How Hungary Finally CRUSHED the Mongols - DOCUMENTARY

In the 13th century, the Mongols achieved a string of virtually unbroken victories, gaining the largest contiguous land empire in history. In the 1240s, they devastated Hungary, destroying the army of King Bela IV at the famous Battle of Mohi. This experience profoundly impacted the Hungarians and caused them to fundamentally alter many aspects of their they feared that the Mongols would one day return. As it turned out, they did. In 1285, a vast Mongol army again drove into the lands of the Hungarians. How would Hungary fare this time? In fact, the result of the second Mongol invasion of Hungary presents one of the most striking and surprising episodes in the history of the Mongols. We'll find out how the Hungarians dealt with this second terrifying invasion today on Real Crusades History. In 1241 at the Battle of Mohi, an enormous Mongol invasion force defeated the Hungarians and their allies. For a year, the Mongols pillaged and ravaged the countryside. When the invaders finally withdrew, a quarter of Hungary's population had been slaughtered and virtually all of the towns and villages had been destroyed. After this disaster, the King of Hungary, Bela IV, was left to pick up the pieces. He recognized that his kingdom had been poorly prepared for the Mongol invasion. For one, Hungary had few fortified positions. Indeed, many of its cities had no walls at all. Only the kingdom's few stone castles had managed to resist the Mongols. Also, the kingdom's army had been made up primarily of lightly armored horsemen. In 1241, only a small contingent of Knights Templar and Teutonic Knights, garbed in heavy armor, had managed to inflict serious damage on the Mongols. What if a vast army of heavily armored knights had been present to face the Mongols? Taking note, King Bela began to implement major reforms. First and foremost, Bela reorganized his kingdom's horsemen into a new class of heavily armored mounted knights in the western style. In 1247, he struck a deal with the crusading order known as the Knights Hospitaller, granting them his southeastern frontier in exchange for their help in bringing in more heavily armored knights and raising new stone castles. In 1248, the king extended the privilege of knighthood, allowing the kingdom's middle strata to serve in a baron's cavalry, provided they were equipped with armor and a horse. He encouraged new settlers to move to Hungary, granting them rights of knighthood and nobility if they could outfit themselves for combat. Another lesson from the Battle of Mohi, crossbowmen, who'd been scarce during the first Mongol invasion, had nevertheless performed well against the Mongols in 1241. King Bela struck a deal with the Venetians, famed for their crossbowmen. By this deal, at least 1,000 Venetian crossbowmen entered into the Hungarian king's service. Finally, King Bela offered grants and incentives to every Hungarian city that outfitted itself with stone fortifications. These reforms paid off, resulting in the construction of some 100 new fortresses. All of Hungary's important cities were now surrounded by stone walls. The Kingdom of Hungary was transformed by the end of King Bela IV's reign. King Bela wouldn't live to see the fruit of his efforts. He died in 1270. In 1285, his reforms would be tested. That winter, Nogai Khan, de facto leader of the Golden Horde, pointed his army westward and invaded Central Europe. The Golden Horde, representing the northwestern sector of the Mongol domain, had operated as an essentially independent khanate since the fragmentation of Mongol Empire in 1259. Given its location, Central Europe was the Golden Horde's logical grounds for expansion. Nogai Khan was eager to subdue Hungary once and for all. Nogai believed that the Hungarians were weak. He'd heard rumors of internal strife in Hungary, which seemed confirmed when a large number of Cumans were driven from the kingdom and sought service with the Mongols. As in 1241, the Mongols struck at Hungary on two fronts. Nogai led a force through Brasov into Transylvania, while his kinsman Talabuka marched via the Verek Pass in modern Ukraine into Transcarpathia. At the time, the Mongol Empire was at peace, mostly free of internal power struggles. Therefore, Nogai was able to field a very large invasion force, which historians estimate numbered somewhere between 30,000 and 50,000 men. As usual, the Mongols focused on speed and surprise. It was winter, and Nogai expected to catch the Hungarians off guard. He expected to easily annihilate whatever resistance he encountered. Initially, there were signs that the invasion might not go so well as