First Mongol invasion of Poland

TheMongol Invasion of Polandfrom late 1240 to 1241 culminated in theBattle of Legnica,where theMongolsdefeated an alliance which included forces fromfragmented Polandand their allies, led byHenry II the Pious,theDuke of SilesiaandHigh Duke of Poland.The first invasion's intention was to secure the flank of the main Mongolian army attacking theKingdom of Hungary.The Mongols neutralized any potential help to KingBéla IVbeing provided by the Poles or any military orders.

First Mongol invasion of Poland
Part of theMongol invasion of Europe
The Mongols at Legnica display the head of Duke Henry II of Silesia (a 15th-century illumination from the Legend ofSt. Hedwig)
Date late 1240–1241 Location Parts of eastern and southernPoland Result Mongol victory
Belligerents
Mongol Empire	Kingdom of Poland Margraviate of Moravia Knights Templar Holy Roman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Baidar Kadan Orda Khan Subutai	Henry II the Pious† Mieszko II the Fat Włodzimierz† Sulisław† Pakosław† Boleslaus Děpolt† Klement of Brzeźnica† Klement of Ruszcza Szczepan of Wierzbna†
Strength
~10,000 (onetumen)	Disputed (seeBattle of Legnica)

Background

TheMongols invaded Europewith three armies. One of the three armies was tasked with distracting Poland, before joining the main Mongol force invading Hungary. The Mongol general in charge,Subutai,did not want the Polish forces to be able to threaten his flank during the primary invasion of Hungary. Thus, the Mongol goal was to use a small detachment to prevent the Poles from assisting Hungary until the Hungarians were defeated. That army, underBaidar,KadanandOrda Khan,began scouting operations in late 1240.Though the Mongols may have entered with relatively modest goals and forces, they almost completely annihilated all Polish forces and influenced the Bohemian army to defend its homeland instead of assisting beleaguered Hungary.

Invasion

Tactics

Battle of Legnica, 1241. From a medieval illuminated manuscript

A key feature of the invasion was the speed of the Mongol advance, which kept the Polish defenders uncertain of their strength and movements. Though the Polish forces in total were far larger than the two Mongoltumens(12,000-20,000 men)assigned to defeat them, the Mongols attacked from multiple directions before the Polish armies could merge into one united force. As a result, the Mongols engaged the Polish armies in various battles and skirmishes anddefeated them in detail.

Route

Mongoltumen,moving from recently conqueredVolodymyrinKievan Rus,first destroyedSutiejsk,then sackedLublin,after whichSandomierzwas besieged and then sacked after surrendering on 13 February.Around this time, their forces split.Orda's forces devastated central Poland, moving toWolbórzand as far north asŁęczyca,before turning south and heading viaSieradztowardsWrocław.Baidar and Kadan ravaged the southern part of Poland, moving toChmielnik,Kraków,Opole,and finally,Legnica,before leaving Polish lands heading west and south.

Baidar and Kadan on 13 February defeated a Polish army under thevoivode of Kraków,Włodzimierz, in thebattle of Tursko.On 18 March they defeated another Polish army with units from Kraków and Sandomierz at thebattle of Chmielnik.Panic spread through the Polish lands, and the citizens abandonedKraków,which was seized and burned by the Mongols by 24 March.In the meantime, one of the most powerful contemporaryDukes of Poland,and Duke of Silesia, Henry II the Pious, gathered his forces and allies aroundLegnica.Henry, in order to gather more forces, even sacrificed one of the largest towns of Silesia,Wrocław,abandoning it to the Mongols.Henry was also waiting forWenceslaus I of Bohemia,his brother-in-law, who was coming to his aid with a large army.

Battle of Legnica

While considering whether to besiege Wrocław, Baidar and Kadan received reports that theBohemianswere days away with a large army.The Mongols turned from Wrocław, not finishing the siege, in order to intercept Henry's forces before the European armies could meet.The Mongols caught up with Henry near Legnica at a place known later asWahlstatt( "Battlefield" inMiddle High German;now the villageLegnickie Pole,"Field of Legnica" ). Henry, in addition to his own forces, was aided byMieszko II the Fat(Mieszko II Otyły), as well as remnants of Polish armies defeated at Tursk and Chmielnik, members ofmilitary orders,and small numbers of foreign volunteers.

The decisive battle for Poland occurred at theBattle of Legnicaon 9 April. A European knight charge appeared to cause that section of the Mongol line to rout, thus leading Henry II to commit his cavalry to chase them. However, the Mongols merely had lured the knights away from their supporting infantry and used a smokescreen to prevent the infantry and remaining cavalry from seeing their more advanced knights being surrounded and massacred. Once the Polish and German knights were killed, the remainder of the Polish army was vulnerable and easily encircled. The later Polish chronicler Jan Długosz claimed that the Mongols caused confusion in the Polish forces by yelling 'Flee!' in Polish through the smokescreen. The Mongols did not take Legnica castle but had a free rein to pillage and plunder Silesia before moving off to join their main forces in Hungary.

