Rus, the Chincha tribes. All the ethnic groups in the northeast of Chincha and along the Volga River were subjugated by the Mongols.
The Mongols locked their next target on the Rus' principalities. Their attack on the Rus' kingdoms was divided into two phases:
The first stage (late 1237-1238): The Mongol army won the Battle of Ryazan, the Battle of Vladimir, and the Battle of the Sij River, which basically calmed the situation in Northern Rus', and the peak of the army reached the lower Volga River.
Phase II (early 1239–early 1241): After adjustment, the Mongol army won the Battle of Kiev and the Battle of Galicia, took control of all of Southern Rus', and established trade relations with the Venetians.
By this point, the entire territory of the Rus' states had been occupied by the Mongol army.
Rus' army resisting the Mongol invasion
The victorious Mongol army assembled in Galicia and set its next target on Poland and Hungary. In early 1241, Battus drew up a battle plan for the conquest of Poland and Hungary:
Badal led 30,000 or 40,000 cavalry as a right-wing group to attack Poland and prepare for the main battle of the Hungarian side;
Hedan led a left-wing group, covering the southern flank of the main force and blocking the enemy who might aid Hungary from the southeast;
Batu and Subutai led the main group, about 60,000 or 70,000 cavalry, divided into 2 columns, and took Pest directly in order to break the main force of the Hungarian army.
In the spring of 1241, Badal's right-wing group began to attack Poland. After a great victory at the Battle of Clarke, his army fought a campaign in Silesia that shocked the West, annihilating twice as many Germanic-Polish forces as it did.
Battle of Rigna
Facing Baidar was Henry II, Grand Duke of Silesia, who led an army of 70,000 or 80,000. This army consisted of Germanic, bohemian, and Polish, and was therefore also called the "Germanic-Polish Coalition".
Although the coalition forces were superior in numbers, their rigid tactics, relatively backward weapons and equipment, and unbalanced army formation directly laid the groundwork for the total annihilation of the entire army behind them.
On 9 April 1241, Henry II, after Mass, set out from the city of Rigna to meet the Mongol army of Badal. They prided themselves on their military might and took the lead in attacking the Baidar clique.
Baidar knew that he was not superior in numbers, so he ordered the vanguard to pretend to be defeated and retreated, luring the allied forces to go deeper. The coalition forces did not know what the plan was, and pursued them all the way.
Henry
Badal found that the Germanic infantry group that was advancing in pursuit had "decoupled" from the main force. He immediately adopted cutting tactics, cutting off the Germanic infantry with other groups, and quickly "wrapped dumplings" for the other side.
Where were these naked Germanic infantry opponents of the well-equipped Mongols? They were quickly defeated, the main general Boleslav was killed, and even the subsequent reinforcements were quickly defeated by the Mongol army.
Most of the soldiers of the Coalition army were generally relatively poorly equipped
Henry II's initial battle was unfavorable, and he decided to send his best to fight the Mongol army. To his despair, the Germanic heavy cavalry, as the main force, could not stop the Rainsweet Flying Arrows of the Mongol Light Cavalry, and suffered heavy casualties.
Henry II himself was so embarrassed that he led several of his soldiers to try to flee the battlefield, but was stabbed by the pursuing Mongol cavalry. The mighty Germanic Polish army was completely destroyed.
Only a few of the allied men were equipped equally well as the Mongol army
The victorious Baidar army marched south, invincible and invincible:
After capturing the city of Lazybour in Lesser Poland, he crossed the border of the Kingdom of Bohemia and occupied the cities of Opava, Oromots, and Brno.
Crossing the Hungarian border, they captured the cities of Trenčín, Bratislava, Nitra, and Kemana in northern Hungary.
On June 27, 1241, Baidar's army met with the main group of Batu and Subutai and successfully completed the established combat task.
The combat performance of the Mongol army sent panic throughout Europe
In 1241, the main group of the Mongol Western Expedition led by Battu and Subutai, starting from Galich, attacked Hungary in two ways:
A route led by Battus himself advanced from the Galician Pass;
The other route, under the command of Subutai, advanced from the Transylvanian Pass.
