Moravia: 17th Century Miracles || The Mongol Empire LXXXIII

[By Chuck Almdale]

[NOTE: If maps, pictures and legends don’t display properly in your email, go to the blog. The interactive Google map within this posting works on the blogsite, if not in your email. There is a link at the bottom to the entire Mongol Empire & Rus’ series.]

Defenestrations of Prague, painted 1844 by Karel Svoboda  (1824–1870). The 30 years war broke out in 1618 when Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II was deposed as king of Bohemia and replaced by Protestant Frederick V of the Palatinate. In May 1618, Protestant nobles led by Count Thurn met in Prague Castle with Vilem Slavata and Jaroslav Borzita, two Catholic representatives of the Emperor. In what became known as the Third Defenestration of Prague, both men were thrown out of the castle windows along with their secretary Filip Fabricius, although all three survived. Source: Wikipedia – Defenestrations of Prague

17^th Century Miracles

In 1620 the Thirty Year’s War caused the population of the Kingdom of Bohemia to shift from a mixture of Catholics and Protestants to Catholics-only. Pilgrimages to local shrines were encouraged by authorities and the people developed new ways of expressing their spiritual and religious feelings. Throughout this period the Ottoman Empire was a constant threat to central Europe until their defeat in the Austro-Turkish war of 1663-64. Ottoman and Crimean light troops raided Moravia three separate times between 4th September and 7th October 1663. No fortifications fell but the Moravian countryside was heavily plundered and many people were taken prisoner or killed. Constant rumors of Tatars about to arrive kept the people in a state of panic, and the plundering and massacres by Turkish and Crimean Tatars traumatized the Moravians for decades. Shortly after the 1663 raids, three miraculous events appeared in the now 400-year-old story of the Mongol invasion of 1241 and remained important elements in the story for centuries to come (pgs 244-245).

Eastern slope of Hostýn hill, 734 m. (2408 ft.) in Chvalčov in the Zlín Region of Czechia. Photo by Daniel Baránek December 2008. Source: Wikipedia – Hostýn

The hill of Hostýn. In the mid-1600s this hill became a popular destination for Catholic pilgrims for reasons completely unrelated to Mongols. Then in 1663 the following miracle story appeared: In 1241 the Tartars laid siege to a group of Moravians on Hostýn hill. After running out of water and suffering from unbearable thirst the Moravians prayed to the Virgin Mary for help. Not only did she appear to them but she then caused a spring to appear. While they joyously quenched their thirst, the Virgin attacked the Mongols with bolts of lightning, causing them to flee. The story changed a few times after it was written down in 1666, but by the year 1700 it became fixed in form by František Beckovský.  Hostýn remained a popular pilgrimage destination until the end of the 18^th century when all pilgrimages were banned.

Štramberk, home of the ears. View from Šipka cave with Trúba castle tower above the town. Source: Wikipedia – Moravian-Silesian region

The Hill of Kotouč. Similar to the tale of the hill of Hostýn is that of the town of Štramberk and its hill Kotouč. During the 17^th century Štramberk became another center of pilgrimages connected to the fictional defense against the Tartars in 1241. In 1624 Štramberk was given to the Jesuit Convict [a religious— not penal — community] in Olomouc. This Jesuit community supported pilgrimages and a legend was quickly invented concerning the 1241 “Tatar” invasion: Štramberk residents were forced to the top of Kotouč, their local hill, where they prayed to God on the evening before the Feast of the Ascension [40 days after Easter] to save them from the Tatar hordes now surrounding them. God sent a downpour, the roaring waters of which panicked the infidels into flight and the people were saved. A later version, which has since become the most popular, is that the clever people of Štramberk snuck out at night and broke the dams of nearby ponds, drowning out the Tatar camp. In the camp they found nine sacks of ears cut off the heads of defeated Christians (an idea borrowed from Jan Długosz’s chronicle of the Battle of Legnica).  Another version from a Štramberk magistrate dates to the 1720s: this time the enemies are Hussites [proto-Protestant followers of Jan Hus] and the year was 1356.

Postcard of Olomouc, Czechia, 1907. Source: Wikipedia – Olomouc

The town of Olomouc was the setting for a third similar myth, dating to 1663 and building on the old myth of Jaroslav of Sternberg, which the local Sternberg family now gladly promoted in local churches which they supported. This legend says that when the “Tartars” besieged Olomouc in 1241, Captain of the City Jaroslav went to Mass before attacking the enemy. After communion was over, there were five remaining pieces of sacramental bread which were wrapped up and carried by a donkey to the battle. With the help of God, Jaroslav defeat the enemy and Jaroslav himself cut off the hand of Peta, the Tartar leader. Peta soon died from his wounds and the Tartars fled to Hungary. After the battle, the priest who unwrapped the sacramental bread found it transformed into the real Body of Christ. He put the body back on the donkey which — all on its own —  walked straight to the Jesuit’s Corpus Christi Chapel back in Olomouc. The body is still there today. Jaroslav then founded the church of the Virgin Mary in Olomouc and was generously rewarded by the king. A minor problem is presented by the fact that the Corpus Christi Chapel in Olomouc did not yet exist in 1241. Its future location was until 1454 part of the Jewish quarter which had no Christian church; no matter, it’s a very popular story. The Corpus Christi Chapel in Olomouc was rebuilt in the 1720s with marvelous decorations by Jan Kryštof Handke, including frescoes depicting the legend with the Mongols portrayed as Ottoman Turks.

Corpus Christi Chapel ceiling, Olomouc, painted c.1720 by Jan Kryštof Handke.
Source: UC.UPOL – Corpus Christi Chapel

19^th Century Myth Expansion

That was not the end of the myth-making. In 1817 a manuscript fragment was “found” in a church in Königinhof an der Elbe by Václav Hanka, which caused a sensation. Written in Czech and apparently dating from the 13^th century, it instantly became the oldest known piece of Czech language literature ever discovered, much to the delight of the newly-born Czech National Revival. Its key element was the poem “Jaroslav” which exalted our hero Jaroslav of Sternberg’s victory over the Tartars in 1241. It also mentioned the miracle of Hostýn.

Astronomical clock at Olomouc town hall. Source: Wikipedia – Olomouc

In 1841, the 600^th anniversary of the Mongol invasion into Moravia saw many celebrations, especially in Hostýn and Olomouc, the sites of so many battles and wondrous events. Historian František Palacký — the “Father of the Nation” — gave a lecture in which he used the Jaroslav poem to document and celebrate the importance of the Czech nation. The lecture was published as a book the following year, its fine critical historiography marred only by the fact that Palacký had bought into a document that was later proved to be a complete fraud.

At the end of the 19^th century and after many decades of discussion, the entire fragment was conclusively proved to be an elaborate forgery created by its “discoverer,” Václav Hanka himself.

The fundamental problem was the paucity of authentic sources documenting the 1241 invasion. Myths and miracles arose, became popular, were written down and later writers and historians took some of them as factual as they had nothing with which to contradict them. In 1842 Alois Vojtěch Šembera of Moravia edited an almanac on the Mongol invasion which included a treatise by Antonín Boček about the true identification of the hero who defeated the Mongols at Olomouc. Despite the likelihood this event never happened and thus there was no hero, he rejected Jaroslav of Sternberg and replaced him with Zdislav of Sternberg, not a significant improvement. When Boček put out a collection of Moravian sources, he added a few previously non-existent chapters to the third volume of his Codex diplomaticus et epistolaris Moraviae, covering the period 1241-1267, which “proved” how severely the Mongols damaged monasteries such as Rajhrad and cities such as Brno, Benešov, Jevíčko and Uničov. These books became sources for later historians including some now working. Some of these now-exposed forgeries and myths have become something of a national embarrassment and a source of material for Czech humorists.

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Interactive Google MyMap. Important locations of Spring 1241 CE. Click on any marker or line for description. If map doesn’t display properly in your email, go to the blog.

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The True Passage through Moravia

It the light of all these exaggerations, myths and forgeries, it’s difficult to pick out what — if anything — actually happened as the Mongols made their way from Legnica to Hungary. Historian Tomáš Somer briefly mentions a few likely events [mileage calculations are mine].

The battle of Legnica began and ended on 9 April, 1241. The Franciscan Jordanus mentioned in a letter that the Mongols were in Moravia “some time before the 9th May,” entering through the Moravian Gate just south of Opava. There are reports that by late April they had reached the important Hungarian castle Trenčín [Trentschin, Trencsén], located 110 miles from Ostrava at the north end of the Moravian Gate. This castle was attacked but not taken, although the surrounding countryside suffered heavy damage. The distances involved are not far: From the battlefield at Legnica to Opava is 140 miles, another 20 miles to Ostrava at the north end of the Moravian Gate, 50 miles farther to Olomouc at the south end of the gate, and another 75 miles through the Hrozenkov pass to castle Trenčín. As the Mongols most likely never went to Olomouc at all, the distance from Ostrava to castle Trenčín is 110 miles; from the Legnica battle site to castle Trenčín is a total distance of approximately 270 miles. This could easily be traveled within a week which would put the Mongols at castle Trenčín as early as 16 April; faster, if the Mongols were in a hurry. The only real evidence of actual destruction within Moravia comes from 1247 when the Margrave of Moravia (and future King of Bohemia) Přemysl Otakar granted the city of Opava some economic privileges based upon unspecified damages to the Opava region caused by the marauding Mongol troops some years earlier. The Mongols did not seize any of the fortified places in Moravia and it is a plausible argument that they did not even try to, since they were in a hurry.

