Get Medieval Warfare Vol. 6 - The Mongol Invasion of Europe

Medieval Warfare Vol. 6 - The Mongol Invasion of Europe

Topic: Paul Sjöberg, Historical Introduction - The Scourge of God

In the 13th century, perhaps the most rigidly religious period in the history of the old world, the most momentous event
Unimaginable events occurred in the lands of Islam and Christianity. From the east came a wave of destruction and savagery: Genghis Khan and his Mongol warriors had subdued Chinese civilization and would soon bring death to thousands of devout Muslims and Christians. Soldiers and civilians alike would die in the wake of the Mongol armies as they advanced into the heart of Christendom, undefeated and seemingly unstoppable.

The source: Filippo Donvito, The Travels of Giovanni da Pian del Carpine - Mission to the Great Khan

In December 1241, after the devastating conquest of Russia and the devastating invasions of Hungary and Poland, the Mongols mysteriously (and miraculously) disappeared from Europe. To uncover the truth behind these terrible and unexpected events, Pope Innocent IV organized the first mission to the heart of the Mongol Empire.

Topic: Kurt Hamilton, Genghis Khan, and their sons - all in the family
As the nations of Europe waged a back-and-forth war against one another, Genghis and his descendants razed city after city, bringing the greatest empires of the time to their knees. It would be under the command of two charismatic Mongols, Batu and Subotai, that Europe would recognize the scale of the destruction galloping toward them. These two commanders were highly successful in their initial advance toward Europe, but they retreated to Mongolia after only five years of campaigning.

Subject: Borja Pelegro, weapons and armor of the Mongolian warrior - Storm of the Steppes

Everyone must possess at least the following weapons: two or three bows, or at least one good one, three large quivers filled with arrows, an axe, and ropes for hauling war machines. The wealthy have swords pointed at the tip, but sharpened only on one side and somewhat curved, and they have an armored horse; their legs are also covered, and they have helmets and breastplates. The monk Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, who visited their capital in 1246, wrote this description of the weapons and armor of a Mongol warrior. With the Golden Horde advancing ever further west, European rulers considered any information about the Mongols and their way of life invaluable.

Subject: William E. Welsh, The Mongol Devastation of Poland - The Battle of Legnica

In February 1241, Batu Khan's brother Orda led 10,000 Mongol warriors into Poland, a weak kingdom divided between four squabbling dukes. Their mission was to prevent Polish and German forces from marching to the aid of the Hungarian king Bela IV, whose kingdom was the prime target of a Mongol invasion of Eastern Europe. After leaving a wide swathe of destruction across southern Poland, Orda's forces met those of Duke Henry II Pobozny the Pious of Silesia in a battle near Legnica. Although the Poles initially drove the Mongols back, the fearsome horse archers employed cunning tactics to crush Henry's Polish army.

Subject: Konstantin Nossov, the Western Campaign of the Mongols - the Ravages of Rus

A new threat appeared in Central Asia at the end of the 12th century: the Mongols. Having united all the Mongol tribes, Temujin renamed himself Genghis Khan (the Khan of the World) in 1206. At first, the neighboring countries paid little attention to the event. However, Genghis Khan's army soon attacked them, causing death and devastation.

Special: Jukka Salonen, Reputation in Medieval Scandinavia - Law and Honor

The medieval Scandinavian period was violent, but it was governed by strict, almost legal, laws and codes of conduct. You couldn't just knock a man down and think it would go unnoticed, but it all depended on who you and the victim were. How other people saw you meant everything. A man would stand or fall based on his honor and reputation. An examination of how the written and unwritten laws and conventions of the Viking Age worked shows that early medieval Scandinavia was not the rebellious, barbaric backwater it is often made out to be.

Special: Peter van Dop, Frankish Armies in the 6th Century - The King's Tool

In 582 AD, the Frankish kingdom was torn apart by civil war when an alliance between Guntram, King of Burgundy, and Childebert, King of Austrasia, ended. The Merovingian territories were divided into three kingdoms: Neustria, roughly present-day Normandy, led by King Chilperic; Burgundy, ruled by his brother Guntram; and Austrasia, now the northern part of Western Europe, where his nephew, Childebert, was king. Chilperic, King of Neustria, seized the moment to start a war against Guntram, since Guntram was now alone. This information comes to us through the eyes of the medieval bishop Gregory of Tours, as he wrote it in his History of the Franks.

Special: Murray Dahm, The Use of Vegetius in the Middle Ages - Learning from the Romans

The late Roman military treatise known as De re militari by Flavius ​​Vegetius Renatus was immensely popular in the medieval period. Although it was not the only Roman treatise known to medieval writers and commanders, it is worth remembering how far ideas date back to this late Roman treatise.

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