The Battle of the Kalka River is a battle between the united Russian-Polovtsian army and the Mongol corps. Initially, the Polovtsians and the main Russian forces were defeated, and after 3 days on May 31, 1223, the battle ended in a complete victory for the Mongols.
Background
In the first quarter of the 13th century, another wave of eastern nomads swept over Central, Central and Southwest Asia from the depths of the Eurasian continent. It was a new eruption of the Turkic world, which came from its very womb and broke not only related Turkic state formations, but overwhelmed the world of the Eastern Slavs and mixed it in fire, blood and tears like a tornado.
The name of the new Asiatic conquerors of the Taumena (Laurentian Chronicle) known to the ancient Russian chronicler - Tatars, Turkmens, Turks or Turks - indicates the ethnic nature of the people. The blow that hit Eastern Europe in the first half of the 13th century was terrible, but Russia was able to resist and as a result defeated the Tatars.
It should be said about the state of the Russian army at the time of the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars. Russian princely squads were at that time an excellent army. Their weapons were famous far beyond the borders of Russia, but these squads were small in number, they included only a few hundred people. This was too little for the defense of the country from a well-prepared aggressive enemy.
The princely squads were of little use for large forces under a single command, according to a single plan. The main part of the Russian army was made up of urban and rural militias, which were recruited at the time of danger. It can be said about their weapons and military training that they left much to be desired.
In many ways, the Russians were indebted to the preceding centuries of the creative labor of the grandfathers of the Slavs, who laid a solid material and spiritual foundation for life not only in the forest-steppes of Eastern Europe, but also in its north, in a forest belt inaccessible for Tatar horsemen. In the XIV-XV centuries. the power of the Tatar-Mongol world of Eurasia began to wane, and the Russians began to move eastward, with the ultimate goal of the Pacific coast.
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The news that the Tatars were approaching to Russia was brought by the Polovtsy (Cumans). The Tatars drove the Polovtsi to places in the left-bank Dnieper region "where the shaft is called Polovechskii" (serpent shaft). These were the southeastern borders of Russia.
By 1223, Genghis Khan owned almost half of the Eurasian continent. The message of the Polovtsians about the Tatars forced the Russian princes to gather for a council in Kiev.
They met in Kiev in the spring of 1223. The Grand Duke of Kiev Mstislav Romanovich, Mstislav Mstislavovich, who was sitting in Galich, Mstislav Svyatoslavovich, who owned Chernigov and Kozelsk. Young princes sat around the oldest Monomashevichs and Olgovichs: Daniil Romanovich, Mikhail Vsevolodovich (son of Chermny), Vsevolod Mstislavovich (son of the Kiev prince). The West of Russia was left to guard the young Vasily Romanovich who was sitting in Vladimir-Volynsky.
The oldest of the princes of the northeastern lands, Yuri Vsevolodovich, was absent at the congress in Kiev, but he was notified of what was happening and sent his nephew Vasilko Konstantinovich, who was in Rostov, to South Russia.
Vasilko Konstantinovich was late for the battle on the Kalka River and, having learned about what had happened, turned to Rostov from Chernigov, baptized into numerous churches at that time.
The Tatars overtook such fear on the Polovtsians that in the spring of 1223 the great Polovtsian Khan "Basta" was baptized in Russia.
In Kiev, it was decided to march into the steppe. In April 1223, regiments began to converge from all parts of Russia under the Zarub Mountain, to the Varyazhskomou Island, to the ford across the Dnieper. The residents of Kiev, Chernihiv, Smolyan, Kurian, Trubchevsk and Putivl residents (residents of Kursk, Trubchevsk and Putivl), Galicians and Volynians approached. The inhabitants of many other cities of Russia with their princes also approached Zarub. The Polovtsy also arrived at Zarub, tormenting Russia for two centuries and now striving to find protection from it.
