Tolui's Campaign in North China

Timeline

1. 1227Grasslands south of the Gobi · Mongolia south of the GobiWhile campaigning west against Western Xia, Genghis Khan ordered his youngest son Tolui to lead the main force south against the Jin. Tolui assembled princes, tumens, and hereditary Han commanders, departing from south of the desert, targeting Jin's Guanzhong and Central Plains heartlands to weaken the Jin's foundations and create conditions for its eventual destruction.
2. 1227Shaanxi, Henan · Central PlainsTolui's army crossed the Taihang Mountains into Jin territory, taking Fengxiang, Jingzhao (present-day Xi'an), and other Guanzhong strongholds, then advanced east into Henan, capturing Junzhou (present-day Yuzhou) and elsewhere. Mongol cavalry moved swiftly, tearing apart Jin defenses one by one; many cities fell and the populace was displaced.
3. 1227Shanxi–Hebei border · North ChinaTolui's army continued north into Shanxi, fighting Jin main forces fiercely in several places. The 1227 southern campaign devastated Jin's border defenses, annihilating large numbers of garrison troops and badly weakening Jin's elite forces. Tolui withdrew north at year's end, clearing the way for Ögedei's decisive Sanfengshan campaign of 1232 that destroyed the Jin.