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, which took place from 1236 to 1242, is known. Khan Baty led them, and Subedei was the direct commander. In this article, we will talk about the background, main events and results of this important historical event.
Background
For the first time, Genghis Khan thought about the Western campaign of the Mongols, who in 1221 set the task for Subedei to conquer the Polovtsians and reach Kyiv. However, after the success in the battle on the Kalka River, the Mongols refused to go further, and on the way back they were also defeated by the Volga Bulgars.
Batu received from his grandfather a covenant 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.
Start of hostilities
Batu began to show aggression in 1236 on the lower andmiddle Volga. There are not enough reliable sources, 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 Batu's army. The Mongols managed to reach an agreement with the Mordovians and Bashkirs.
As a result, Bulgaria was left without allies and could not provide worthy resistance to the enemy. Realizing this, the ruling circles began to try to conclude an agreement with the conquerors, who at first made concessions to them, but then nevertheless burned several large cities. By the summer of 1237, the defeat and conquest of Bulgaria could be considered complete.
Attack on North-Eastern 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. At the beginning of 1238, Kolomna fell. After that, Yevpaty 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, on January 20, she was also taken. This was followed by the turn of Vladimir, Tver, Torzhok, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Kozelsk. In March 1238, taking advantage of the surprise factor, the Mongol corps led by Burundai destroyed the united Russian army, which was in the parking lot,Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich was killed.
After the capture of Torzhok, the Mongols had an open way to the largest city in the northern part of the Volga trade route - Veliky Novgorod. But they didn't go for it. Instead, we went to Chernigov and Smolensk. In the spring of 1238 they retreated to the southern Russian steppes to regroup.
Third phase
The Tatar-Mongol campaign resumed in the summer of 1238. The Crimea was taken, several Polovtsian commanders were captured. In autumn they attacked the Circassians. In the winter of 1238-1239, the so-called campaign in the Volga-Oka region was organized. His goal was the lands of the Erzi, who refused to submit to the invaders two years ago. In addition, they plundered the neighboring Russian lands, in particular Nizhny Novgorod, Gorodets, Gorokhovets and Murom. In March 1239, Pereyaslavl-Yuzhny was captured as a result of a successful assault.
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. It was captured in a few days, and then completely destroyed, about 270 thousand inhabitants were killed. In the same period, the Mongols struck at the Chernigov principality. After the siege, the city surrendered on October 18.
Trip to Central Europe
From the southern regions of Russia, the crusade of the Mongols moved to Central Europe. On this path in the spring of 1240, the 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 andDaniel. 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 ended up in Poland with his brother.
The next point on the path of Batu was Kyiv. The conquest of these lands by the Mongols began with the capture of Porose - a territory dependent on the Kyiv princes, and then laid siege to the city itself. Various sources contradict the duration and timing of the siege of Kyiv. Presumably it lasted about two and a half months. As a result, Kyiv fell, after which a real panic began in the ruling circles of Volhynia and Galich. Many princes fled to Poland, while others, as rulers of the Bolokhov land, submitted to the conquerors. Taking a short rest, the Mongols decided to hit Hungary.
Attack on Poland and Moravia
The Western campaign of the Mongols against Europe continued with an attempt to conquer Poland. This part of the army was led by the Horde and Baidar. They entered the territory of Poland through the Beresteisky lands. At the beginning of 1241, Zavikhost and Lublin were captured, soon after that Sandomierz fell. The Mongols managed to defeat the powerful Polish militia near Tursk.
Polish governors failed to close the road to Krakow. On March 22, this city was also occupied. A crushing defeat in the battle of Legnica was suffered by the combined Polish-German army, led by Henry the Pious. After that, Batu's order was delivered to Baidar to move south as quickly as possible in order to connect with Hungary in Hungary.main forces. As a result, the Mongols deployed near the borders of the German Empire, going to Moravia, defeating cities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia along the way.
Invasion of Hungary
In 1241 the Mongols invaded Hungary. Batu had plans to conquer this country from the very beginning. Back in 1236, he offered Bela IV to submit, but he ignored all proposals. Subedey proposed to attack from several directions in order to force the enemy to be divided as much as possible and then to break the Hungarian army in parts. The main forces of the Mongols defeated the Polovtsians near the Siret River, and then entered Hungary through the eastern Carpathians.
Bela IV's conflict with the barons prevented him from promptly gathering a united army. As a result, the existing army was defeated by Batu. By March 15, the advanced Mongol detachments were near Pest. Having set up camp 20 kilometers from the remnants of the royal army, Batu kept the Hungarians on their toes, waiting for reinforcements for a decisive blow.
Disagreements arose among the Hungarians. The king spoke in favor of waiting tactics, while others, led by Bishop Hugrin, called for active action. As a result, the decisive role was played by the numerical advantage (there were twice as many Hungarians) and the presence in the Batu corps of the Russian contingent, unreliable for the Mongols. Bela IV agreed to advance without waiting for the reunification of the Mongol army.
Batu for the first time in this campaign evaded the battle and left Pest. Only by uniting with the detachments of Subedei did the invaders feel the strength in themselves to accept the generalbattle. It took place on April 11 near the Shaio River, ending in a crushing defeat for the Hungarians. Under the rule of the invaders was the transdanubian part of the kingdom, Bela IV himself fled under the protection of Frederick II. In the new territories, the Mongols began to form temporary administrations, dividing the lands into districts.
The Germans were going to oppose the Mongols, but first they postponed the date, and then completely abandoned active operations. The balance was maintained until the end of 1241. In the second half of January 1242, the Mongols headed for Croatia, seeking to neutralize the Hungarian king. At that time, Zagreb was destroyed. From there they moved to Bulgaria and Serbia.
Results of the hike
Summing up 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 latter 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 Ogedei 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 food for horses.
There is also an opinion that the Mongol troops as a result were actually bled dry by a protracted campaign, they felt that further advance to the west would end in fatalconsequences. 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.
