Battle of Legnica, (9 April 1241). Mongol raiders in Poland defeated a European army containing much-feted Christian knights from the military orders of the Teutonic Knights, the Hospitallers, and the Templars. The raiders had been sent to Poland as a diversion from the Mongolian invasion of Europe through Hungary and afterward rejoined the Mongol army there.
After the Mongol victory at the Battle of Kalka River, some 40,000 Cumans fled into Hungary, converted to Christianity, and requested the protection of the Hungarian king, Béla IV. The Mongols claimed the Cumans as their subjects and used these events as a cause to invade Europe. Under a daring invasion plan drawn up by General Subedei, three armies totaling 80,000 men—led by Batu, Shiban, and Subedei himself-would invade Hungary. A fourth force of 20,000, commanded by Princes Kadan and Baidar, was to be sent into Poland with the aim of destroying opposition there before sweeping southward to reunite with the main force.
