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Battle of Legnica

Type Event Region Poland Time 1241

On April 9, 1241, the Mongol conquests army defeated a Polish-German coalition at Legnica (near modern Legnica, Poland);…

Timeline

  1. 1241Silesia · SilesiaBaidar, Kadan, and other generals under Batu Khan, after sweeping central Poland, marched south; Duke Henry II of Silesia assembled a coalition of Polish, Moravian, and German knights and formed up near Legnica to meet them.
  2. 1241Legnica battlefield · Lower SilesiaThe Mongols broke the heavy cavalry charge with feigned retreats, arrow storms, and flanking maneuvers; Henry II was killed in battle, along with the Moravian king of Bohemia, the Bishop of Kraków, and many other nobles, and the coalition's main force was annihilated.
  3. 1241Moravia-Hungary border · Central EuropeAfter the victory at Legnica the Mongols did not occupy Silesia for long, turning south to join Subutai's main force and prepare an attack on the Kingdom of Poland's neighbor Hungary; the defensive system of western Poland collapsed.

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