Territories that the Premyslids controlled or vassalized in 1301, by Garp27.
Source: Wikipedia – Kingdom of Bohemia

Just how and when Orda and Baidar’s army met up with the Mongol army under Batu and Subutai will be discussed at a later date. Next we will turn to the Mongols southern flank, along the eastern Carpathians and into Transylvania.

Morava River in Olomouc, photo by Poisl.matyas January 2019.
Source: Wikipedia – Olomouc

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Entire Mongol Empire & Rus’ Series: Click Here
First Installment: Why didn’t the Mongols Conquer Europe in the 13th Century?
Previous Installment: Moravian Events and Myths: 13^th-17^th Centuries || Mongol Empire LXXXII
Next Installment: The Mongol Left Flank in Transylvania || Mongol Empire LXXXIV
This Installment: Moravia: 17^th Century Miracles || Mongol Empire LXXXIII

Sources
Forging the Past: Facts and Myths Behind the Mongol Invasion of Moravia in 1241; Somer, Tomáš; Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review. 2018, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 238–251. DOI: 10.22378/2313-6197.2018-6-2.238-251. tomas.somer@upol.cz. of Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic.  Link to free PDF file.

HistoryNet – Mongol Invasions, Battle of Liegnitz
PodBay –  Legnica and Mohi 
PolishHistory – War of the Worlds at Legnica
Reddit-AskHistorians – Did the Kingdom of Bohemia ever come under attack 
ThoughtCo – Legnica, Battle of  
Wikipedia – Bohemia & Moravia – Europe, Mongol Invasion of, 
Wikipedia – Carpathian Mountains 
Wikipedia – Europe, Mongol Invasion of 
Wikipedia – Holy Roman Empire, Mongol Incursions into 
Wikipedia – Hungary, First Mongol Invasion of   
Wikipedia – Kłodzko 
Wikipedia – Legnica, Battle of 
Wikipedia – Legnica History
Wikipedia – Mongol Invasions and Conquests 
Wikipedia – Moravian Gate  
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion Background
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion of 
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion Route 
Wikipedia – Wenceslaus I of Bohemia 

Mongols Enter Moravia || The Mongol Empire LXXXI

[By Chuck Almdale]

[NOTE: If maps, pictures and legends don’t display properly in your email, go to the blog. The interactive Google map within this posting works on the blogsite, if not in your email. There is a link at the bottom to the entire Mongol Empire & Rus’ series.]

Czechia: the narrow white/black-striped strip in the east is the Moravian Gate. Source: Wikipedia – Moravian Gate

The Mongols Enter Moravia

We have now arrived at a particularly interesting section of this narrative of the Mongols’ Great Western Invasion — their journey through Moravia. Moravia is now the northeast portion of Czechia [Czech Republic to Westerners] but in the middle 13^th century Moravia was part of the Kingdom of Bohemia, ruled by the Přemyslid dynasty of Bohemia, which itself was part of the Holy Roman Empire. Most sources on the Mongol invasion of Europe have few details of their journey through Moravia, typically reporting as the following:

During their transit, the Mongols devastated all of Moravia “except for the castles and fortified places,” according to the Annales sancti Pantaleonis…. According to Siegfried of Ballhausen, many Moravian refugees appeared in Meissen and Thuringia. Many others fled into the hills, woods and marshes and hid in caves.

— Wikipedia – Mongol Incursions in the Holy Roman Empire

As planned, the Tartars ravaged Moravia in addition to Silesia, even venturing into Lusatia.

— PolishHistory – A war of the worlds at Legnica

The Mongolian army entered Moravia through the northern mountain passes but then kept mainly to the river Morava and flatter regions of Moravia. They massacred inhabitants, burned down their villages, destroyed monasteries, pillaged along the way. Some important places of conflict were an unsuccessful siege of Opava, successful razing of Bruntál, long unsuccessful siege of Olomouc defended by the king’s main Moravian defence unit of 8000 infantry and riders, unsuccessful siege of Brno. There are Moravian folk tales still recalling the Mongolian invasion to this day. There is a kind of gingerbread pastry called Štramberk ears in rememberance to trophies taken by Mongols – ears of slain enemies. By baking these, people celebrate the lives of those Moravians spared such a gruesome fate.

— Reddit-AskHistorians – Did the Kingdom of Bohemia ever come under attack 

Štramberk ears made from gingerbread, in remembrance of Moravians who did or didn’t lose their ears to the Mongols in 1241. Source: Wikipedia – Štramberk ears

Tomáš Somer, Dept. of History, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czechia

The rest of the Moravian portion of this narrative on the Mongols will draw heavily from the Golden Horde Review 2018.6(2) article, Forging the Past: Facts and Myths Behind the Mongol Invasion of Moravia in 1241, pages 238-251, authored by Tomáš Somer of Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic, tomas.somer@upol.cz. I was fortunate and delighted to come across this entertaining and illuminating article. The short version of his findings is expressed in his abstract, as follows:

Since the Mongol myth became the subject of 19th-century forgeries, many scholars were misled by them. As a result, the forged documents have been presented as trustworthy sources even by renowned contemporary scholars. Consequently, the description of the historical events of 1241 undergo dramatic changes. The invasion – presented at times as a catastrophe – was in reality merely the brief passage of Mongol troops through Moravian territory. Later chroniclers confused this event with the Hungarian invasion of Moravia in 1253. Soon, a fictional victory at Olomouc was invented. Later, an imaginary hero was added (Jaroslav of Sternberg) and the story transformed in the second half of the 17th century into an account of a divine miracle, subsequently becoming a key part of the 19th century forgeries that exaggerated the Czech glorious national past by inventing sources that had actually never existed.

— Somer Tomáš, Forging the Past: Facts and Myths behind the Mongol Invasion of Moravia in 1241. Pg. 238

I could simply leave the entire description of the Mongol passage through Moravia to the above quote, but it’s just too entertaining and illuminating a story — how exaggerations, errors, myths and finally miracles were concocted, in the process creating a national hero and a glorifying a nation — to leave it out of this narrative of the Mongol Empire.

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Interactive Google MyMap. Important locations of Spring 1241 CE. Click on any marker or line for description. If map doesn’t display properly in your email, go to the blog.

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Page 1 (abstract) of Tomáš Somer’s paper Forging the Past: Facts and Myths Behind the Mongol Invasion of Moravia in 1241.
Source: ResearchGate – Forging the Past, T. Somer

Selections from Forging the Past: Facts and Myths Behind the Mongol Invasion of Moravia in 1241, by Tomáš Somer

To begin with, I appreciated Somer’s addressing the problem of the Mongols Kadan and Kaidu — which one helped lead the forces in Poland? It wasn’t Kaidu who was far too young, leaving Kadan as the leader. He does get Kaidu’s birthdate wrong, giving it as 1236, which is the year the expedition left Karakorum. [I suspect this was a typographical error using the departure year as the birth year.] I have found elsewhere that Kaidu’s birth year was 1230, which is likely to be closer to the truth as he would be five or six when the expedition began — Mongolian boys could already ride and use a bow by that age — rather than a year-old infant still on his mother’s breast. I believe the Kadan/Kaidu confusion is due to the closeness of these names’ spelling variants in various languages and scripts. However, I concluded previously neither were leaders in Poland: Kadan was not in Poland but on the southern flank in Transylvania. Kaidu probably was in Poland but was too young to be leading anything or commanding any troops.

Somer then clarifies the Mongol’s mission:

The goal of this detached Mongol army operating in Poland and Silesia was to make sure that no reinforcements from this region distracted the ongoing operations in Hungary. After the battle at Legnica, this goal was completely fulfilled and the Mongol army in the north had no reason to stay there anymore.

— Somer Tomáš, Forging the Past, pg. 239

He confirms that they could not pass the mountainous and well-defended northern border of Bohemia and moved on to the wide, gentle and undefended Moravian Gate south of Opava and Ostrava possibly in late April, certainly within a month of leaving Legnica soon after the battle on 9 April, 1241.

The high-ranking Franciscan Jordanus mentioned in one of his letters that the Mongol troops entered Moravia some time before the 9th May. This might actually have happened a little bit earlier, since according to reports Orda and his army arrived in the vicinity of the important Hungarian castle Trenčín (Trentschin, Trencsén) in late April. The castle itself resisted the Mongol army, but the surroundings suffered heavy damage.

