First Mongol invasion of Hungary

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First Mongol invasion of Hungary
	Part of the Mongol invasion of Europe
	; Mongol invasion depicted in Johannes de Thurocz's Chronica Hungarorum
Date	March 1241 – April 1242
Location	Kingdom of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (modern-day Hungary, Croatia, Slovakia, and parts of Serbia and Romania)
Result	Mongol victory Defeat of Hungarian forces; Mongol failure to subjugate the kingdom and capture Béla IV.; Subsequent demands for submission by the Mongols in 1254, 1259, and 1264 are ignored leading to further raids, and eventually a second invasion.;
Belligerents
Kingdom of Hungary Voivodeship of Transylvania; Kingdom of Croatia; Knights Templar Cumans Minor belligerent: ; Duchy of Austria; (until April 1241)	Golden Horde; (Mongol Empire)
Commanders and leaders
Béla IV of Hungary ; Coloman of Slavonia (DOW); Ugrin Csák †; Denis Tomaj †; Pousa of Transylvania †; Benedict Osl; Nicholas Szák †; Paul Geregye; Simon Nagymartoni; Rembald de Voczon Frederick II of Austria Köten	Batu Khan; Subutai; Shiban; Berke; Boroldai
Units involved
Primarily light cavalry; Knights Templar; Crossbowmen; Infantry	Cavalry, predominantly horse archers and lancers; Stone throwers; Possibly Chinese firearm units and other gunpowder units
Strength
~30,000 soldiers (contemporary sources); Other estimations; (Mohi only):; 80,000; 25,000; 50,000	~40,000 cavalry (contemporary sources); Other estimations; (Mohi only):; 70,000; 25,000; 50,000
Casualties and losses
10,000+ soldiers killed;	Unknown, but heavy

The first Mongol invasion of Hungary (Hungarian: tatárjárás) started in March 1241, and the Mongols started to withdraw in late March 1242.

^ William of Rubruck. "The journey of William of Rubruck to the eastern parts of the world, 1253-55." Translated by William Woodville Rockhill. Page 281. "It would be very easy to conquer or to pass through all these countries. The King of Hungary has not at most XXX thousand soldiers."
^ Sverdrup, p.115: "A near-contemporary source says the Hungarians lost 10,000 men in the Mohi battle. This is no precise number, but as most of the army was lost it may be close to what the author believed the size of the whole army was. When Mongol officer Siban spied the Hungarian camp some weeks before the battle he counted 40 units [Rashid al-Din, 2:474]. In those days the Hungarian units, the so-called banderias, were usually between 50 and 400 men strong [See Julius Bartl, "Slovak History: Chronology and Lexicon" (Bratislava 2002), p. 191]. An average size of 250 would indeed give a total of 10,000 men." [a maximum average of 400 would have given 16,000 men].
^ Carey, Brian Todd, p. 124
^ ^a ^b Markó, László (2000), Great Honours of the Hungarian State, Budapest: Magyar Könyvklub, ISBN 963-547-085-1
^ ^a ^b Liptai, Ervin (1985), Military History of Hungary, Budapest: Zrínyi Katonai Kiadó, ISBN 963-326-337-9
^ ^a ^b Sverdrup, p. 115, citing Kosztolnyik.
^ Sverdrup, p. 114-115, citing Rashid al-Din's chronicles, 1:198, 2:152. Rashid Al-Din's figures give Batu and Subutai about 40,000 horsemen total when they invaded Central Europe in 1241 (including Turkic auxiliaries recruited since the conquest of Rus), divided into five columns; one made a diversionary attacks into Poland, but rejoined with the other four in Hungary after Legnica and participated in the invasion.
^ Carey states on p. 128 that Batu had 40,000 in the main body and ordered Subotai to take 30,000 troops in an encircling maneuver. Batu commanded the central prong of the Mongols' three-pronged assault on eastern Europe. This number seems correct when compared with the numbers reported at the Battles of Leignitz to the North and Hermannstadt (Sibiu) to the South. All three victories occurred in the same week.
^ Sverdrup, p. 115. Citing: Gustav Strakoschd-Grassmann. Der Einfall Der Mongolen In Mitteleuropa In Den Jahren 1241 und 1242 (Innsbruck, 1893), p.183.
^ The Mongols in the West, Denis Sinor, Journal of Asian History, Vol. 33, No. 1 (1999), page 15;"...on April 11, Batu's forces executed a night attack on the Hungarian camp, inflicting terrible losses on its trapped defenders..[..]..While the outcome of the encounter is beyond dispute-some call it a massacre rather than a battle-historians disagree on their assessments of Béla's apparent ineptitude. Of course the Hungarians could have done better; but it is beyond doubt that no "ad hoc", feudal type force could have matched the well disciplined, highly trained, professional soldiers of the Mongol army. A seldom considered measure of the efficacy of the Hungarian resistance is the size of the losses sustained by the attackers. These were very heavy.."
^ John France, Perilous Glory: The Rise of Western Military Power, (Yale University Press, 2011), 144.
^ A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East, Vol. I, ed. Spencer C. Tucker, (ABC-CLIO, 2010), 279;"Although Mongol losses in the battle are heavy...".
^ The Mongol Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia, Vol. II, ed. Timothy May, (ABC-CLIO, 2017), 103.
^ Obrusánszky, Borbála (September 2017). "A tatárok kivonulásának okai" [The reasons for the departure of the Tatars] (PDF). Székelyföld - kulturális folyóirat (in Hungarian). Vol. 21/9. Csíkszereda: Hargita Megye Tanácsa, Hargita Kiadóhivatal, Székelyföld Alapítvány. pp. 113–129. ISSN 1453-3871. Archived from the original on 2023-12-04. Retrieved 2023-05-24.