In March 1241, Battus defeated the defenders of the Carpathian Mountains, crossed the road between Moncazi and Onguval, and headed for Hungary.
The Kingdom of Hungary was not idle, either, "for they were so powerful and mighty and so strong that they were blind to everything; therefore, when they heard the news of battus approaching, they set out to meet him with 400,000 cavalrymen, who were known for their good fighting and regarded escape as a disgrace."
King Beira IV of Hungary
As a result, the famous Battle of the Sayo River in European history broke out between the two sides. The Battle of the Sayo River was fought in two steps:
Step 1: Archbishop Ugoulan of Hungary attacks the Batu clique;
Step 2: King Béla IV of Hungary attacks the Battus.
After entering Hungary, the Battus group drove all the way to Pest, the capital of Hungary, like lightning. Prior to the decisive battle, Batu conducted effective armed reconnaissance. Rasht's Collected Histories records:
Battus sent his brother Shapanhan to lead 10,000 men ahead to scout their numbers and to find out how strong their strength and armament were. Shabhan set out on his orders and returned a week later to report that they were twice as strong as the Mongol army and were brave and warlike men.
In order to lure the Hungarian army out of the city for a decisive battle, Battus sent a cavalry unit to lure the other side. King Bella IV, intimidated by the mongol army's prestige, chose to stay out.
Hungarian cavalry
Seeing that the king was so "timid", the Archbishop of Koroch in the city, Ugulan, could not hold his breath. Believing that the Mongol cavalry was small and that the king was "really a timid monarch", he disobeyed the king's orders and personally led his troops to meet the Mongol cavalry.
The Batu army "repeated the same tactics", first pretending to be defeated and retreating, luring the heavily armored cavalry led by Ugulan into a swamp and wrapping the "dumplings step by step".
These heavily armed cavalry, trapped in the swamp and difficult to maneuver, became the "living target" of the Mongol cavalry. The bishop's army was completely annihilated, and only bishop Ukulam fled with a few of his cronies.
Seeing the Archbishop of Koroch who had fled back, the soldiers in the city asked him why he had failed. The archbishop replied: "In the army of Battus, there are many Chincha people, and if you do not kill the Chincha (chief) Kutan, it will be an internal change." Kutan was thrown into prison and his men fled Hungary.
Hungary not only lost a fighting force, but also fell into civil strife in the city; in contrast, the Batu and Subutai armies outside the city met in victory.
The combat effectiveness of the Christian "knights" should not be underestimated
In early April 1241, after a period of stationing outside Pest, the batus main group began to retreat. At this time, Bella IV finally led the army out of the city to pursue, and deployed in hexi in front of the Sayo River, and specially sent 1,000 elite soldiers to hold the bridge.
According to Bela IV, "The Mongol army could only cross the wide and low-lying Saiyo River, which had a wide and low-lying riverbed, through this bridge." By holding this bridge, we can ensure the initiative of our own side in battle. ”
Battu, who has been in the battlefield for a long time, can he not understand this truth? He hid his main force in a large, treacherous depression, ready for an all-out attack if the Hungarian army slackened.
Batu and Subutai's roundabout battle plan
Bella IV's ring car is a battalion, hanging from the shield, like a fortress. But its army was very loosely guarded, and the terrain was open, making it easy to expose its moves. After several days of stalemate between the two armies, Batu saw that although the enemy was numerous, there was still a glimmer of resistance.
Subutai formed a raft downstream to dive around behind the enemy lines; Battus commanded the main army, using seven trebuchets, defeated the bridge-keeping troops and successfully passed the Saiyu River.
Faced with the Mongol army caught between the front and back, the Hungarian army quickly collapsed. So far, only the King's brother Duke Rochmann, the Archbishop of Koroch, and the Church Guard were able to organize an effective resistance. They organized two counter-encirclements, but they were still unable to turn the tide of the war at all.