— Somer Tomáš, Forging the Past, pg. 240

Trenčín Castle in Hungary above its city. Source: Wikipedia – Trenčín

The distance from Opava through the Moravian Gate and on to castle Trenčín in Hungary is only 130 miles; from Olomouc at the south end of the Moravian Gate it’s a mere 75 miles. Mongols on the move could easily cover that distance in 1-3 days if not distracted by towns to besiege or enemy armies eager to give battle. And evidence of real damage to cities is scarce:

The only real evidence of actual destruction comes from 1247 when the Margrave of Moravia (and future King of Bohemia) Přemysl Otakar granted the city of Opava some economic privileges based upon unspecified damages to the Opava region caused by the marauding Mongol troops some years earlier.

— Somer Tomáš, Forging the Past, pg. 240

Postcard of Opova [Troppau], Franz Josef Platz, circa 1900, Austrian Empire era. Source: Wikipedia – Opova

What evidence exists indicates that the Mongol force, probably less than 8,000 men at this time, wished only to reach Hungary as quickly as possible. As we have seen previously, Mongol forces would not engage in battles or sieges unless specifically charged to do so by their supreme leaders, or when left with no other option in order to carry out their orders.

The haste of the invaders is actually one of the very few facts we can support using the sources: Master Roger [Rogerius of Apulia] was a well-educated canon of Oradea who was himself taken prisoner by the Mongols and unwillingly spent several months amongst them in captivity…. after defeating [Henry II the Pious] and destroying Wrocław, [Baidar] and his troops marched quickly through Moravia towards the “Hungarian gate” [probably Hrozenkov Pass on Hungarian border]….the Mongols destroyed the Moravian countryside with their usual cruelty….the Annales sancti Panthaleonis Coloniensis (composed around the time of the Mongol invasion), which mentions the incredible speed of the Mongol troops (supposedly, they marched through Moravia in just one day and night) and also the standard destruction of the land – except for the castles and other fortified places, which they left alone….Even though the Mongols inflicted some damage upon the countryside, Moravia was not seriously depopulated, as some parts of the Kingdom of Hungary were, and its towns and other fortified places remained untouched.

— Somer Tomáš, Forging the Past, pgs. 240-41

As noted above and as we have seen many times before, the Mongols could move very quickly when they wanted to. The distance from Opava through the Moravian Gate and Hrozenkov Pass to the Hungarian town of Trenčín is only 130 miles (210 km) and could have been accomplished within the space of one day and night, as given above. This is fast, but quite doable by Mongols when necessary.

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Entire Mongol Empire & Rus’ Series: Click Here
First Installment: Why didn’t the Mongols Conquer Europe in the 13th Century?
Previous Installment: Legnica to Moravia || Mongol Empire LXXX
Next Installment: Moravian Events and Myths: 13^th-17^th Centuries || Mongol Empire LXXXII
This Installment: Mongols Enter Moravia || Mongol Empire LXXXI

Sources
Forging the Past: Facts and Myths Behind the Mongol Invasion of Moravia in 1241; Somer, Tomáš; Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review. 2018, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 238–251. DOI: 10.22378/2313-6197.2018-6-2.238-251. tomas.somer@upol.cz of Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic.  Link to free PDF file.

Reddit-AskHistorians – Did the Kingdom of Bohemia ever come under attack 
ThoughtCo – Legnica, Battle of  
Wikipedia – Bohemia & Moravia – Europe, Mongol Invasion of, 
Wikipedia – Carpathian Mountains 
Wikipedia – Europe, Mongol Invasion of 
Wikipedia – Holy Roman Empire, Mongol Incursions into 
Wikipedia – Hungary, First Mongol Invasion of   
Wikipedia – Kłodzko 
Wikipedia – Mongol Invasions and Conquests 
Wikipedia – Moravian Gate  
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion Background
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion of 
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion Route 
Wikipedia – Wenceslaus I of Bohemia 

Legnica to Moravia || The Mongol Empire LXXX

[By Chuck Almdale]

[NOTE: If maps, pictures and legends don’t display properly in your email, go to the blog. The interactive Google map within this posting works on the blogsite, if not in your email. There is a link at the bottom to the entire Mongol Empire & Rus’ series.]

Battle near Liegnitz (Wahlstatt) on 9th April 1241 (The Mongols under Orda defeat the Polish-German knights’ army under Duke Henry II of Silesia). “Great defeat of the Christians, which they suffered from the Tatars.” Copper engraving b.Matthäus Merian t.Eld. From: J.L.Gottfried, Historische Chronica, 1630, p.583; later colored. Source: PolishHistory: War of the Worlds at Legnica

The Fog of War History

The immediate aftermath of the battle of Legnica — which began and ended on 9 April, 1241 — comes in many versions, as do descriptions of who was actually there. Mongol leaders Orda, Baidar and Kadan were all there, but perhaps it was only one of the three, or maybe two; perhaps it was 10-year-old Kaidu fooling King Henry the Pious with a feigned retreat, and Kadan wasn’t even in Poland but far to the south in Transylvania. Sometimes the Mongols have 100,000 men, sometimes 5,000; the Polish forces range from 40,000 to 3,000. The Teutonic Knights were there, as were the Hospitallers, or perhaps they weren’t. The Knights Templar contingent were slain in battle, all 500 of them, or was it 70-90 knights, or perhaps it was nine knights, three sergeants and 500 peasants armed with hand tools. About all that everyone does agree on is that the Mongols won and it was a terrific defeat for the Poles.

Wenceslaus (Václav) I of Bohemia in the Codex Gelnhausen (early 15th century). Source: Wikipedia – Wenceslaus I

Afterwards — when Wenceslaus I (the one-eyed) of Bohemia, who was only one day away with 50,000 troops or perhaps it was only 5,000 — heard of the defeat, he:

… fell back to protect Bohemia. He gathered reinforcements from Thuringia and Saxony along the way, before taking refuge in Bohemia’s mountainous countries whose terrain would reduce the mobility of the Mongolian cavalry. When a Mongol vanguard assaulted Kłodzko, the Bohemian cavalry easily defeated them in the mountain passes. 

— Wikipedia – Wenceslaus I of Bohemia

Saxony (Meissen) today: Albrechtsburg Castle with the spires of Meissen Cathedral behind it. Photo: July 2005 by Miala.
Source: Wikipedia – Electorate of Saxony

Saxony and Thuringia were German states, respectively 110 miles and 225 miles west of Legnica which was another 75 miles west of Kłodzko, and it had taken several days for Wenceslaus to march from Prague to within a day’s ride away from the battle site. This makes one wonder exactly how he turned his army around, then gathered forces from these two states and returned to Bohemia before the Mongols arrived. Perhaps his route from Bohemia to Legnica did not go past Kłodzko but went northwest through the mountains towards Dresden [Saxony, see map below], then turned eastward towards Legnica. When he turned around to return to Bohemia, he stopped off at Saxony and Thuringia, then went back through the mountains. Whatever the sequence of events, it seems that the Mongols left the vicinity of Legnica, rode east through Lower and Upper Silesia and attempted to pass through the mountains into Bohemia, perhaps near Kłodzko (discussed below), trying to follow the most direct route southward to Hungary.

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Interactive Google MyMap. Important locations of Winter-Spring 1241 CE. Click on any marker or line for description. If map doesn’t display properly in your email, go to the blog.

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Karlštejn Castle, Prague. In 1422 the Hussites besieged this castle, using catapults to hurl dead bodies and 2,000 carriage-loads of animal dung over the ramparts. In this early example of biological warfare, they were successful in spreading infection among the besieged.
Source: Butterfield & Robinson – Castle Tour Czech

Bohemia’s Defense

According to this site, when Wenceslaus’ Bohemian forces repelled their advance, the Mongols withdrew to the town of Othmachau which lay eastward in the direction of Opole. Failing another vanguard advance towards Kłodzko, they turned east towards Racibórz, a distance of 50 miles, then south towards Ostrava, another 20 miles, where they entered the broad valley known as the Moravian Gate.

Czechia, including Bohemia (west) and Moravia (east). The narrow white/black-striped strip in the east is the Moravian Gate.
Source: Wikipedia – Moravian Gate

The Moravian Gate is a geomorphological depression between the Carpathian Mountains to the east and the Sudeten Mountains to the west, and is the division between two major watersheds. The upper reaches of the Oder River drains to the north and into the Baltic Sea, while to the south the Bečva River drains southward to the Morava River which flows southward to the Danube River. The “gate” is about 40 miles (65 km) long and is bordered on the north by the confluence of the Olza and Oder rivers, 11 miles southeast of Racibórz. The crest between the two watersheds is 22 miles east of Olmuetz at 1,020 ft. Because of this low altitude and easy terrain it has for millennia been used for traveling between Polish and Czech lands, the Baltic and the Danube, Scandinavia and Greece.