[1] William of Rubruck. "The journey of William of Rubruck to the eastern parts of the world, 1253-55." Translated by William Woodville Rockhill. Page 281. "It would be very easy to conquer or to pass through all these countries. The King of Hungary has not at most XXX thousand soldiers."

[2] Sverdrup, p.115: "A near-contemporary source says the Hungarians lost 10,000 men in the Mohi battle. This is no precise number, but as most of the army was lost it may be close to what the author believed the size of the whole army was. When Mongol officer Siban spied the Hungarian camp some weeks before the battle he counted 40 units [Rashid al-Din, 2:474]. In those days the Hungarian units, the so-called banderias, were usually between 50 and 400 men strong [See Julius Bartl, "Slovak History: Chronology and Lexicon" (Bratislava 2002), p. 191]. An average size of 250 would indeed give a total of 10,000 men." [a maximum average of 400 would have given 16,000 men].

[3] Carey, Brian Todd, p. 124

[Markó_2000-4] Markó, László (2000), Great Honours of the Hungarian State, Budapest: Magyar Könyvklub, ISBN 963-547-085-1

[Liptai_1985-5] Liptai, Ervin (1985), Military History of Hungary, Budapest: Zrínyi Katonai Kiadó, ISBN 963-326-337-9

[Sverdrup_p._115-6] Sverdrup, p. 115, citing Kosztolnyik.

[7] Sverdrup, p. 114-115, citing Rashid al-Din's chronicles, 1:198, 2:152. Rashid Al-Din's figures give Batu and Subutai about 40,000 horsemen total when they invaded Central Europe in 1241 (including Turkic auxiliaries recruited since the conquest of Rus), divided into five columns; one made a diversionary attacks into Poland, but rejoined with the other four in Hungary after Legnica and participated in the invasion.

[8] Carey states on p. 128 that Batu had 40,000 in the main body and ordered Subotai to take 30,000 troops in an encircling maneuver. Batu commanded the central prong of the Mongols' three-pronged assault on eastern Europe. This number seems correct when compared with the numbers reported at the Battles of Leignitz to the North and Hermannstadt (Sibiu) to the South. All three victories occurred in the same week.

[9] Sverdrup, p. 115. Citing: Gustav Strakoschd-Grassmann. Der Einfall Der Mongolen In Mitteleuropa In Den Jahren 1241 und 1242 (Innsbruck, 1893), p.183.

[10] The Mongols in the West, Denis Sinor, Journal of Asian History, Vol. 33, No. 1 (1999), page 15;"...on April 11, Batu's forces executed a night attack on the Hungarian camp, inflicting terrible losses on its trapped defenders..[..]..While the outcome of the encounter is beyond dispute-some call it a massacre rather than a battle-historians disagree on their assessments of Béla's apparent ineptitude. Of course the Hungarians could have done better; but it is beyond doubt that no "ad hoc", feudal type force could have matched the well disciplined, highly trained, professional soldiers of the Mongol army. A seldom considered measure of the efficacy of the Hungarian resistance is the size of the losses sustained by the attackers. These were very heavy.."

[11] John France, Perilous Glory: The Rise of Western Military Power, (Yale University Press, 2011), 144.

[Tucker279-12] A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East, Vol. I, ed. Spencer C. Tucker, (ABC-CLIO, 2010), 279;"Although Mongol losses in the battle are heavy...".

[13] The Mongol Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia, Vol. II, ed. Timothy May, (ABC-CLIO, 2017), 103.

[Obrusanszky-14] Obrusánszky, Borbála (September 2017). "A tatárok kivonulásának okai" [The reasons for the departure of the Tatars] (PDF). Székelyföld - kulturális folyóirat (in Hungarian). Vol. 21/9. Csíkszereda: Hargita Megye Tanácsa, Hargita Kiadóhivatal, Székelyföld Alapítvány. pp. 113–129. ISSN 1453-3871. Archived from the original on 2023-12-04. Retrieved 2023-05-24.

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