Mongol invasion of Europe
From the 1220s into the 1240s, the Mongols conquered the Turkic states of Volga Bulgaria, Cumania and Iranian state of Alania, and various principalities in Eastern Europe. Following this, they began their invasion into Central Europe by launching a two-pronged invasion of then-fragmented Poland, culminating in the Battle of Legnica (9 April 1241), and the Kingdom of Hungary, culminating in the Battle of Mohi (11 April 1241). Invasions were also launched into the Caucasus against the Kingdom of Georgia, the Chechens, the Ingush, and Circassia though they failed to fully subjugate the latter. More invasions were launched in Southeast Europe against Bulgaria, Croatia, and the Latin Empire. The operations were planned by General Subutai (1175–1248) and commanded by Batu Khan (c. 1207–1255) and Kadan (d. c. 1261), two grandsons of Genghis Khan. Their conquests integrated much of Eastern European territory into the empire of the Golden Horde. Warring European princes realized they had to cooperate in the face of a Mongol invasion, so local wars and conflicts were suspended in parts of central Europe, only to be resumed after the Mongols had withdrawn.[1] After the initial invasions, subsequent raids and punitive expeditions continued into the late 13th century.
European tactics against Mongols[edit]
The traditional European method of warfare of melee combat between knights ended in catastrophe when it was deployed against the Mongol forces as the Mongols were able to keep a distance and advance with superior numbers. The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 29 says that "Employed against the Mongol invaders of Europe, knightly warfare failed even more disastrously for the Poles at the Battle of Legnica and the Hungarians at the Battle of Mohi in 1241. Feudal Europe was saved from sharing the fate of China and the Grand Duchy of Moscow not by its tactical prowess but by the unexpected death of the Mongols' supreme ruler, Ögedei, and the subsequent eastward retreat of his armies."[45]
However, during the initial Mongol invasion and the subsequent raids afterwards, heavily armored knights and cavalry proved more effective at fighting the Mongols than their light-armored counterparts. During the Battle of Mohi, for example, while the Hungarian light cavalry and infantry were decimated by Mongol forces, the heavily armored knights in their employ, such as the Knights Templar, fought significantly better.[46] During the Battle of Liegnitz, the Knights Templar that numbered between 65 and 88 during the battle lost only three knights and 2 sergeants.[47] Austrian knights under Duke Frederick also fared better in fighting the Mongol invasion in Vienna.[38]
King Béla IV of Hungary hired the help of the Knights Hospitaller, as well as training his own better-armed local knights, in preparation for the Second Mongol invasion of Hungary.[48] In the decades following the Mongolian raids on European settlements, Western armies (particularly Hungary) started to adapt to the Mongol tactics by building better fortifications against siege weapons and improving their heavy cavalry.[49] After the division of the Mongol Empire into four fragments, when the Golden Horde attempted the next invasion of Hungary, Hungary had increased their proportion of knights (led by Ladislaus IV of Hungary) and they quickly defeated the main Golden Horde Army in the hills of western Transylvania.[50]
By this time as well, many Eastern and Central European countries had ended their hostilities with one another and united to finally drive out the remnants of the Golden Horde.[51] Guerrilla warfare and stiff resistance also helped many Europeans, particularly those in Croatia and Durdzuketia, in preventing the Mongols from setting a permanent hold and driving them off.[52][53]
Possible Mongol diffusion of gunpowder to Europe[edit]
Several sources mention the Mongols deploying firearms and gunpowder weapons against European forces at the Battle of Mohi in various forms, including bombs hurled via catapult.[54][55][56] Professor Kenneth Warren Chase credits the Mongols for introducing gunpowder and its associated weaponry into Europe.[57] A later legend arose in Europe about a mysterious Berthold Schwarz who is credited with the invention of gunpowder by 15th- through 19th-century European literature.[58]