Moravian Gate: View of Bernartice nad Odrou and Hůrka from Starý Jičín Castle near Nový Jičín, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czechia.
Source: Wikipedia – Moravian Gate

The Mongols then tried to take the town of Olmuetz [Olomouc], but again Wenceslaus, this time with the aid of Austrian Babenbergs, repulsed the raid and a Mongol “commander” was killed. However, as Olmuetz is in Moravia at the southern end of the Moravian Gate, any attack there would more likely follow the Mongols passage southward from Ostrava through the “Gate.” Bohemia was one of the few eastern European kingdoms and duchies that were not pillaged by the Mongols. Wenceslaus was so proud of his defensive maneuvers that he notified Holy Roman Emperor Frederik II of his “victorious defense.” According to another site, at some point Wenceslaus  — in letters to the princes of Germany informing them of the Mongols’ progress — wrote that the Mongols “were moving at a pace of 40 miles (64 km) per day away from the Bohemian border.” In fact, for this first Mongol invasion of Europe, Bohemia was a simply a place to get through or around as quickly as possible in order to continue the conquest of Hungary. The Mongols could now follow the Morava River for a few miles, then head southeast towards the Hungarian battle site, or continue along the river until it reached the Danube near Bratislava, east of Vienna.

Northern arc of Carpathians Mountains. Moravian Gate (dark green lines) at lower right, Ostrava at NE end, Olomouc at SW end . Google map snip.

The Venus of Dolní Věstonice (Věstonická venuše) at Mammoth Hunters exhibition in National Museum in Prague. This ceramic statuette (& others nearby) is dated to 29,000-25000 BCE (Gravettian industry), the oldest known ceramic artifact in the world. Found at the Paleolithic site Dolní Věstonice in the Moravian basin south of Brno, in the base of Děvín Mountain, Czechia.
Source: Wikipedia – Venus of Dolní Věstonice

Contradicting some of the above is the following from this site:

The Mongols did not advance far into the Holy Roman Empire and there was no major clash of arms on its territory. Rather, the army that had invaded Poland, after harassing eastern Germany, crossed the March of Moravia in April–May 1241 to rejoin the army that had invaded Hungary. During their transit, they laid waste the Moravian countryside but avoided strongholds. King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia was joined by some German princes, but he monitored the Mongols in Moravia without seeking battle.

Our next installment will begin a look at the Mongols’ journey through Moravia and the numerous myths that sprang up as a result.

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Entire Mongol Empire & Rus’ Series: Click Here
First Installment: Why didn’t the Mongols Conquer Europe in the 13th Century?
Previous Installment: The Battle of Legnica || Mongol Empire LXXIX
Next Installment: Mongols in Moravia || Mongol Empire LXXXI
This Installment: Legnica to Moravia || Mongol Empire LXXX

Sources
HistoryNet – Mongol Invasions, Battle of Liegnitz
Forging the Past: Facts and Myths Behind the Mongol Invasion of Moravia in 1241; Somer, Tomáš; Golden Horde Review 2018.6(2), pages 238-251. tomas.somer@upol.cz.  of Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic.  Link to free PDF file.

PodBay –  Legnica and Mohi 
PolishHistory – War of the Worlds at Legnica
ThoughtCo – Legnica, Battle of  
Wikipedia – Bohemia & Moravia – Europe, Mongol Invasion of
Wikipedia – Carpathian Mountains 
Wikipedia – Europe, Mongol Invasion of 
Wikipedia – Holy Roman Empire, Mongol Incursions into 
Wikipedia – Hungary, First Mongol Invasion of  
Wikipedia – Kłodzko 
Wikipedia – Legnica, Battle of 
Wikipedia – Legnica History
Wikipedia – Mongol Invasions and Conquests 
Wikipedia – Moravian Gate  
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion Background
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion of 
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion Route 
Wikipedia – Wenceslaus I of Bohemia  

The Battle of Legnica || The Mongol Empire LXXIX

[By Chuck Almdale]

[NOTE: If maps, pictures and legends don’t display properly in your email, go to the blog. The interactive Google map within this posting works on the blogsite, if not in your email. There is a link at the bottom to the entire Mongol Empire & Rus’ series.]

Battle of Legnica (Legnitz) 1241. From Legend of Saint Hedwig: “Here Duke Henry, the son of St. Hedwig, is in battle with the Tartars in the field which is called Wahlstatt“; unknown artist, 1353. Medieval illuminated manuscript , collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum.
Source: Wikipedia – Warfare in Medieval Poland

Battle Styles: European Vs Mongol

The typical European army of the 13^th century was poorly organized and poorly trained. They consisted of squadrons of irregular sizes and purpose, with little planned strategy beyond get close to your foe and bash them to pieces one at a time. The Battle of Agincourt, when Henry V of England defeated a far larger army of France with tactics, field position, troop discipline and longbows raining arrows upon their enemies was still 174 years into the future. On 9 April, 1241 CE when the Battle of Legnica commenced, command was based on birth and status, not competence, and displays of personal bravery and honor were critically important to the knights. Even if they lost, a brave fight brought personal honor. If slain while in the act of defending damsels or nations, they’d gain a good seat in Heaven.

A European knight armed and ready for combat – reenacted. The 33rd photo in a series which shows the knight, with a lot of help, donning his many-layered gear. Source: CatherineHanley – Arming a knight in the 13th century

Mongol cavalry units on the other hand were supremely organized into multiples of 10: ten men in an arvan, ten arvan in a zunn, ten zunn in a Mingghan, ten mingghan in a tümen, and as many tümen as you had available in an army. Each unit of any size from 10 to 10,000 men had its own designated leader. Discipline was high, infractions punished, battle commands signaled by colored flags and/or drumbeats. Everyone knew what to do, how to issue and follow orders, and the top general planned it out ahead and orchestrated it all. A commander could be anywhere he saw fit in his formation so as to observe and make rapid decisions. European commanders — on the other hand — fought alongside their troops, easily identified, usually in danger, and unable to create opportunities or respond to developments.

Mongol light archer. Source: Quora – Genghis Khan’s role in Middle East

The goal of Mongol battle was twofold — win and keep the cost of battle low; today we might say maximize gain, minimize cost. The Mongols were far from home and hauling their own supplies; they must efficiently kill or defeat an enemy with as little loss to themselves as possible, as unexpected reinforcements weren’t going to suddenly appear to save the day. Their strategies were often based on the Mongolian method of hunting game; lead your prey into a prearranged trap, attack from all sides, kill them quickly, kill them all. This was the essence of their favorite strategy, the feigned retreat — a tentative or mocking pseudo-attack, then false flight, then ambush, surround and massacre. Foes interested in bravery and valor would never intentionally appear cowardly and flee before an enemy, and it took time for valorous warriors to even conceive that someone else might concoct a tactic that was so…well, downright dishonorable.

Mongol heavy lancer – Six of every ten Mongol troopers were light cavalry horse archers; the remaining four were heavily armored and armed Lancers​.
Source: Pakistan Defense – Defense-PK

European knights and their large horses were heavily armored, weighing 70 pounds or more. They carried lances to plow down their foe like a battering ram and heavy broadswords to chop them into pieces in close man-to-man battle. Foot-soldiers closely followed the cavalry and killed anyone unhorsed or alive.

Eastern European warriors, 13th century.
Source: DefensePK – Kalka River Battle

Mongols used foot soldiers only when they conscripted (aka enslaved) losers from a previous battle into their army; these men typically were placed in the front lines where they bore the brunt of besieging a city. Most Mongol cavalry wore far less armor than Europeans – only the helmet was metal, the rest was leather – with loose silk underwear that followed an arrowhead into the wound, allowing it to be easily extracted backwards without additionally tearing the flesh. [If you’ve ever had a fishhook extracted from your arm you’ll know what that entails.] Their primary weapon was a recurved composite bow which could fire an arrow 300 yards and easily aimed in all directions, even to the rear; each archer carried 60 arrows of different sorts. Some cavalry wore heavier armor and carried spears for special purposes, such as unhorsing the foe or tripping their horses. Their horses were smaller, lighter and had enormous endurance. They could also find their own food in the wild fields, so the army did not have to carry or continually gather many tons of fodder for their mounts — an enormous logistical advantage. Each soldier had two to four horses and when one tired, would switch to another. In the false retreat strategy, the Mongols would often lure the enemy to where their extra horses were waiting out-of-sight, and attack their tired foe on fresh mounts. Europeans had never encountered such training and tactics, whereas Mongols had beaten European-style forces countless times, and other-styled forces perhaps thousands of times.

Mongol heavy cavalryman and equipment. 40% of Mongol troopers were heavily armored and armed lancers​. Source: DefensePK – Kalka River Battle

Mongol armies were adaptable and learned quickly. Any tactics or equipment used by their foes and unfamiliar to them were immediately examined and adopted if obviously useful. Battering rams, catapults, covered siege ladders, flaming arrows, naphtha bombs, gunpowder, undermining walls, redirecting rivers and streams, destroying dams, forced conscription of defeated soldiers to do heavy labor like filling in moats around walled cities; all these were learned from their defeated foes, particularly the Chinese. So useful were the Chinese in inventing, designing and building battle equipment that for their Khwarazmian Empire battles, the Mongols simply conscripted weapon engineers in China and brought them along into central Asia. These Chinese engineers were kept very busy.

