In 1237, the Mongol hordes of Batu attacked Russia. One after another, large and well-fortified cities fell, and small Kozelsk was able to hold out for almost two months. Before that, the Mongols had never met such stubborn resistance.
Chinese diploma
Mongolian troops concentrated on the borders of the Ryazan principality in the fall of 1237. At the head of the campaign were Batu, Subedei, Buri and Kadan. They had about 60 thousand soldiers.
The Mongols, whenever possible, avoided major battles, crushing the enemy in parts. Winter was perfect for their strategy. On the ice of the frozen rivers, it was possible to move in all directions. Russian squads at this time of the year were mainly in garrisons, where they were easily isolated.
Not a single Russian prince had time to gather his best forces into a fist. At the same time, both Ryazan and Vladimir were forced to look for a field battle, even if they were not ready for it.
The princes could not allow the enemy to penetrate deep into the territory, and this led to defeats on the Voronezh River, near Kolomna and on the City River.
But it was not possible to sit behind the fortifications either. After the conquest of North China, the Mongols were in possession of the most advanced technologies for the production of siege weapons. In his army, Batu kept Chinese engineers and craftsmen who knew how to assemble, maintain and use these machines. Wooden parts were produced on site, while leather and metal parts, difficult to manufacture, were taken with them.
Usually the Mongols surrounded the city, built a continuous line of defense around it from a ditch, rampart and palisade, and installed throwing weapons. Then they offered to surrender. In case of refusal, shelling began, and then an assault followed. At the same time, the Mongol archers did not allow the defenders of the fortress walls to stick out.
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The local population driven from the area was used for construction. It could also be used as a human shield. The Mongols themselves did not like hand-to-hand combat, so warriors recruited from the conquered tribes climbed onto the walls. And archers at the same time performed the role of a barrage detachment.
Novgorod miracle
Ryazan was taken in five days, Vladimir in six. Well fortified Galich fell in three days. Rostov, Suzdal, Moscow - no one could hold out for more than six days. In February 1238, the Mongols captured and destroyed 14 cities. In some places they bought off the invaders: they gave food and horses.
After the ruin of the Ryazan and Vladimir lands, the Tempest and Kadan detachments turned to the Novgorod region. On February 22, they besieged Torzhok, but Batu and Subedei demanded to go south. Buri and Kadan, being pure-blooded Chingizids, were in no hurry to obey Batu, the son of Jochi (Jochi was born by Genghis Khan's wife when she was in captivity among the Merkits, and his blood was considered "unclean").
The Mongol commanders began to bicker. Two wanted to go north and take Novgorod. Batu insisted that there were more important things to do. In the end, he made a deal with the obstinate princes. His masters help take Torzhok to save Kadan and Storm from shame, but in return they obey and lead their corps to the south. On March 5, Torzhok fell, but, to the surprise of the Novgorodians, the Mongols did not go against them.
This maneuver remained a mystery to everyone except Batu and Subedei. Contemporaries started talking about a miracle. Now some historians believe that the Mongols were afraid of the spring thaw. Others believe that they abandoned the campaign against Novgorod due to heavy losses.
Considering the speed with which the Mongols took the Russian cities, a hundred miles to Volkhov and a week for the siege would not have become a strong delay. As for the losses, they were really great, but they did not prevent the Mongols from ravaging all of Russia and even reaching Hungary and the Czech Republic. In fact, Batu was in a hurry to complete one completely urgent mission.
Three Mstislavs
He had to take a small town in the Chernihiv region - Kozelsk by all means. Batu was responsible for this not to Khan Ogedei and not even to Kurultai. He had to destroy Kozelsk in accordance with the Yasa of Genghis Khan - the supreme law by which all Mongols lived.
The town of Kozelsk, or rather its ruler, was guilty of the steppe people as early as 1223. The Polovtsi then turned to the Russian princes for help against the Mongols. Three Mstislavs - Kiev, Chernigov and Galitsky (nicknamed Udatny) - set out on a campaign. But the Mongols had no plans to fight Russia, and Subedei sent an embassy to offer peace.
However, the Polovtsians were not only allies of the three Mstislavs, but also relatives. Two were married to Polovtsian princesses, and the sister of the Chernigov prince was married to a Polovtsian khan. The Mongolian embassy was killed. The initiator of the massacre was Mstislav Svyatoslavich of Chernigov. He, of course, understood that killing ambassadors was the height of treachery, but in Russia they had no idea that for the Mongols “to deceive the one who trusted” was one of the most terrible crimes.
Yasa clearly prescribed to outlaw the perpetrator of such a crime and to prosecute him, his entire family and descendants until complete extermination. Mstislav himself laid down his unlucky head on Kalka, but the descendants remained. And Mstislav, by the way, was a Kozelsk appanage prince, having received the Chernigov table shortly before the ill-fated campaign. Accordingly, the Mongols had to take revenge on Kozelsk. Moreover, during Batu's campaign, Mstislav's 12-year-old grandson, Vasily, ruled there. Therefore, the Mongols rushed to their goal, ignoring the rich Smolensk, Bryansk and Karachev.
No loot but death
Kozelsk, although it was a specific town, had excellent fortifications. He stood on a hill in the bend of the Zhizdra River, and dominated the most important trade route. The city had significant food supplies, and its population was unusual in composition: mainly veterans of princely squads, guards of the trade route and other people who knew how to handle weapons lived in Kozelsk.
At the sight of the Mongols, the inhabitants of Kozelsk did not panic, but began to prepare for defense. A couple of dams were destroyed, flooding the surroundings. Pouring water over the hillsides and ramparts, turned them into ice slides. Where they could, we fortified the walls with bags of earth. It was not 350-400 defenders that were preparing for the defense, which was usual for a fortress of this size, but about a thousand experienced soldiers.
Having surrounded the city, Batu and Subedei demanded to extradite Prince Vasily. The townspeople gathered at the veche and decided: "Our prince is a baby, but we, as Orthodox Christians, must die for him in order to leave good glory in the world, and to receive the crown of immortality behind the grave." Most likely, they already understood that Kozelsk was doomed.
The siege began on 25 March. It was not possible to drive the local residents to work - they fled beforehand. Russian archers killed many experienced engineers and Mongolian cover shooters. And even when the Mongols managed to destroy part of the wall, the assault was repulsed.
One night the besieged made a sortie to the Batu camp. Experienced warriors figured out how to harm the invaders most effectively, and disabled the belts and metal parts of the siege machines. Without them, the city could not be taken.
Batu had to beg Buri and Kadan to go to his aid. They appeared around May 15, and the siege engines started working again. Two days later, the Mongols prepared for the assault. But no prey, except death, awaited them. All the townspeople who could hold weapons in their hands opened the gates and launched the last attack. There were hardly more than 400 men left from the garrison, but the fierce battle continued until dark. This battle cost the Mongols 4,000 killed.
In the meantime, the old people and women who remained in the city burned everything of value so that the enemy would not get it. Enraged Batu ordered to kill everyone who fell into the hands of his soldiers, including babies. Prince Vasily was seized and drowned in the blood of his subjects.
Kozelsk was razed to the ground, and Batu forbade mentioning this name, ordering henceforth to call it an evil city. Still: out of five months of the first campaign to Russia, he spent two on a specific fortress, and even lost many soldiers. We can only guess what would happen if every Russian city resisted, like Kozelsk.
Boris SHAROV