Probably the greatest handicap for the Europeans was headgear. The male coif weighed about 20 pounds. Then finally there was the bucket shaped helm, another 10 pounds.
With lance, shield and broadsword, the European horsemen expected his mount to carry more than 300 pounds into battle. It all looked impressive, but it was no match for the Mongols, who were light, quick and very mobile. The Mongols objective was the great flat fertile plains of Hungary.
There they could graze their horses before moving deeply into Europe. But they worried about the king of Hungary's relationship with various Polish princes. The Mongols had to ensure that no Polish armies came to his aid. So in a daring gamble, they divided their army.
The invasion of Europe would be conducted on two simultaneous fronts, 600 miles apart. The larger army would march through the Carpathian Mountains, the gateway to Hungary and southern Europe. The smaller contingent would ride into Poland to draw off any armies that might go to the aid of the Hungarians. The Mongol hordes storm from the east will return.
The invasion of Poland in February 1241 took the various Polish city-states completely by surprise. The Mongols drove toward Krakow, the most powerful of all the city-states. When a Mongol advance patrol was sighted from the steeple of St. Mary's Church, a trumpet alarm was sounded. The garrison set out to meet the invader. It was ambushed and destroyed.
Most of Krakow's inhabitants fled in panic. Ever since that day in March 1241, a trumpeter has sounded the alarm, and at precisely the same note, he abruptly stops his call. Legend says that at that point, a Mongol arrow struck, silencing the trumpeter. At nearby monasteries, most of the monks were slaughtered, their relics and treasures plundered, the buildings destroyed. On this campaign, the Mongols seldom took prisoners.
What could they do with them? What was the point? The city of Krakow was also leveled, along with Lublin and Breslau. By now the alarm had been raised in all the cities along the Baltic.
The call went out across Europe for armies to meet the invader. 500 miles to the south, the main Mongol army was making its way through the frozen passes of the Carpathian Mountains. The lightly defended Hungarians were surprised and quickly overwhelmed. Soon the Mongols poured through the valleys and down onto the Hungarian plains.
They swept through Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia before any defense could be mounted. For the Hungarians, the invasion marked the beginning of one of the most terrifying chapters in history, which was enshrined forever in the Great Hungarian Chronicle. In the capital, all hopes rested with King Bela. He commanded the greatest cavalry in Europe, but getting on the field was proving a problem. The Hungarian nobility refused to accept Bela's command.
And as they argued among themselves, the Mongols moved relentlessly westward. From their fortified position overlooking the Danube, the Hungarian defenders looked out across the water at their enemy, sitting on the opposite bank. The Mongol commander drew up his army right under the nose of his opponent. Once again, their strategy was to draw the enemy out into the open, onto ground the Mongols had already selected.