60% of Mongol troopers were light archers. Source: DefensePK – Kalka River Battle

The Battle Begins

When the battle on the Wahlstatt plain began on 9 April 1241, the Mongols moved without battle cries or trumpets, transmitting signals by silent flags. Their formations appeared loose, and when Boleslaw’s first squadron charged into them, the Mongols flowed away like water, out of harm’s reach, and showered them with extremely accurate arrows fired from their saddle backward as they fled. The other three Polish divisions did nothing but watch and wait their turn, and Boleslaw’s men fled back to the Polish side.

Fabian Tactic: When enemy is strong, Mongols horsemen disperse & avoid contact; when enemy moves to a weaker position (e.g. after a Mongol feigned retreat), Mongols regroup and attack. Source: Behance – Genghis Khan

Led by Sulisław, Mieszko II the Fat and Poppo von Ostern, the second and third divisions charged. In apparent terror, the Mongols turned tail and fled. Smelling victory the knights pursued, eager to use their lances and broadswords on these dishonorable and diminutive Tartar cowards. Something strange then happened.

From the fleeing Mongols came a single rider who rode around the Polish knights shouting in Polish, “Byegaycze! Byegaycze!” (“Run! Run!”) The Poles couldn’t tell if he was a Mongol performing a ruse or a forcibly conscripted conquered Russian giving the Poles a warning.

The following excerpt comes from Jan Długosz’s account, whose chronicle is the major source of information we have about the battle of Legnica.

There was in their [Mongol] army among other banners one of enormous size….at the top of its spar, there was a figure of a very ugly and monstrous head with a beard, so when the Tartars moved back two miles or so and started to flee, the ensign carrying the banner started to wave the head with all his might, and immediately some thick vapour burst out of it, smoke and a wind so stinky that when this deadly smell spread among the troops, the Poles, fainting and barely alive, stopped fighting and became unable to fight.

— Jan Długosz’s account of the battle of Legnica, cited by PolishHistory

The Opole squad of Mieszko II the Fat was the first to panic. Mieszko took this “warning” at face value and led his knights off the battlefield. Seeing his 21-year-old cousin fleeing, Henry II said: “A great misfortune has come upon us,” and he moved on the enemy with his own troops. Those were his last recorded words. He attacked the Mongols with his fourth division and engaged them in close combat. The Mongols fought fiercely, then again fled, again pursued by the Polish knights. The chase led the knights far out in front of their unmounted support foot soldiers.

NOTE: Want more information on the Mongol style of battle? The website Defense.PK – Battle Report Kalka River has the best discussion of Mongol battle and equipment information, plus great artwork, that I have found on the web. Highly recommended! That this site comes out of Pakistan seems quite odd to me.

A Familiar Story

As HistoryNet puts it, obscuring smoke began to drift across the battlefield from somewhere behind the Polish knights and their now far-to-the-rear foot-soldiers could not see what next happened.

Mongol horse archers had deadly accuracy even while galloping.
Source: DefensePK – Kalka River Battle

It was a typical false retreat and as always, it worked. Once the knights were far enough from their infantry, the Mongol cavalry swept out to both sides of the knights, now strung out and disarrayed, and showered them with arrows. Other Mongols sprang from hiding. If the arrows failed to bring down an armored knight, they shot his horse out from under him. Once dismounted, the heavily armored knights were nearly helpless, and the Mongol heavy cavalrymen with lances and swords slayed them with impunity. The determined, religious and trained Knights Templar made their stand, and every one of them died.

The main Catholic military orders of monastic-knights, a Knight Templar in the middle. In the medieval period the Knights of Malta (“Malte”) were known as the Hospitallers or Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem.
Source: MedievalWarfare – Templars

Duke Henry was gravely wounded and tried to gallop off the field, accompanied by his knights who struggled, and failed, to carry him to safety. When the Mongols fell upon him he was still alive as they pulled him aside and cut off his head. [Another version says Henry was executed after the battle]. They put Henry’s head on the end of a spear and paraded it before the Polish troops in an unsuccessful attempt to make them surrender. One version says the gruesome trophy was then sent to Batu Khan’s camp [which was far away in Hungary at this time; if it went anywhere, more likely it went to Orda or Baidar’s camp].

Left foot of 10-year-old male, postaxial polydactyly of 5th ray anterior-posterior view. Source: Wikipedia – Polydactyly

According to this site, when Henry’s headless body was found on the battlefield, stripped of armor and clothing, only his wife Anna could recognize the body and then only by a distinctive mark: he was polydactylous and had six toes on his left foot.

This trait was confirmed almost six hundred years later when his tomb was opened in 1832. A century later German scientists took Henry’s body from his tomb for laboratory tests, hoping to somehow prove that Henry II the Pious was an Aryan. The body was never returned. 

Knight Templar and Knight Hospitaller stained glass window Saint Andrew’s Church, Temple Grafton, Stratford district, Warwickshire, England. Source: MedievalWarfare – Templars

Following their [sometimes] custom of counting the enemy dead, the Mongols filled nine sacks with ears cut from the dead. Polish records say 25,000 men were killed. The Grand Master of the Knights Templar wrote of the battle to King Louis IX of France:

The Tartars have destroyed and taken the land of Henry Duke of Poland, …with many barons, six of our brothers, three knights, two sergeants and five hundred of our men dead.

—  Cited by HistoryNet

The Grand Master added that no army of any significance now stood between the invaders and France. That was no exaggeration. King Wenceslas (the “One-eyed”) of Bohemia (modern-day western Czechia) was still one day away from the battle. After hearing of the slaughter of his brother-in-law and his army, Wenceslas returned south to Bohemia, gathering reinforcements from Thuringia and Saxony along the way, and hoped Bohemia’s mountainous terrain would discourage the Mongols from attacking his kingdom.

King Louis IX, according to many sources, began to make preparations to go to central Europe to fight the Mongols, and told his mother, Queen Blanche, that “either they would send the Tartars back to hell, or the Tartars would send them to Paradise.” His use of “Tartar” was a play on the word Tartarus, in Greek mythology a pit of torment lower than Hades; Christianity modified Tartarus into the place rebelling angels were sent. This is one of several sources cited as the origin of the exonym Tartar or Tatar — still used today — for the Mongols’ in particular and central Asians in general.

Holy Roman Empire 1273-1378 CE between France, Poland and Hungary; Northern March, Brandenburg and Saxony in upper right.
Source: Wikipedia – Margraviate_of_Brandenburg

It was still 9 April, 1241 when the battle was over and done. Despite King Louis’s fears, the Mongol army in Poland had no intentions of continuing even 50 miles westward into Lusatia, Saxony or the Northern March, all regions of the Holy Roman Empire, let alone 600 miles to Paris. Their remit was to so distract the Poles that they would not consider sending aid to Hungary. That done and knowing full well that a large Bavarian army was in the vicinity, the Mongols quickly set off for Hungary. This journey did not go as smoothly or quickly as they wished, and some interesting details of Bohemian and Moravian history came about as a result.

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Interactive Google MyMap. Important locations of Winter 1241 CE. Click on any marker or line for description. If map doesn’t display properly in your email, go to the blog.

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Entire Mongol Empire & Rus’ Series: Click Here
First Installment: Why didn’t the Mongols Conquer Europe in the 13th Century?
Previous Installment: Kraków to Legnica || Mongol Empire LXXVIII
Next Installment: Legnica to Moravia || Mongol Empire LXXX
This Installment: The Battle of Legnica || Mongol Empire LXXIX

Sources
Primary Source for Battle of Legnica: HistoryNet – Mongol Invasions, Battle of Liegnitz

DefensePK – Kalka River Battle
GreekGodsAndGoddesses – Tartarus
PodBay –  Legnica and Mohi 
PolishHistory – War of the Worlds at Legnica
ThoughtCo – Legnica, Battle of  
Wikipedia – Europe, Mongol Invasion of 
Wikipedia – Henry II the Pious
Wikipedia – Legnica, Battle of 
Wikipedia – Legnica Battlefield (Legnickie Pole)
Wikipedia – Legnica History
Wikipedia – Mongol Invasions and Conquests 
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion Background
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion of 
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion Route 

Kraków to Legnica || The Mongol Empire LXXVIII

[By Chuck Almdale]

[NOTE: If maps, pictures and legends don’t display properly in your email, go to the blog. The interactive Google map within this posting works on the blogsite, if not in your email. There is a link at the bottom to the entire Mongol Empire & Rus’ series.]

1241 Central Europe invasion, movement, and exit routes; Josef Szabo.
Source: Academia – Mongol Invasion of 1241

The Racibórz Crossing

The next town mentioned is Racibórz 75 miles west of Kraków, one of the historic capitals of Upper Silesia and from 1172 to 1521 the residence of the Dukes of Racibórz. It is very strategically located on the Oder River near where it flows out of Moravia through the wide valley known as the Moravian Gate, then past Opole and Wrocław and north to the Baltic Sea. According to this site, the Mongols arrived at Racibórz on 20 March [thus before Kraków was sacked] and encountered an army of Silesia under the leadership of the Duke of Racibórz and Opole, Mieszko II the Fat. After these units of the Mongol army reached the Oder River near Racibórz and were trying to cross, the Duke decided to attack them and it would seem they successfully beat them back, at least for a while.

