Mongols against Japanese samurai: who won. Mongol invasions of the Japanese islands in the 13th century

The Mongol Khan Kublai Khan, having conquered China and Korea (Korea), decided that Japan should submit to him. But he cruelly miscalculated: both military campaigns of the Mongol-Tatars against the country of the samurai in the 16th century ended in defeat.

Diplomacy as a method of persuasion was not good

By the second half of the 16th century, the Mongols had already captured China, Korea, and set their sights on Japan, which was only 50 miles away. But it was clear that an attack on Japan was impossible without a flotilla, which the steppe nomads never had and could not have had. And, of course, they knew nothing about maritime affairs.

But at first, Khan Kublai hoped for a long time that Japan would fall at his feet and become a vassal of the Mongol Empire simply fearing its power, by definition. Khubilai sent messengers - "diplomats" with a request-threat "to resolve the issue" and "to enter into friendly contact" in a good way, otherwise he would send troops. The Japanese were silent.

The prehistory and development of the Mongol-Japanese conflict is described in detail in "Yuan shi" - the historical work of the Chinese chroniclers of that time, which in the 19th century was translated for the first time in Europe (precisely into Russian!) by our compatriot, the outstanding Russian Sinologist Father Iakinf (Bichurin). The Tatar-Mongols of Genghis Khan conquered the territories of modern Northern China even earlier than Goryeo, and China also played a role in the attempts to seize Japan. By the way, the Yuan dynasty was also created by Khan Kublai.

...but also the military campaign

The Mongols did not have the slightest experience in shipbuilding, and without the presence of military ships it was pointless to go to Japan. The inhabitants of the defeated Koryo built ships for them. Part of the troops for the attack on the Japanese were also "legionnaires" from among the indigenous inhabitants of the country captured by the Mongols.

In 1274, a fleet of 300 large and 400 small ships, as well as 23 thousand soldiers (of which 15 thousand were Mongols, the rest were Koreans) advanced towards the lands of Japan. In preparation for the war, Koryo, devastated by the Mongols, could not provide the soldiers with provisions, and in urgently had to request from China.

On the Japanese islands of Tsushima and Iki, the Mongols slaughtered most of those who were not captured. As the British researcher of the Japanese military history Stephen Turnbull, the Japanese were shocked by this fact: they never allowed themselves to kill civilians in military conflicts.

In the battle for Hakata Bay, all the advantages and disadvantages of the opposing sides were manifested. The Mongols threw metal bombs-balls with catapults, which exploded and ignited everything around. The invaders pressed on with brute and outnumbered force. Opponents' tactics also opposed each other: the Mongols marched in phalanx and took in numbers and pressure, and Japanese military tradition ordered to attack first, cut and collect the heads of enemies. The samurai had to fight a worthy opponent one on one. Immeasurable courage was the main advantage of the Japanese warriors.

In the decisive battle, the Japanese withdrew to fortified positions in anticipation of reinforcements that were to arrive from the islands of Shikoku and Honshu. The Mongols, surprised by such fierce resistance from the samurai, understood that this was not the final stage of the battle.

The redistribution of forces for the invaders that night became fatal - a terrible typhoon rose, sinking hundreds of Mongol ships and destroying thousands of foreign soldiers. The Japanese ships were more maneuverable, and they took advantage of this to finish off the Mongols. The few surviving ships returned to Koryo.

Kamikaze - help from above

The second invasion of Japanese territories for the conquering Mongols also ended in defeat. The samurai, realizing that they would not be left behind just like that, by 1281 strengthened the defensive fortifications, developed defense and offensive tactics. This time there were already several times more invaders and ships, but the resistance from the Japanese turned out to be much more fierce and sophisticated. Samurai on small, maneuverable boats staged local raids to destroy the enemy.

In August 1281, the heavens themselves again helped the Japanese in their defense - kamikaze (“divine wind”), and simply the same typhoon again mixed hundreds of enemy Mongolian ships into the sea. The Japanese, taking advantage of the situation, slaughtered discouraged enemies like chickens. The losses of the attackers due to the elements and hostilities amounted to tens of thousands.

In fact, the unsuccessful attempt to capture Japan put an end to the history of the conquests of the Tatar-Mongols empire. She won no other significant victories.

At the end of the 13th century, Japan had to face a serious danger, far more serious than any civil wars. In 1271, a new Yuan dynasty reigned in China, founded by Khubilai, the grandson of the great Genghis Khan. His forces were huge - tens of thousands of Chinese, Korean, Jurchen and especially Mongol soldiers who conquered all of Eurasia - from Korea in the east to Poland in the west, from the impenetrable northern taiga to sun-dried Egypt. Only one country did not submit to the Mongols, and that was Japan. Khubilai sent several embassies to the imperial court demanding recognition of his power and threats in case of refusal, but they all remained unanswered. Knowing well about the events on the continent, the Japanese began to prepare for the invasion. However, they had no idea what an impressive force they had to face.