Legend

A contingent ofTeutonic Knightsof indeterminate number is traditionally believed to have joined the Polish side. However, recent analysis of the 15th-centuryAnnals ofJan Długoszby Labuda suggests that the German crusaders may have been added to the text after chroniclerDługoszhad completed the work. A legend that theGrand Master of the Teutonic Order,Poppo von Osterna,was killed during the battle is false, as he died at Legnica years later while visiting his wife's nunnery.TheHospitallershave also been said to have participated in this battle, but this too seems to be a fabrication added in later accounts; neither Jan Długosz's accounts nor the letter sent to the King of France (thenSaint Louis) from the Templar Grand Master Ponce d'Aubon mention them.Peter Jackson further points out that the only military order that fought at Legnica was the Templars.The Templar contribution was very small, estimated around 68–88 well-trained, well-armed soldiers;their letter to the King of France gives their losses as nine brother knights, three sergeants and 500 'men'—according to their use of the term, laity men at arms from the local secular dioceses.

Aftermath

Monument to gold diggers fromZłotoryja,Poland killed in the Battle of Legnica

The Mongols avoided the Bohemian forces, who were too frightened to advance and assist the Hungarians, and defeated the Hungarians in theBattle of Mohi.But news that the Grand KhaganÖgedeihad died the previous year along with disagreements between the Mongol princes Batu, Guyuk, and Buri caused the descendants of the Grand Khagan to return to the Mongol capital ofKarakorumfor thekurultaiwhich would elect the next Khagan and probably saved the Polish lands from being completely overrun by the Mongols.

The death of Duke Henry, who was close to unifying the Polish lands and reversing their fragmentation, set back the unification of Poland. It took place in the 14th century, and also meant the loss ofSilesia,which would drift outside the Polish sphere of influence (and gradually become a part of theBohemian Crown).

A number of military settlements such asSutiejskwere never rebuilt after having been destroyed by the Mongols. This ancient Slavicgordwas one of the most important administrative centers of the so-calledLand of the Red Gords ( “Grody Czerwienskie” ),a historic region betweenPolandandRus’.This Polish village has a population of 500 today.

Later Mongol invasions

Main articles:Second Mongol invasion of PolandandThird Mongol invasion of Poland

There were also later, larger Mongol invasions of Poland (1259–1260 and 1287–1288).

In 1254 or 1255, Daniel of Galicia revolted against the Mongol rule. He repelled the initial Mongol assault under Orda's son Quremsa. In 1259, the Mongols returned under the new command ofBurundai(Mongolian:Borolday). According to some sources, Daniel fled to Poland leaving his son and brother at the mercy of the Mongol army. He may have hidden in the castle of Galicia instead. The Mongols needed to secure Poland's aid to Daniel and war booty to feed the demand of their soldiers. Lithuanians also attackedSmolenskand menacedTorzhok,tributaries of the Golden Horde, in c. 1258.The Mongols sent apunitive expeditioninto Lithuania for this. The Lithuanians appear to have not resisted them efficiently. Borolday again demanded Daniel to recruit more troops. After demolishing walls of all towns in Galicia and Volhyinia, in 1259, 18 years after the first attack to Poland, two tumens (20,000 men) from theGolden Horde,under the leadership ofBerke,attacked Poland after raidingLithuania.This attack was commanded by the young princeNogai Khanand general Burundai. TheRus'soldiers under Daniel's son, Lev, and brother, Vasily, joined the Mongol expedition.Lublin,Sandomierz,Zawichost,andKrakówwere ravaged and plundered by the Mongol army. Berke had no intention of occupying or conquering Poland. After this raidPope Alexander IVtried without success to organize acrusadeagainst the Tatars.

Northwestern Rus princes complained to the occupying military Mongol masters about the repeated attacks from the Kingdom of Poland. In response to the complaints, Nogai's army recruited troops from Rus principalities, which included: Vlakh, Kipchak, Alan soldiers [respectively] and an unsuccessful raid followed in 1287, led by Talabuga and Nogai Khan. Lublin,Masovia,Sandomierz, and Sieradz were successfully raided, but they were defeated at Kraków. Despite this, Kraków was devastated. This raid consisted of less than one tumen, since the Golden Horde's armies were tied down in a new conflict which theIl-Khanatehad initiated in 1284. The force retreated instead of facing the larger Polish force.

Ozbek Khan andJani Begwarred with the powerful kingdom of Poland to secure their claim on western Rus (modernBelarusandUkraine).Towards 1356,Casimir III the Greatreached an agreement with the Golden Horde and apparently undertook to pay tribute in exchange for military support against Lithuania. In a letter to the Teutonic master, he claimed that seven Mongol princes commanding troops were coming to his aid. The Knights, however, were seeking a rapprochement with Lithuania and accused Casimir to the popes as having submitted to the Mongols.

Sources

• Jaworski, Rafał(12 August 2006). "Bitwa pod Legnicą, Chwała Oręża Polskiego".Mówią Wieki(in Polish) (3).
• Urban, William (2003).The Teutonic Knights: A Military History.London: Greenhill Books.ISBN1-85367-535-0.
• Jackson, Peter (2005).The Mongols and the West.Routledge.
• Zdan, Michael (June 1957). "The Dependence of Halych-Volyn' Rus' on the Golden Horde".Slavonic and East European Review.35(85).JSTOR4204855.

Further reading

• Gerard Labuda,Wojna z tatarami w roku 1241,Prz. Hist. — T. 50 (1959), z. 2, pp. 189–224
• Wacław Zatorski,Pierwszy najazd Mongołów na Polskę w roku 1240–1241,Prz. Hist.-Wojsk. — T. 9 (1937), pp. 175–237