Racibórz city plan of the year 1567, by Olos88.
Source: Wikipedia – Racibórz

The major rivers in Poland generally freeze up in January, several months later than in Rus’ as the climate in Poland is milder due to their proximity to the Baltic Sea. As of 2023 the Oder river is iced over for only 40 days a year. The modern custom is to break up the ice in January and February with ships; moving it downstream at this time reduces the probability of springtime floods that result from allowing the ice to break up naturally. In late March 1241 the ice on the upper Oder had probably already melted or was too thin and slushy to safely cross. The Mongols would have to use their personal floatation devices to cross the river or build rafts: the first would be a painfully cold process for man and horse alike, while the second would be safer and more comfortable, but time-consuming. After this battle Duke Mieszko’s army rode off towards Legnica, and joined the army assembling there under Duke Henry II the Pious of Silesia, which led to the Battle of Legnica, where we will soon arrive. Despite their ravaging Poland, time moved on after the Mongols left. Duke Mieszko II later founded a Dominican monastery in Racibórz where he was buried in 1246, at the young age of 26. Some say it was because he was far too fat for his own good.

Ice jam on the Oder River at Frankfurt/Oder on 24 February 2012 (photo by Halka Beberstedt). Source: MDPI – Oder Ice Jam Flood

Skirmish at Opole

The Mongols managed to cross the Oder river despite Duke Mieszko’s attack. Once across, they decided not to besiege Racibórz, which apparently was well-fortified. It’s entirely possible they could not get their catapults and other siege equipment across the dangerous river. Instead they more or less followed the Duke down the Oder River to the city Opole, 40 miles to the north.

Oldest known view of Opole seen from southeast, circa 1535. From Angelika Marsch Oppeln, Falkenberg, Gross Strehlitz. Historische Ansichten aus vier Jahrhunderten. Bergstadtverlag Wilhelm Gottlieb Korn, Würzburg 1995; original picture is in Würzburg University Library (Germany).
Source: Wikipedia – Opole

A century after the Mongols came through this region, Opole, the entire Duchy of Opole and most of Silesia fell under the control of the Kingdom of Bohemia, centered south of the Carpathians in what is now the western half of Czechia, and itself then part of the Holy Roman Empire. But in 1241 CE Opole was the primary capital of Upper Silesia. When they reached Opole they found the knights of Racibórz had joined with the forces of Władysław I [Vladislaus] Duke of Opole; forces from Lesser Poland (the provinces of Kraków and Sandomierz) had also arrived. A short battle ensued between these united armies of the Polish Dukes and the Mongols. Despite the various cities they represented, the Poles were still outnumbered by the Mongols, and they retreated towards Wrocław, the Mongols following, and then westward to Legnica where they joined the massed forces of Henry II the Pious, Duke of Silesia and High Duke of Poland. Again the Mongols followed and they reunited with Orda’s army at Wrocław. The Mongol right flank in Poland was now back at maximum strength.

Portion of Opole medieval defensive wall. Photo: SuperGlob.
Source: Wikipedia – Opole

Duke Henry the Pious Awaits

Henry II the Pious standing on a Mongol, Franciscan Church of St. Jacob, Wrocław, Lower Silesia, 1733. EffigiesAndBrasses

It was early April 1241 and Duke Henry II the Pious of Silesia awaited the Mongols’ arrival. He had heard what happened to other cities in Poland. He knew the ‘Tartar’ army had badly beaten Boleslav V, his cousin, and pillaged and burned Boleslav’s city Kraków. As he rode through his city of Legnica, a stone fell from the roof of St. Mary’s Church and narrowly missed killing him. Those watching saw it as an evil omen.

Henry anxiously awaited his brother-in-law, King Wenceslas I of Bohemia, to arrive with 50,000 men, and wondered if he should have stayed behind his city walls until they arrived. But he greatly feared the possibility that additional Tartar reinforcements might be on their way. [One might say they were, as the two Mongol armies reunited at Wrocław. Beyond that, there were no more coming.] Henry cast his lot for immediate battle, and on April 9^th 1241, he led an army of 30,000 Polish knights, Teutonic Knights, French Knights Templar and a levy of foot soldiers, including German gold miners from the appropriately named town of Goldberg. They headed towards where they hoped to meet the Bohemian army. They also expected to encounter up to two full tümens — about 20,000 battle-hardened Mongol cavalry — somewhere on the Wahlstatt plain, commanded by Orda and Baidar, in what would come to be known as the Battle of Legnica [Battle of Liegnitz, Battle of the Wahlstatt Plain].

Unlike Henry, Baidar knew that Wenceslas was two — and only two — days’ march away. The initial Mongol right flank army is estimated by various sources at 12,000 – 20,000 cavalry, and they had certainly suffered losses in Poland, the extent of which no one even attempts to guess. They were already well outnumbered by Duke Henry’s combined armies of 30,000 cavalry and foot soldiers. An additional 50,000 troops from Bohemia could push the Mongols’ odds of success well past poor down to absurdly bad. Even the best cavalry, organization, command and tactics in the world might not overcome 5-to-1 adverse odds. They knew they had better get this battle done and over with before Wenceslas arrived lest they be overwhelmed, causing Subutai’s northern flank to fail and imperiling the entire Great Western Invasion. The spy network used by the Mongols was unexpectedly (for their enemies) accurate, and they always seemed to know what their foes could and couldn’t do. Knowing that Henry was heading into a plain surrounded by low hills close to Legnica, the Mongols arrived there first.

Upon spotting the Mongols in the distance, already on the plain, waiting, Henry divided his army into four squadrons placed one after the other. The first group, commanded by Bolesław [Boleslav, Boleslaus] son of Děpolt [sometimes called the “Margrave of Moravia”], was composed of knights from assorted nations accompanied by the Goldberg miners who were acting as foot soldiers. Group two, commanded by Sulisław, brother of the late palatine of Kraków, a city now burned to the ground, was of Krakóvians and knights from Welkopole. Group three consisted of Mieszko II the Fat of Racibórz and Opole leading his knights, and Poppo von Ostern from Prussia leading his Teutonic Knights. Group four, led by Duke Henry himself, consisted of soldiers from Silesia and Breslau, knights from Welkopole and Silesia, and French Knights Templar.

Henry II’s reach of power at its greatest extent, 1239.
Source: Wikipedia – Henry II the Pious

The Teutonic Knights and Knights Templar were Christian religious military orders, originating in the Crusades in the Holy Land, who trained and lived under rigorous religious and military training and discipline. They were the cream of the European crop, and Henry had high hopes, high hopes indeed. Orda and Baidar, as usual, simply planned for and expected victory.

In the next installment, we’ll first review the different battle styles of Christian Europeans and Mongols; then the battle begins.

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Interactive Google MyMap. Important locations of Winter 1241 CE. Click on any marker or line for description. If map doesn’t display properly in your email, go to the blog.

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Entire Mongol Empire & Rus’ Series: Click Here
First Installment: Why didn’t the Mongols Conquer Europe in the 13th Century?
Previous Installment: The Armies Separate || Mongol Empire LXXVII
Next Installment: The Battle of Legnica || Mongol Empire LXXIX
This Installment: Kraków to Legnica || Mongol Empire LXXVIII

Sources
Primary Source for Battle of Legnica: Mongol Invasions, Battle of Liegnitz

Britannica – Oder River Hydrology
MDPI – Oder River Ice Jams 
PodBay –  Legnica and Mohi 
PolishHistory – War of the Worlds at Legnica
ThoughtCo – Legnica, Battle of  
Wikipedia – Europe, Mongol Invasion of 
Wikipedia – Henry II the Pious
Wikipedia – Kraków, Sack of
Wikipedia – Legnica, Battle of 
Wikipedia – Legnica Battlefield (Legnickie Pole)
Wikipedia – Legnica History
Wikipedia – Mongol Invasions and Conquests 
Wikipedia – Opole, Battle of
Wikipedia – Opole History 
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion Background
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion of 
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion Route 
Wikipedia – Racibórz 
Wikipedia – Racibórz, Battle of 
Wikipedia – Vladislaus I of Opole
Wikipedia – Wrocław History

The Armies Separate || The Mongol Empire LXXVII

[By Chuck Almdale]

[NOTE: If maps, pictures and legends don’t display properly in your email, go to the blog. The interactive Google map within this posting works on the blogsite, if not in your email. There is a link at the bottom to the entire Mongol Empire & Rus’ series.]

Orda Lays Waste to Northern Poland

Statue installation of Jan Długosz—priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and Poland’s first historian—in Pabianice near Wolbórz; unveiled 5 June 2017. Source: Wikipedia – Łódź Voivodeship

Finished with the sacking of Zawichost, Orda continued following General Subutai’s plan and began to devastate as much of central Poland as possible in the time remaining. The next city we know of to be taken lay 100 miles NW of Zawichost, Wolbórz, where recent archaeological investigations have found 6,000-year-old human settlements. By the 1120s it had become an important center of trade and administration and was a Bishop’s seat for the local region of Kuyavia.

