Why did the Mongols FAIL to take Vietnam (PART 2)

Why did the Mongols FAIL to take Vietnam (PART 2) === Why did the Mongols FAIL to take Vietnam (PART 2). Back to 1258 in Dai Viet, where things are looking… pretty grim. If you watched part one, you know that the Vietnamese people had just seen—in less than three weeks—yes, three weeks—the Mongols storm past the border, invade the country, cause chaos, and put the capital under siege. Classic Mongol move, right? But remember, just when you think it’s all over, that’s when the real story begins. According to medieval rule, when you lose the capital, you lose everything. The capital is where all the people are, where all the supplies are stored—basically, it’s the heart and soul of the kingdom. Kill the king, and you’ve got yourself a free-for-all. Why did the Mongols FAIL to take Vietnam (PART 2). But the Viet people weren't exactly playing by the rulebook. The Mongols thought they’d have a nice little victory party once they seized the capital. Well, surprise! Everyone in the capital vanished. Poof. Gone. The Mongols were stuck in a ghost town with nothing to take, no one to defeat, and definitely no victory parade happening anytime soon. The Mongol army was basically the ultimate lightweight, high-speed, no-frills invasion force. No massive supply trains, no slow-moving baggage carts—just warriors, horses, and the absolute bare minimum of rations. Their whole philosophy was simple: Pack light, move fast, swoop into enemy territory, crush any resistance, raid local villages for supplies, and keep rolling forward like an unstoppable war machine fueled by plundered grain and sheer momentum. War feeding war. To be fair, it was a brutal but effective system—until, of course, they tried it in Dai Viet. Villages were evacuated, food stores were torched or hidden, and suddenly, the Mongols found themselves in a very unfamiliar situation: an invasion without a buffet. Why did the Mongols FAIL to take Vietnam (PART 2). So, what do you do when your mighty Mongol army is two skipped breakfasts away from utter chaos and mutiny? Well, you get creative. You break the army into small groups and send them raiding local villages. Furious, he did what every Mongol commander seemed to do—he let his troops go absolutely feral. They smashed, burned, and cut down anyone unfortunate enough to still be in the city. If this was supposed to be a terrifying message to the people of Dai Viet—well, mission failed. Because instead of breaking their will, the Mongols had just flipped a nationwide rage switch. Every fortress became a fortress of absolute spite, every village turned into a barricaded nightmare for invaders. They’ve buried their supplies, built trenches, and fortified their homes. And what’s more, the villagers have received very specific instructions from the court: "If the Mongols come, you fight. If you can’t win, run into the mountains or forests, but under no circumstances are you to surrender." They actually followed these orders. With military precision. The villages were locked and loaded, ready for whatever the Mongols had to throw at them. Anyway, raiding villages for food in hostile territory is kind of like trying to fill a swimming pool with a leaky bucket—it’s a lot of effort for very little payoff. Plus, every day spent scrounging for scraps gave the Dai Viet forces more time to regroup and plot their next move. Packing up their camp, and whatever sad scraps they’d managed to steal, the Mongols hightailed it out of Thăng Long and set up shop at Đông Bộ Đầu. === #greathistoryen #greathistoryenchannel #battlehistory #battleof #mongols #vietnam