Having conquered the entire Middle East and China, Genghis Khan sent three of his tumens, under the command of Subedei and Jochi Khan, to reconnoiter the regions beyond the Caucasus. The Tatar-Mongol detachment encountered there the Polovtsian troops, who were defeated by them. The remnants of the Polovtsy retreated across the Dnieper, where they turned to the Russian princes for help.
In the spring of 1223, a large council of princes was assembled, at which a decision was made to provide military assistance to the Polovtsian Khan Kotyan. The princes of the remote, northern regions of Russia refused to support the Polovtsians. It was decided to fight on Polovtsian soil. The result of this decision was the battle on the Kalka. The united Russian regiments were led by Mstislav Kyiv, Mstislav Udaloy and Mstislav Chernigovskiy. With the advanced Mongolian detachments, the first battles began immediately after crossing the Dnieper. The Mongols did not engage in battle and retreated for eight days. When the path of the Russian army was blocked by the small river Kalka, a military council was held, during which the opinions of the leaders differed. Mstislav of Kyiv argued about the need for defense, and Mstislav Udaloy sought tofight.
The Battle of the Kalka began on May 31, 1223. Prince Mstislav Udaloy, having examined the Mongol camp, decided that he alone would cope with the enemy. Initially, the course of the battle turned towards the Russians, but the Mongols delivered the main blow not to the center, where the Galician prince stood with his squad, but to the left Polovtsian wing. The nomads, unable to withstand the powerful onslaught, began to randomly retreat. The fleeing Polovtsian cavalry confused the ranks of Russian warriors, ready to march, who were immediately pressed by the Mongols. The situation could still be saved by the prince of Kyiv, but driven by resentment against the prince of Galicia, he did not strike at the flank of the Tatars. The Russian troops outnumbered the Mongol ones, but the fragmentation of the detachments and the shameful flight of the Polovtsy led to a crushing defeat for Russia.
Mstislav of Kyiv fortified on a hill, where for three days he successfully repelled all the attacks of the Tatar troops. Then the Mongols went to the trick, the leader of the roamers Ploskinya kissed the cross in front of the Kyiv prince, assuring him that the Tatars would let everyone go home if they laid down their arms. Yielding to persuasion, Mstislav surrendered, but the Mongols did not keep their word. All ordinary soldiers were taken into slavery, and the princes and military leaders were put under the floor, on which they sat down to feast, celebrating the victory. The Battle of Kalka was over within three days.
Mongolian troops tried to continue the offensive on the lands of the Chernigov Principality, but faced with the first fortified city - Novgorod Seversky,retreated back to the steppes. Thus, the battle on the Kalka allowed the Mongols to conduct a thorough reconnaissance in force. They appreciated the Russian army, but in their report to Genghis Khan, the lack of unity in the Russian princes was especially noted. During the invasion of Batu Khan into Russia in 1239, the fragmentation of Russia into principalities was widely used by the Mongols.
The battle on the Kalka River showed what inconsistency in actions can lead to. Russian troops suffered huge losses, no more than a tenth of the soldiers returned home. Many noble warriors and princes perished. The battle on the Kalka demonstrated the might of the new enemy to the Russian princes, but the lesson was not learned and the invasion of the Mongol-Tatar hordes on Russian soil that followed 16 years later slowed down the development of Russia for almost two and a half centuries.