Kuyavia is famous for its rapeseed oil, an essential component of local cuisine. Source: Wikipedia – Kuyavia

From Wolbórz, Orda led his cavalry at least as far north as Łęczyca, another 50 miles to the northwest. This town was named either after the West Slavic Leczanie tribe, or after the Old Polish word łęg, which means a swampy plain. [Perhaps both apply.] The first recorded meeting of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, was held here in 1180 CE. When Poland further fragmented in 1229-1231, the city which had been part of the Duchy of Seniorate became the capital of the Duchy of Łęczyca, which itself split into two parts thirty-five years later. Another source says the Mongols also entered the region of Kuyavia on the lower Vistula river, the capital of which would have been Włocławek, 40 mile further north from Łęczyca. Little is recorded of the Mongol’s incursion here other than it “…was enough to deprive the Mazovian Piasts [ruling dynasty] of the will to fight.”

The First Sejm in Łęczyca, 1182, by Jan Matejko in 1888. (1838-1893).
Source: Wikipedia – Łęczyca

South to Wrocław

WrocLovek, a Wrocław dwarf outside a tenement house.
Source: Wikipedia – Wrocław

Turning south, Orda and his men headed to Sieradz on the Warta river 40 miles southwest of Łęczyca . It had been part of the Greater Poland portion of the Duchy of Seniorate, but in 1231 it became the capital of the Duchy of Sieradz. After taking this city with the usual wasting and massacres, Orda continued west-southwest another 80 miles towards Wrocław [Breslau] on the Oder river in lower Silesia. Wrocław dates back over 1,000 years, and has at various times been part of the Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria, the Kingdom of Prussia, Germany, and Poland again after WWII. Orda found Wrocław relatively undefended but with stout walls. The Mongols laid siege to it, but the siege dragged on. When they learned that Duke Henry of Silesia had readied himself to do battle nearby, they broke off the siege and rode off to meet him. Sources differ on which Mongol general — Orda, Baidur or even Kadan — actually laid siege to Wrocław and which led the battle at Legnica, 40 miles west of Wrocław.

An alternate view is presented by this Wrocław source. At the time of the invasion Wrocław was the center of the divided Kingdom of Poland. When the Mongols laid siege to the city, the residents burned the city down, forcing the Mongols to lose interest and withdraw. As a side note, according to Norman Davies, the Germans historians long believed that the Mongols had obliterated the region’s Polish community. Later research revealed that many Polish settlements remained on the right bank of the Oder in lower Silesia, and Polish names continued among Wrocław’s ruling elite. Destruction was widespread, but far short of obliteration.

Left to right: Piasek Island, Ostrów Tumski & Wrocław Cathedral on the Oder River, 29 Sep 2014. Photo: Jar.ciurus. Source: Wikipedia – Wrocław

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Interactive Google MyMap. Important locations of Winter 1241 CE. Click on any marker or line for description. If map doesn’t display properly in your email, go to the blog.

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Baidar in Southern Poland

Meanwhile, Baidar, 10-year-old Kaidu and their tümen of cavalry harassed the southern part of Poland, and on 18 March, 1241 they defeated a combined Polish army at Chmielnik, pillaged the region and went onward to loot Kraków and put it to the torch. Details from various sources for these Polish battles are impossible to harmonize, so we’ll follow this source on the Battle of Chmielnik, which (I think you’ll agree) was probably written by someone not entirely familiar with Mongol tactics, then follow it with a few alternative details.

From the chronicles of Jan Długosz comes the oldest mention of the town Chmielnik, due to this battle. The Polish forces from Kraków were commanded by voivode Włodzimierz; those from Sandomierz were commanded by voivode Pakosław. Most of the knights from Seniorate and Sandomierz Provinces were there; the Mongols were led by Baidar. The Duke of Kraków Bolesław V the Chaste “…withdrew prior to the battle and did not participate.” Bolesław’s departure demoralized the army and many other knights and notables withdrew as well, significantly weakening the Polish force.

Synagogue in Chmielnik, August 2016, open 1630-1942. Chmielnik Jewish population: pre-WWII 1,600, post-WWII 4, today none.
Photographer: Wojciech Domagała, Wikipedia – Chmielnik

While the Polish forces had the advantage in the first phase of the battle, the Mongols, seeing that they would not defeat the Poles in straight combat, feigned a retreat. When the Polish forces began to pursue them, they were hit by the Mongols’ reinforcements and defeated comprehensively. Polish casualties were very heavy (Norman Davies wrote: “At Chmielnik, the assembled nobility of Malopolska perished to a man”); Włodzimierz and Pakosław were slain, as were Castellan of Kraków, Klement of Brzeźnica and Castellan of Sandomierz Jakub Raciborowicz.

— Wikipedia – Battle of Chmielnik

The Mongols, “…seeing that they would not defeat the Poles in straight combat…,” my foot. By now we can all recognize a Mongolian intentional feigned retreat tactic when we see it. Duke of Kraków Bolesław V the Chaste, early retiree from the battle, either bypassed — if coming from Chmielnik — his capital of Kraków, or abandoned it, and made his way with his entourage through the Carpathian Mountains to Moravia (now eastern Czechia). Now lacking leaders, voivodes and knights, the citizens of Kraków abandoned their city, and the Mongols treated themselves to several days of pillaging before burning the city down by 24 March.  

There are other versions of events surrounding the Battle of Chmielnik  and the sacking of Kraków:

1. At Kraków on 3 March 1241, the Mongols defeated Bolesław V leading an army of Poles and other Slavs.
2. Bolesław V decided by 11 March he would not attend the battle of Chmielnik.
3. The Mongols did not enter Kraków until 22 March, they stayed 10 days, burned it down on 31 March, and left the following day. A 20^th-century legend: A Polish sentry on a tower of St. Mary’s Church sounded the alarm by playing the Hejnał [traditional Polish bugle call], and the city gates were closed before the Mongols could ambush them. The trumpeter, however, was shot in the throat by a Tatar marksman and did not complete the anthem.
4. The Mongols set Kraków on fire on Palm Sunday, and took as prisoner large numbers of the people yet remaining.
5. At least one source states that on the day following the Battle of Chmielnik, 19 March 1241, an army of Mongols led by Kadan met and defeated an army of knights from Lesser Poland, most likely survivors of the earlier Battle of Chmielnik. This Battle of Tarczek occurred 25 miles north of Chmielnik, and after the battle, the Mongols burned Tarczek down to the ground. It’s quite possible that a lesser commander took a division, split off from Baidar and followed a group of Poles north and defeated them here, but I couldn’t find any significant corroboration.

13th-century church in Tarczek village, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland. By Robert Niedźwiedzki, 2009. Source: Wikipedia – Tarczek

Items 1-3 above make some sense. They give a good reason for Bolesław V deciding to skip the Chmielnik battle: he’d already been thrashed by the Mongols two weeks earlier and had enough. It also gives the Mongols several days to pillage the surrounding area before they get to Kraków proper, which this site claims occurred. One also could, I suppose, calculate what date Palm Sunday fell on in 1241, but which of the many calendars extant at that time should one use?

1241 Central Europe invasion, movement, and exit routes; Josef Szabo.
Source: Academia – Mongol Invasion of 1241

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Entire Mongol Empire & Rus’ Series: Click Here
First Installment: Why didn’t the Mongols Conquer Europe in the 13th Century?
Previous Installment: Into Poland || Mongol Empire LXXVI
Next Installment: Kraków to Legnica || Mongol Empire LXXVIII
This Installment: The Armies Separate || Mongol Empire LXXVII

Sources
DBPedia – Baidar
HistoryNet – Mongol Invasions, Battle of Liegnitz
PodBay –  Legnica and Mohi 
PolishHistory – War of the Worlds at Legnica
Wikipedia – Baidar
Wikipedia – Bolesław III Wrymouth, Testament of
Wikipedia – Bolesław V the Chaste
Wikipedia – Europe, Mongol Invasion of 
Wikipedia – Chmielnik, Battle of
Wikipedia – Chmielnik Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship
Wikipedia – Kadan
Wikipedia – Kaidu  
Wikipedia – Kraków
Wikipedia – Kraków, Sack of
Wikipedia – Legnica, Battle of 
Wikipedia – Mongol Invasions and Conquests 
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion Background
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion of 
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion Route 
Wikipedia – Poland, Piast Dynasty History, Boleslaw 
Wikipedia – Poland, Piast Dynasty History, Fragmentation 
Wikipedia – Sandomierz, Sack of  
Wikipedia – Tarczek, Battle of
Wikipedia – Wrocław, History of  

Into Poland || The Mongol Empire LXXVI

[By Chuck Almdale]

[NOTE: If maps, pictures and legends don’t display properly in your email, go to the blog. The interactive Google map within this posting works on the blogsite, if not in your email. There is now a link at the bottom to the entire Mongol Empire & Rus’ series.]