The Decisive Battle of Hungary in Mongolian
On 11 April, the two sides held a final showdown on the right bank of the Sayyo River and at the confluence of the Sayo and Tisso rivers. According to historical records, "the waters of the Sayeu and Tisso rivers were exhausted", and the Archbishop of Koroch also died in this battle. King Bella IV saw that the situation was not good and fled the battlefield first. The Mongol army won a decisive victory, capturing the Hungarian capital, Pest, and capturing the Hungarian king's jade seal.
While Battus's main forces were breaking through Pest, the hedan forces on the left flank set out from Transylvania and crossed the mountain road into the city of Rutan and captured the hungarian city of Waldin.
In the summer of 1241, the various groups of the Mongol Western Expeditionary Army converged on the banks of the Sayyo River. On 25 December of the same year, Battus sent two forces from the ice across the Danube to the west to raid the remnants of Beira IV. History records that a force hit Klosterloyburg near Vienna, Austria.
Medieval manuscripts of the Mongol invasion of Hungary
Hedan's army, after capturing Stonigony and Gulan, the strongest cities in Hungary, continued in pursuit of Bella IV.
The poor king fled all the way, first to Bresburg, then to Aguram, then to Dalmatia, first to Sbaradoro and then to Tolaú, where he feared being caught by the Mongol army and finally to an island near land.
In desperate pursuit, Hedan's army drove straight into Slovenia, along the Adriatic Sea, through Croatia, to the other side of the island where it was hiding. Terrified, Bella IV planned to cross the sea with his family and treasure.
"All the way" Bella IV
In March 1242, the Hedan army captured Dalmatia, passed through Serbia, and rendezvoused with the Battu brigade. At this point, Battus had occupied all of Hungary.
In April 1242, the bad news of the death of the Great Khan of Wokoutai reached the Western Expeditionary Army, and the sons and nephews of the Great Khan of Wokoutai had to return to Mongolia to attend the Kuriletai Congress and elect the heir of the Great Khan of Wokoutai.
Batu ordered the whole army to return eastward. The seven-year-long expedition of the eldest son to the west came to an end, and the Europeans breathed a sigh of relief.
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Why did the Mongol army win a complete victory? Military experts give the following reasons:
1) Days
At this time, the Mongol Empire was powerful and internally unified. In contrast, the Eastern Roman Empire in Europe was in a state of disintegration, and the European countries were full of internal contradictions, fighting each other, and almost no mutual support.
When the Mongol army attacked Bulgar and Chincha, the Rus' Principalities did not aid them;
When the Mongol armies attacked the Rus' states, the principalities also did not assist each other;
When the Mongol army attacked Eastern Europe, Central Europe ignored it;
When the Mongols attacked Central Europe, Western Europe also "protected themselves" and sat idly by.
Therefore, the Mongol army could calmly take advantage of the contradictions of the other side and break each of them.
The Mongol army besieging the city
2) "Cleverly" use captives
During this expedition, the Mongol army continued to recruit prisoners from the conquered countries and participate in military operations. The Chincha played a large role in the annihilation of the army of Archbishop Ugulan of Koroch. When Hedan's army besieged Waldin, it attacked the city in the order of Rus' and Chincha, while the Mongol army oversaw the battle in the rear.
It should be known that the Number of Mongol Troops was relatively limited when they set out, and the combat casualties were relatively large. Through the "replenishment" of prisoners, the lack of numbers of Mongol troops was effectively compensated, and the victory of the expedition was guaranteed.
Rus' vassal units in the Mongol army
3) Advanced economic productivity
After Genghis Khan unified the Mongol tribes, the productivity of the Mongols developed greatly. The Mongol army's occupation of the surrounding countries gave them more economic resources that could be "used out of the box", further enhancing their war potential.
4) Strong desire to fight and tenacious will to fight
Frankly, the Mongol Conquest was an "unjust" war of plunder, but the Mongols, who were on the pillaging side, were certainly demoralized by the temptation of plunder.