planned. Talabuka, who led the largest contingent into the north of Hungary, had difficulties provisioning his men. This was owed to the improved fortifications in Hungary. Many local villagers had fled to the regional castles, where they hoarded their livestock and food supplies. The Mongols found themselves marching through territory devoid of plunder. As they passed stone castle after stone castle, the Mongols began to suffer hunger, and Talabuka lost thousands of men to starvation. Early in the campaign, the Mongols attacked the town of Pest, but the town had already been abandoned, its inhabitants having taken refuge in the local castles. Once again, the Mongols found nothing to plunder. From their well-fortified base at Buda, a contingent of Hungarian knights launched a successful harassment attack on the Mongol column, and sources reveal that the Hungarian queen, Elizabeth of Sicily, was able to observe the action from the walls of the city. Talabuka grew frustrated. His men were able to raid territory as far as the Danube. In some places, they inflicted heavy casualties on the civilian populations. But in many areas, villagers were scarce, having taken refuge behind the walls of a nearby fortress. The Mongols were unable to any of the regional castles, and they kept encountering well-armored contingents of Hungarian knights. With well-defended fortresses nearby, the Hungarians could attack, inflict casualties on the Mongols, and then withdraw to safety before Talabuka could launch an effective counterattack. One such battle took place near the castle of Turusco. Here, the Mongols suffered a serious defeat and heavy casualties. The Hungarian knights were able to inflict devastating charges on the Mongols. The victorious Hungarians captured around 1,000 prisoners during this engagement. The decisive encounter came in the hills of western Transylvania. Here, Talabuka's weakened army suddenly met the royal Hungarian army, led by King Ladislaus IV. Unlike the army encountered by the Mongols in 1241, this Hungarian force contained many heavily armored knights. Their numbers reduced and their morale low, the Mongols were soundly defeated by the determined, well-timed charge of the Hungarians. Recognizing that his situation was hopeless, Talabuka now ordered a retreat from Hungary. But on the return trip, his army was ambushed by the Sikhe people, who struck as swift, light cavalry. This final disaster all but destroyed Talabuka's army, and by the time the general returned to Mongolian territory, his forces had ceased to exist. One chronicler even commented that Talabuka returned with nothing but his wife and a single horse, an exaggeration surely, but one that highlighted the level of destruction of his army. Nogai Khan fared only slightly better. He remained in Transylvania until the spring of 1286 and managed to plunder the towns of Regim, Brasov and Bystrita. But, like Talabuka, Nogai was unable to capture any major castles or cities. After defeating Talabuka's army, King Ladislaus advanced with his force to attack Nogai's host. However, by the time the king had caught up with Nogai, the local Hungarian and Romanian troops, led by Roland Borsa, had mostly destroyed the Mongol army. Ladislaus had only to harass the remnants of Nogai's army as it limped away in retreat. The second Mongol invasion of Hungary of 1285 stands in stark contrast to the first one in 1241. Despite serious civilian casualties in some regions, the Hungarians soundly defeated the Mongols and the Mongol leaders were fortunate to escape with their lives. The reforms carried out across the Kingdom of Hungary enabled this decisive victory over the invasion. Strong castles impeded the progress of the two Mongol armies and denied them plunder. Indeed, starvation, just as much as the military might of the Hungarians, crippled Nogai Khan's campaign. The adoption of western style armor and the use of heavy cavalry also gave the Hungarians an important edge. Never again would the Mongols launch a major invasion of Hungary, or indeed, Central Europe in general. The results of the second Mongol invasion of Hungary are an important reminder that lessons learned from a major defeat can create the opportunity for reform, recovery, and future victory. Indeed, in the future, a Hungarian army would invade Mongol territory and ultimately seize Moldavia from the Golden Horde. Thanks for watching. Now, watch our documentary on the Viking settlers of Ukraine, who would eventually become the Kievan Rus'. Click on the video linked on your screen to watch now. Also, don't forget to subscribe to this channel and to our live-streaming channel, linked in the description below.