10 ambassadors from the Tatars came to Zarub. The important thing is that the Mongols did not want to go to war with Russia. The Mongol ambassadors who arrived at the Russian princes brought a proposal to break the Russian-Polovtsian alliance and conclude peace. True to their allied commitments, the Russian princes rejected the Mongol peace proposals. And unfortunately, the princes made a fatal mistake. All Mongolian ambassadors were killed, and because, according to Yasa, deceiving the confidant was an unforgivable crime, then war and revenge after that could not be avoided …
Forces of the parties
So the Russian princes actually forced the Mongols to take battle. A battle took place on the Kalka River: there is no exact data on the size of the combined Russian-Polovtsian army. Some historians estimate that it was 80-100,000 people. According to another estimate, 40-45,000 people. According to VN Tatishchev, the number of Russian troops was 103,000 people and 50,000 Polovtsian horsemen. According to A. G. Khrustalev's estimates, the number of the Russian army was about 10,000 warriors and another 5-8,000 Polovtsians. And a 20 thousand army of the Mongols.
The course of the battle
May 31, morning - Allied detachments began to cross the river. The first to cross it were detachments of the Polovtsian cavalry together with the Volyn squad. Then the Galicians and the Chernigovites began to cross. The Kiev army remained on the western bank of the river and began to build a fortified camp.
Seeing the forward detachments of the Mongolian army, the Polovtsy and the Volyn detachment entered the battle. At first, the battle developed well for the Russians. Daniil Romanovich, who was the first to enter the battle, fought with unparalleled courage, not paying attention to the wound received.
The Mongol vanguard began to retreat, the Russians rushed in pursuit, lost their ranks and faced the main forces of the Mongols. When Subedei saw that the forces of the Russian princes moving behind the Polovtsians had lagged significantly behind, he ordered the main part of his army to go on the offensive. Unable to withstand the onslaught of a more staunch enemy, the Polovtsians fled.
The Russian army lost this battle due to its complete inability to organize itself in the least possible way. Mstislav Udaloy and the "younger" Prince Daniel fled for the Dnieper, they were the first to be at the shore and managed to jump into the boats.
After that, the princes chopped the rest of the boats, fearing that the Mongols would be able to use them. By this, they doomed their comrades-in-arms to perdition, whose horses were worse than the prince's. Of course, the Mongols killed everyone they could overtake.
Mstislav Chernigovsky with his army began to retreat across the steppe, leaving no rearguard barrier. The Mongol horsemen chased the Chernigovites, easily overtook them and cut them.
Mstislav Kievsky placed his soldiers on a large hill, forgetting that it was necessary to ensure the withdrawal to the water. It was not difficult for the Mongols to block the detachment.
Surrounded by Mstislav, he surrendered, he succumbed to the persuasions of Ploskini, the leader of the Brodniks, who were allies of the Mongols. Ploskinya was able to convince the prince that the Russians would be spared and their blood would not be shed. The Mongols, according to their custom, kept their word. They laid the bound prisoners on the ground, covered them with planks and sat down to feast on their bodies. But not a drop of Russian blood was actually spilled. And the latter, according to Mongolian views, was considered extremely important.
Here is an example of how differently peoples perceive the rule of law and the concept of honesty. The Russians believed that the Mongols violated the oath by killing Mstislav and other captives. But, from the point of view of the Mongols, they kept their oath, and the execution was the highest necessity and the highest justice, because the princes committed the terrible sin of murdering the one who trusted.
After the battle on the Kalka River, the Mongols turned their horses eastward, seeking to return to their homeland in victory. However, on the banks of the Volga, the army was ambushed by the Volga Bulgars. The Muslims, who hated the Mongols as pagans, suddenly attacked them during the crossing. Here the victors at Kalka suffered a serious defeat and their losses were numerous. Those who were able to cross the Volga left the steppes to the east and united with the main forces of Genghis Khan. Thus ended the first meeting of the Mongols and the Russians.
Aftermath of the battle
The battle on the Kalka River became a turning point in the history of Russia. She not only significantly weakened the strength of the Russian principalities, but also sowed panic and uncertainty in Russia. It is not for nothing that chroniclers more and more often note the mysterious phenomena of nature, considering them signs of future misfortunes. In the memory of the Russian people, the battle on Kalka remained as a tragic event, after which "the Russian land sits unhappy." The folk epic connected with her the death of the Russian heroes who gave their lives for the Motherland.