Battle of Tarczek 1241
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1241 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Poland | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Mongol invasion of Poland | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Duchy of Poland | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 50.9431, 21.0033 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Tarczek took place on 13 February 1241, during the first Mongol invasion of Poland. It ended in the defeat of the Polish armies of Lesser Poland.
In March 1241, after a successful winter campaign, in which Mongol forces captured and ransacked Sandomierz, Asiatic hordes entered Poland in full force. Near Sandomierz, the Mongol forces were divided into two groups. The stronger one, probably with 15,000 warriors under Baidar and Orda Khan, headed westwards, defeating Poles in the Battle of Chmielnik on 18 March 1241. The second army, with 10,000 warriors under Kadan (according to Jan Długosz) headed northwards, to the Land of Łęczyca and Kujawy. On 19 March 1241, this army clashed with Polish knights near Tarczek. Most likely, the Polish forces which participated in the battle were knights from Lesser Poland, survivors of the Battle of Chmielnik. They were defeated, and Tarczek itself was burned to the ground.
After the battle, the Mongols ransacked central Poland for a few more days. On 1 April 1241 they appeared in Kraków, and on 8 April they reached Wrocław, where they joined the army of Baidar.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Tarczek (revision 1370275243), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Mongol invasion of Poland
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All 4 battles of the Mongol invasion of Poland →
Browse more: battles in Poland · Europe · Medieval battles