City of Przemyśl located in Poland 55 miles west of Lviv, Ukraine.
Google Map snapshot.

Early Days in Southeastern Poland

Orda [Batu’s older brother],  Baidar [6^th son of Chagatai] and Kaidu [Qaidu, grandson of Khagan Ögedei] set out from Przemyśl and headed north into Poland in very late January or early February of 1241 CE. It was the dead of winter and the many rivers and tributaries would be no barriers to two tümen of soldiers, extra horses and siege equipment. When reading the following events, keep in mind that the purpose of this invasion was not to conquer the Polish duchies — as much as some wish to believe so — or even to pillage and take slaves. It was to so distract and terrorize the Poles that they could not possibly consider sending troops south to aid the Hungarians when King Béla IV inevitably called upon them. Because of this, they destroyed and massacred to maximum extent, in a deliberate campaign of terror.

1241 Central Europe invasion, movement, and exit routes; Josef Szabo.
Source: Academia – Mongol Invasion of 1241

A major discrepancy appears in the lists of invading Mongol Commanders from this point forward: many historians and sites — as we did above — list as one of the generals Qaidu [Kaidu], son of Kashin and grandson of Khagan Ögedei, born in 1230 and still a 10-year-old child in the winter of early 1241. Other sites and sources [e.g. First Mongol invasion] list Kadan [Qadan, Khadan; son of Ögedei] Kaidu’s uncle, as a leader in Poland, and give him credit for taking the Polish towns of Lublin, Zawichost and Sandomierz, attacking Masovia and involvement in the Battle of Legnica. Yet Kadan is also listed as a leader in the southern flank attack into Transylvania, taking Radna, Beszterce, Kolozscar and other cities. He couldn’t be in two places at once. Czech historian Tomáš Somer, to whom I refer to extensively in later installments about Moravia, recognizes this confusion of names and agrees that Kaidu was far too young to lead anything. I blame this problem on the difficulty created by a profusion of spelling variants in various languages and different alphabets for these two similar names. I think it most likely that Kaidu was with the Polish right flank forces: he is recorded as a member of Genghis Khan’s family on the Great Western Invasion and he had to be somewhere when the attack on Hungary began. However, he was simply there: he didn’t lead or command any troops and anything credited to him or to Kadan in Poland belongs to someone else, most likely Orda or Baidur. In some sources battles credited to Kaidu or Kadan are credited directly to Orda or Baidar, so others have also taken this approach.

Sąsiadka [Sutiejsk] lies in the Roztocze hills that run from east-central Poland to western Ukraine. April, 2007 Source: Wikivoyage – Roztocze

The first city to be attacked and fall was Sutiejsk, 65 miles north of Przemyśl. Sutiejsk had long been a Slavic gord [fortified settlement; from a proto-Indo-European word cognate with guard, garden and the Slavic –grad “town”]. It had been an important administrative center of the “Cherven Towns,” a region that both Poles and Rus’ captured and re-captured in turn and ruled from time to time. Rus’ Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise, built this gord in 1034-1039 to guard the border between Rus’ and Poland. The Poles burned it down in 1069 and again in 1121, then in 1205 it was destroyed by the Rus’. It was again rebuilt, only to be burned to the ground yet again by the Mongols in February 1241.  

The Union of Lublin, signed 1 July 1569; by Jan Matejko (1836-1893), National Museum of Lublin. Source: Wikipedia – Lublin

Next to fall was Lublin, 38 miles north-northwest of Sutiejsk, located on the Bystrzyca river. The town had been able to fend off the Rus’ forces of Roman Mstislavich in 1205 but when the Mongols arrived, it was sacked and burned and the people massacred.

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Interactive Google MyMap. Important locations of Winter 1241 CE. Click on any marker or line for description. If map doesn’t display properly in your email, go to the blog.

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Zawichost in the Duchy of Sandomierz was the third city to fall to the Mongols. [Some sources simply say Sandomierz, creating some confusion with the nearby city of that name.] It held a strategically important location near the border between the Kingdom of Poland and Rus’ Galicia-Volhynia, on the west [left] bank of the Vistula river about five miles downstream of its confluence with the San river. The army rode 53 miles southwest of Lublin and crossed the formidable but frozen Vistula before attacking the city. The siege lasted four days. Using their catapults and local stones, the Mongols lobbed 200-pound boulders to breach the walls and possibly fire bombs to ignite the houses within. On 13 February, 1241 the city fell, was sacked, burned and again the citizens were massacred. This battle was most likely waged by Orda, as on the same day Baidar defeated a Polish army at the nearby city of Tursko. Most likely the armies traveled together from Lublin, then divided their forces, each taking a tümen of cavalry, with Orda remaining to attack Sandomierz.

Holy Trinity Church in Zawichost, Poland. Source: Wikipedia – Zawichost

We’ll assume that Baidar (with Kaidu in tow) left Orda at Zawichost to continue onward towards Kraków with their tümen of cavalry. They headed up the Vistula river, passing by the towns of Koprzywnica, Wiślica and Skalbmierz. Meanwhile the Poles of Kraków, capital city of Poland, had heard of the Mongol attacks lower on the Vistula and blocked the road. Włodzimierz, voivode of Kraków, then led a large force and encamped near Miechów, twenty miles north of their city to await the Mongols. When the Mongols learned of the Krakow force awaiting them, they turned around and retreated to Tursko Wielkie; and Voivode Włodzimierz ordered his knights to pursue. According to Jan Długosz, their first clash ended in a Polish victory and the release of a number of the Mongols’ prisoners. On 13 February, 1241, the same day that Zawichost fell to Orda, the Poles captured the empty Mongol camp near Tursko, dismounted and began gathering up anything that looked valuable or useful. Suddenly the Mongols appeared, fell upon the Polish knights and massacred them. If this scenario sounds familiar, you’re correct.

A dworek (wooden manor house) in Miechów built in the 1780s.
Source: Wikipedia – Miechów

Although the Poles still consider the first battle a great victory and the second a tragedy, they were the victims of a Mongolian double ruse. They had used the “retreat, abandon the equipment, attack” ploy three decades earlier in 1211. In that event general Jebe had drawn away the defenders of the northern Jin Dynasty city of Dongjing by feigning a lengthy retreat, then dumping a load of valuable equipment to entice and occupy the pursuers, then swiftly riding back and taking the now defenseless city [installment 15]. When the Jin pursuers returned to their city with armloads of Mongol equipment, they found the Mongols waiting within the city walls for them to arrive. They took back their equipment and obliterated the army. The Mongols used their feigned retreat tactic countless times, and they had more than one version of it.

When Baidar’s forces finished with the army of Kraków knights, they were 68 miles northeast of Kraków itself, the capital city of Poland.

The Piast Dynasty of Poland

House of Piast Coat of Arms. Source: Wikipedia – Piast Dynasty

The Piast Dynasty began its rule of Poland in 960 CE when Duke Mieszko I took the throne of the Duchy of Poland. Branches of the Piast dynasty continued to rule the region for over seven centuries, with the last male Silesian Piast dying in 1675. Before Bolesław III Wrymouth died in 1138 he divided his realm into five duchies and distributed them to four of his sons, resulting in these divisions:

• Duchies of Seniorate and Silesia
• Duchy of Masovia
• Duchy of Greater Poland
• Duchy of Sandomierz

At the time of the 1241 Mongol invasion these duchies were still ruled by different branches of the Piastow family. King Boleslav V of Kraków was legally the pre-eminent ruler, but his cousin, Duke Henry II of Silesia, was the most powerful of the four lords. The four dukes of these regions didn’t always get along and — much like the Rus’ — didn’t cooperate very well with one another. Such internecine dissension within a ruling family makes it easy for a supremely organized foe like the Mongols to divide-and-conquer almost before the local rulers learn they’re being attacked.

Duchies created in the Fragmentation of Poland by the Testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth of Poland, enacted 1138 CE.
Source: Wikipedia – Testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth

In the next installment we’ll follow both Orda and Baidar as they separately lead their forces, spreading mayhem and terror far and wide.

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Entire Mongol Empire & Rus’ Series: Click Here
First Installment: Why didn’t the Mongols Conquer Europe in the 13th Century?
Previous Installment: Central European Invasion Strategy || Mongol Empire LXXV
Next Installment: The Armies Separate || Mongol Empire LXXVII
This Installment: Into Poland || Mongol Empire LXXVI

Sources
HistoryNet – Mongol Invasions, Battle of Liegnitz
PodBay –  Legnica and Mohi 
Wikipedia – Batu Khan
Wikipedia – Bolesław III Wrymouth, Testament of
Wikipedia – Europe, Mongol Invasion of 
Wikipedia – Kraków, Sack of
Wikipedia – Legnica, Battle of 
Wikipedia – Lublin
Wikipedia – Mongol Invasions and Conquests 
Wikipedia – Piast Dynasty
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion Background
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion of 
Wikipedia – Poland, First Mongol Invasion Route 
Wikipedia – Sandomierz, Sack of
Wikipedia – Sąsiadka (Sutiejsk) 
Wikipedia – Tursko, Battle of