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 is known, which took place from 1236 to 1242. Khan Batuy led him, and Subedei was the immediate military leader. In this article, we will talk about the premises, main events, and outcomes of this important historical event.
Background
For the first time, Genghis Khan was thinking about the Mongols' Western campaign, who set the task to subdue the Polovtsy and reach Kiev in 1221. However, after success in the battle on the Kalka River, the Mongols refused to move on, and on the way back they were also defeated by the Volga Bulgars.
Batu received a covenant from his grandfather 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.
The beginning of hostilities
Batu began to show aggression in 1236 on the lower and middle Volga. Reliable sources are not enough, 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 the army of Batu. The Mongols managed to agree with the Mordovians and Bashkirs.
As a result, Bulgaria was left without allies and could not provide decent resistance to the enemy. Realizing this, the ruling circles began to try to conclude an agreement with the conquerors, at first they made concessions to them, but then they nevertheless burned several large cities. By the summer of 1237, the rout and conquest of Bulgaria could be considered complete.
Attack on Northeast Russia
The conquest 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. In early 1238, Kolomna fell. After that, Evpatiy Kolovrat, who promptly returned from Chernigov, hit the rearguard of the Mongolian army .
The most stubborn resistance to the invader in the Western campaign of the Mongols was provided by Moscow. But still she was taken on January 20. This was followed by a series of Vladimir, Tver, Torzhok, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Kozelsk. In March 1238, using the factor of surprise, the Mongol corps led by Burundi destroyed the United Russian army, which was in the parking lot, Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich was killed .
After the capture of Torzhok, the path to the Mongols was open to the largest city in the northern part of the Volga Trade Route - Veliky Novgorod. But they did not go to him. Instead, they went to Chernigov and Smolensk. In the spring of 1238, they moved to the southern Russian steppes to regroup.
Third phase
The Tatar-Mongol campaign resumed in the summer of 1238. Crimea was captured, several Polovtsian military leaders were captured. Autumn attacked the Circassians. In the winter of 1238-1239, a so-called trip to the Volga-Oka region was organized. His goal was the land of Erzi, which refused two years ago to submit to the invaders. In addition, they plundered 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. He was captured in a few days, and then completely destroyed, about 270 thousand inhabitants were killed. In the same period, the Mongols hit the Chernigov Principality. After the siege, the city surrendered on October 18.
Trekking to Central Europe
From the southern regions of Russia, the Crusade of the Mongols moved to Central Europe. On this way, in the spring of 1240, Russian lands on the right bank of the Dnieper became the target of the invaders. At that time, they were divided between the sons of Roman Mstislavich - 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, he and his brother ended up in Poland.
The next point on the way of Batu turned out to be Kiev. The conquest of these lands by the Mongols began with the capture of Piglands - a territory dependent on the Kiev princes, and then besieged 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 Volyn and Galich. Many princes fled to Poland, others as rulers of the Bolokhov land obeyed the conquerors. Having taken a short rest, the Mongols decided to hit Hungary.
Attack on Poland and Moravia
The Mongols' western campaign against Europe continued with an attempt to conquer Poland. This part of the army was led by the Horde and Baidar. They entered Poland through the Berestey lands. At the beginning of 1241, Zavihost and Lublin were captured, shortly afterwards Sandomierz fell. The Mongols managed to defeat the powerful Polish militia near Tursk.
Polish governors failed to close the road to Krakow. March 22 was busy and this city. A devastating defeat in the battle of Legnica suffered a united Polish-German army, led by Henry the Pious. After that, Baidu was ordered by Batu to move south as soon as possible in order to unite in Hungary with the main forces. As a result, the Mongols unfolded at the borders of the German Empire, going to Moravia, defeating cities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia on the way.
Invasion of Hungary
In 1241, the Mongols invaded Hungary. Batu had plans to conquer this country from the beginning. Back in 1236, he invited Bele IV to submit, but he ignored all the offers. Subaedey suggested attacking from several directions in order to force the enemy to divide as much as possible and then defeat the Hungarian army in parts. The main forces of the Mongols defeated the Polovtsy near the Siret River, and then through eastern Carpathians entered Hungary.
The conflict of Bela IV with the barons prevented him from quickly gathering the combined army. As a result, the existing army was defeated by Batu. By March 15, advanced Mongolian troops were near Pest. After setting up camp 20 kilometers from the remnants of the royal army, Batu kept the Hungarians in suspense, waiting for reinforcements for a decisive strike.
Disputes arose among the Hungarians. The king spoke out for wait-and-see tactics, while others, led by Bishop Khugrin, called for action. As a result, the numerical advantage played a decisive role (there were twice as many Hungarians) and the presence of an unreliable Russian contingent for the Mongols in the Batu corps. Bela IV agreed to advance, without waiting for the reunification of the Mongol army.
Batu for the first time during this campaign evaded the battle and left Pest. Only after uniting with the units of Subedai did the invaders feel the strength in themselves to accept the general battle. It took place on April 11 near the Chaillot River, ending with a crushing defeat of the Hungarians. Under the rule of the invaders was the Transdanubian part of the kingdom; Bela IV himself fled under protection to Frederick II. In the new territories, the Mongols began to form provisional administrations, dividing the land into districts.
The Germans were going to oppose the Mongols, but at first they postponed the date, and then completely abandoned active actions. Equilibrium was maintained until the end of 1241. In the second half of January 1242, the Mongols headed to Croatia, trying to neutralize the Hungarian king. At that time, Zagreb was destroyed. From there they moved to Bulgaria and Serbia.
Campaign Results
Summing up the results of 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 last 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 Ugedei died in December 1241, so some researchers believe that Batu had to return to the east 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 horse feed.
There is also an opinion that the Mongolian troops as a result were virtually bloodless by a protracted campaign, felt that further advance to the west would end with 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.