After the collapse of the Polish infantry, they were pursued and killed by the Mongol light cavalry
In addition, the Mongol army had strong individual combat ability, strict discipline, no fear of sacrifice, and extremely strong will quality. The several large-scale battles mentioned earlier have almost always won all-round victories with few victories. If there is no tenacious will to fight, it is estimated that it would have been "timid before fighting".
5) Mobile and flexible combat methods
Although the Mongol army was insufficiently numerous, it was rarely defeated in European warfare because it had mastered effective methods of warfare. According to the local conditions and the situation of the enemy, they adopted a mobile and flexible method of warfare. Military experts have made a very appropriate summary of the Mongols' way of fighting:
Understand the enemy situation and make accurate judgments;
Long-distance raids, surprise attacks;
Two wings roundabout, breaking through in the middle;
Use contradictions to break through each;
Cut off aid and isolate the enemy;
Deep breakthrough, difficult point abandonment;
Lure the enemy deeper and set up ambushes to annihilate;
Without giving a gasp, continuous attacks;
If you can fight, you will fight, and if you don't fight, you will retreat;
Maneuvering to make the enemy passive;
Winter combat, summer rest;
Solve the supply problem according to the time and place.
6) High-speed assembly, high-speed assault
The so-called "speed of soldiers and soldiers", speed plays an important role in war. The strongest advantage of the Mongol army is the rapid assembly and rapid assault, and the speed of its assembly and assault is rare in the history of world wars.
Take "Quick Assault" as an example:
It took only 2 months and 5 days to capture Northern Rus, advancing 85-90 kilometers per day;
The capture of Southern Rus took only 2 months and 10 days, advancing 55-60 kilometers per day;
The capture of Poland and Hungary took only 3 months, advancing 58-62 kilometers per day.
Because of the "fast", the Mongol army has always firmly grasped the strategic initiative. The cavalry advanced at high speed, so that it was too late to organize a defense, and then carried out a large-scale division assault, carried out a large-scale in-depth encirclement, and broke through each one.
7) Commander-in-Chief's superb command art:
As the commander-in-chief of the Western Expedition, Battu was an outstanding military general in his own right; as a "deputy," Su Butai was a great general who had experienced hundreds of battles and had far-sighted considerations.
Before attacking the Bulgar, Chincha, Rus' states, Poland, and Hungary, the generals of the Mongol army not only personally commanded the battle on the front line, but also conducted a thorough study and analysis of the situation between the enemy and us, refined the strategic objectives of each stage of the war, and conscientiously made organizational preparations.
8) Superior equipment and super individual combat ability
Although the Mongolian horse is short, it has good endurance, strong physique, fast movement, great momentum, and is not picky, far better than the horses of other countries in Asia and Europe.
As for the bow and arrow, it is full of details:
The bows used by the Mongols were made of highly elastic materials, and the bow strings used tough leather bands;
The feather arrows are longer than any of their opponents, and the sides of the arrows are sharply sharpened, like a double-edged sword, guaranteeing strong penetration, and the soldiers' quivers are equipped with files next to them to sharpen their arrows. ，
There are arrow feathers at the end of the shaft for orientation, ensuring that "the arrow can hit the enemy between 200 meters and 400 meters".
Therefore, the dense rain of arrows of the Mongol army gave the opponent great casualties and psychological shock.
Mongol soldiers armed to the teeth
In addition, the Mongols attached great importance to weapons manufacturing. For the craftsmen of steelmaking and weapons, in addition to requisitioning them from their own countries, skilled craftsmen of the conquered countries will also be taken to the country to make weapons and siege equipment. Therefore, the swords of the Mongol soldiers were very sharp.
The individual combat equipment of the Mongol army was also "armed to the teeth": "Each person's offensive weapons consisted of two bows, two quivers, a machete, an axe, an iron rod hanging from a saddle, a spear with an iron hook for pulling people off their horses, and a rope made of horsehair and tied with a loose knot. ”
The defensive ability of the European infantry could not match the Mongol army, and the "History of the Mongols of Dosan" criticized: "A small number of knights with heavy armor, and countless half-naked townspeople, who do not know tactics, do not know obedience, and the command cannot be consistent, and this army is resistant to the Mongolian light horses that have been accustomed to tactics for a long time, so they will lose every battle." ”
In the Polish army of the 13th century, the proportion of elite soldiers was limited
The Mongol Expeditionary Force was also equipped with a full range of siege machinery: throwers, catapults, flamers, wheeled door-breaking hammers, rocket launchers and artillery, all of which were the most advanced siege weapons at the time.
