Battle of Liegnitz, 5 April 1241 (Poland)

Battle in Silesia between the aristocracy of western Poland and the invading Mongols, famous as being the most westerly battle fought by the Mongols. Having failed to aid the royal army at Chmielnik, the Polish nobility raised an army said to be twenty thousand strong, although they were outnumbered perhaps as much as five to one by what was only a smaller part of the Mongol army whose main objective was Hungary. The Polish army fought bravely but was eventually overwhelmed with huge casualties, leaving the Mongols free to ravage Silesia. They were unable to take the main strong points in the area, but devastated the population to the point where large scale immigration became necessary. The battle of Liegnitz and the rapid defeat of catholic Poland brought the Mongols to the attention of western Europe, where they had previously been ignored.
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How to cite this article: Rickard, J. (9 October 2000), Battle of Liegnitz, 5 April 1241 (Poland), http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_liegnitz.html

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