One division of Batu’s army entered Poland in 1240, ravaged the province of Lublin, and returned with great booty to Galitch. The Mongols reappeared in that country, however, in winter, crossing the Vistula on the ice, but after advancing to within a few miles of Cracow, they turned again toward Galitch, loaded with much spoil and driving before them a multitude of captives, among whom were some of the first people of Poland. They were pursued by Volodmir, the governor, who surprised them near Palanietz, and killed many. Discovering how small the attacking party was, the Mongols turned, made a furious charge, and put them to flight; then they continued their march. Soon, however, they reëntered Poland with new forces. The nobility of Sandomir and Cracow assembled their warriors and advanced to meet the oncoming Mongols, but in the conflict which followed, they were defeated with great loss.
Boleslav IV at this time occupied the throne of Cracow. Fearing to remain in the citadel, he took refuge with his family in a castle at the foot of the Carpathians, and later on in a monastery in Moravia. Many of the aristocracy of Poland followed his example, escaping to Hungary or Germany; the common people sought refuge in the forests, swamps and mountains. The conquerors entered Cracow, March 24, 1241, and set fire to the city, which they found deserted; then they marched toward Breslau, the capital of Silesia, devastating the region through which they passed.
On reaching Breslau, they discovered that it had been reduced to ashes by the inhabitants, who had taken refuge in the citadel with the garrison. The Mongols, after investing the fortress for several days, raised the siege and joined another corps of their [[244]]army to march with it against the forces assembled near Lignitz, where Henry, Duke of Silesia, was commander of about twenty thousand men. The Mongols were led by a prince (in Polish chronicles called Péta) whose army far outnumbered that of Duke Henry. The defeat of the Poles was complete. Henry fled from the field with but four of his officers; retarded by the fall of his horse, which was wounded, he mounted a second, but was surrounded, captured, and his head cut off. The Polish loss was heavy. It is told that to discover the number of the enemy killed, the Mongols cut an ear from each corpse, and with those ears filled four large sacks.
They now moved forward, carrying fire and blood even to the frontiers of Bohemia and Austria. While one part of Péta’s army besieged Olmütz in Moravia, several corps of it plundered and devastated the surrounding region. Sternberg, commander of Olmütz, made a successful sortie from the citadel, killed some three hundred of the enemy, and returned in safety. A few days later the Mongols raised camp and marched toward Hungary to join the great army under Batu. It was evident that they had besieged Olmütz only for the purpose of pillaging the country round it.
Before marching into Hungary, Batu had written to King Bela, demanding that he yield obedience to the Mongol sovereign if he wished to save his own life, or the lives of his subjects. Bela paid no heed to this demand, and the only measure of defense he took was to send small detachments to hold the passes of the Carpathians.
There was much dissatisfaction with King Bela, for he had no military ability; another cause for the dissatisfaction was that he had received Kotyan, the Polovtsi Khan, and allowed him to settle, with some forty thousand families, in Hungary. The acquisition of this number of subjects increased the power of the king, and the hope of converting the pagans to Christianity gave him pleasure. But these Polovtsi were so displeasing to the people that in 1240 Bela had to convoke an assembly of the clergy, and the nobility of his kingdom as well as the chiefs of the Polovtsi. It was then resolved that the Polovtsi should be dispersed in different provinces, and should be assigned uncultivated districts where they could pasture their flocks and herds. Kotyan was baptized, [[245]]so also were his chief officers. Still the hatred of the people continued.
Batu penetrated into Hungary by the pass called “Gate of Russia,” and was joined by divisions of his army which had been devastating Poland. Thence he marched toward Pest, and, camping half a day’s journey from that city, he ravaged the country. The people, thinking that Kotyan, the Polovtsi Khan, was secretly communicating with Batu, murmured against the king and demanded the death of Kotyan and his men. They attacked Kotyan, who defended himself for a time, but was at last overpowered and killed. This murder only served to increase the woes of Hungary. The report of it spread to the country, and the peasants fell on the Polovtsi and massacred them without mercy. But those who escaped united and later on avenged their people.
When the Hungarian army had assembled the king marched out of Pest to meet the Mongols. The result of the conflict was most disastrous for the Hungarians. The king owed his escape to the swiftness of his horse. He took refuge near the Carpathians, where he encountered his son-in-law, who was also seeking an asylum in that country.
While these events were passing in the heart of Hungary, Kadan advanced through Transylvania, seizing property, profaning churches, and leading away captives.
The Mongols remained inactive during the summer of 1241, but in December of that year a detachment crossed the Danube and pitched their camp near the city of Strigonia, or Gran. The besieged destroyed all that was most valuable, killed their horses, and retired into the stone edifices to defend themselves. The Mongols, furious at loss of plunder, were careful that no person should escape. They seized and burned the principal inhabitants over slow fires, to make them declare where they had hidden their riches.