The Mongols had a "fondness" for trebuchets and used them intensively during sieges.
During the raid on Rus' , the heavy use of these machines bombarded wooden forts , piercing and burning a large number of walls and wooden buildings.
During the capture of Storigoni and Gulan, the strongest cities in Hungary, the Hedan Group used 30 trebuchets to bombard the city walls, and finally broke through the walls to capture the city.
The Mongol army "stole divisions" from the Jin Dynasty
The Mongolian soldiers who can ride and shoot well , the robust and durable Mongolian horses , and the sophisticated combat equipment have created their brilliant achievements.
9) Complete logistics support system
The reason why the "Eldest Son's Western Expedition" with a long distance and a long time span was able to win a great victory had a great relationship with its perfect logistics system.
Information:
"(The forward army) opens roads in the mountains, builds bridges in the face of water, and at a certain distance, hoards grain and grass, and along the way the green grass is marked in preparation for grazing when the army arrives. Then, ox carts full of war equipment and munitions followed. At the same time, there was a brigade of Chinese technicians, under the command of the gun captain who managed the cannon, and then advanced."
"Along with the armed forces, there are various other service units, translators who serve as interpreters in various languages, Chinese medicine and Mongolian medicine, and road administrators. The chief of the seal office, regardless of the size of the civil and military office, or the road, or the government, or the state and county officials, are all the property catalogues of the occupied areas created by the Great Khan. In the Mongol army, there was even a category of officers who performed the duties of munitions, losses, and adjustment of troops. In the rear of the army, shepherds and carpenters built corrals and huts connecting the newly occupied western lands with their own cattle and horses."
"There were a number of women, riding on ox carts, marching with the army, taking care of their meals on the road, serving the army in the Sybil wasteland of the four towns. In the campsites, plays were sometimes staged to entertain the soldiers. The performer wears a false beard, wears a costume, and sings songs familiar to the listener."
In addition, the Mongol army also practiced a military policy of benefiting the enemy and feeding the war with war. In the course of conquest, they take food from the enemy, money from the enemy, things from the enemy, and troops from the enemy, so they can support the expedition, and the more Vietnamese fighters, the more abundant the materials in the Vietnam War.
Mongol soldiers shot at disjointed Polish cavalry on the flanks
The Mongol army was accompanied by cattle and horses during expeditions, and slaughtered as supplies when needed.
Each Mongol knight had 3-5 horse transfers, which was conducive to rapid maneuvering and could also be milked to feed when supplies were cut off. The milk of three horses can meet the food needs of a Mongol warrior for a day;
When food ran out, Mongol soldiers could also use their special abilities to shoot wild animals for food and continue the expedition to places where supplies could be obtained.
It was on these favorable conditions that the Mongol army was able to sweep through Eurasia with less than 150,000 people, creating a miracle in the history of human warfare.
Through this war, the Mongol Empire expanded greatly, from the Pacific Ocean to the Adriatic Sea, from the Arctic Ocean to the Persian Gulf. This western expedition directly led to the Western fear of the yellow race's almost paranoia, and indirectly led to the emergence of the "yellow peril theory".
It is interesting to note that the Rus' who were enslaved by the Golden Horde for more than 200 years have been deeply rooted in the "true transmission" of the Mongols' aggressive ideas, and there is a great posture of "blue out of blue is better than blue".
After their wings were full, they encroached on large areas of Eurasia in the opposite direction of the Mongol conquerors. Even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it remained the owner of large tracts of Asian land east of the Ural Mountains.
Map of the Russian Empire at its peak
This undoubtedly confirms the Western proverb: "Peel off the skin of a Russian, and you will see the blood of the Mongols under the skin."