In November 1274, Khubilai's fleet raised anchors and moved towards Kyushu. It consisted of 900 ships, which housed 25,000 Mongols along with horses, about 10,000 Chinese and 5,000 Korean soldiers and sailors. Khubilai gathered this huge army by medieval standards in a matter of months. Without any difficulty, the Mongols captured the islands of Tsushima and Iki and entered Hakata Bay - the only place on the northwestern coast of Kyushu where such a number of people could be landed. Having captured three coastal villages, they faced fierce resistance.

Small samurai detachments (according to modern estimates from 3.5 to 6 thousand people) attacked the landing force, but the forces were too unequal, and most of the soldiers remained on the battlefield. The few survivors retreated under the cover of the old dilapidated fortifications. The danger of defeat was so clear that one of them wrote: “All night long we mourned our fate, thinking that we were doomed and would be destroyed to the last man.” Indeed, the very first clash with the Mongols, in addition to the military superiority of the steppes, showed their bestial cruelty - in the captured villages they killed all the men, sparing neither babies nor decrepit old men, and the women, cutting their palms with daggers and passing ropes through the wounds, were taken into slavery. After the first skirmish, however, the invaders retreated - by this time it was dark, and the Chinese commander Liu was wounded in the battle. Fearing night attacks, the Mongols took refuge on their ships, hoping to move in the morning to conquer all of Kyushu.

But during the night, a violent storm broke out, not uncommon at this time of year off the coast of Japan. 200 ships were wrecked on the rocks and sunk. Together with them, about 13 thousand people died in the abyss. The rest of the Mongolian ships were badly damaged and barely made it back. All of Japan, from the emperor to the last peasant, triumphed, and the storm that brought it was called kami kaze - "divine wind".

But it was clear to Hojo Tokimune, then head of the Bakufu, that Kublai would not stop there. The failure only pissed him off, but the Great Khan was forced to postpone the next campaign. Only when Mongol hordes, having made their way through the impenetrable jungle of South China, overcame their last enemy on the continent, the Song Empire, Khubilai again began to prepare for aggression. The scale of the second invading army was unprecedented. It consisted of two fleets. The Eastern, recruited from Koreans and Mongols, numbered 42 thousand people on 900 ships, and the Southern, according to the chronicles, consisted of 3.5 thousand ships with 100 thousand Chinese troops on board, not counting the sailors! Of course, the number of invaders is clearly exaggerated, but there is no doubt that the superiority of the Mongols over the Japanese, as in the first time, was absolute. In addition, the Mongols made full use of military innovations and equipped their ships with the siege engines they loved so much, which, among other things, could fire primitive explosive bombs.

The eastern flotilla sailed in May 1281. The islands of Tsushima and Iki were again captured, and on June 21 the armada approached the shores of Kyushu. Here they were in for an unpleasant surprise - a stone wall stretched along the entire Hakata Bay for a distance of 20 km. Its height was 2.8 m, and the width at the base was from 1.5 to 3.5 m. The shore was patrolled by cavalry detachments of samurai, who warned of the approach of the enemy in advance.

Trying to land, the Mongols immediately came under intense bow and arrow fire. Fanatical samurai rushed into the thick of the enemy and died, taking with them the lives of aggressors who were not ready for such a rebuff.

The battle lasted for several days, during which the Mongols destroyed and burned many fortifications with ballista fire, but only one detachment was able to land.

At sea, they also did not feel safe - the samurai approached the huge junks in small, nimble boats, and, cutting down their own mast, climbed aboard. Individually trained better than the Mongols, taking advantage of the limited space where the enemy could not fight in groups, they killed the invaders and sent the ships to the bottom. In one case, thirty samurai swam to an enemy ship, cut off the heads of the entire crew, and swam back the same way.

On another occasion, a certain Kono Mitiari, in two boats with unarmed rowers, approached one of the flagships, allegedly surrendering. Once at the side, his samurai pulled out weapons from under their clothes and went to board. Mitiari killed the captain, captured a high-ranking military leader, and left under cover of the burning ship. Another hero, Kusano Jiro, attacked the enemy in broad daylight. Under a shower of arrows, he approached the enemy vessel in a boat when one of the cores tore off his arm. According to legend, Jiro, overcoming pain, went with his team to board and killed 21 people with his own hands, and then set fire to the ship and disappeared.

Having tried to land several more times, the Mongols realized that they would not succeed, and began to wait for the arrival of the Southern Flotilla. It was hot, there was not enough food on the ships and drinking water. Dirt and stool led to diseases that claimed 3,000 lives. The morale of the Mongols dropped significantly. Finally, on August 12, the belated army linked up with the Eastern Flotilla and attacked Takashima Island, intending to land elsewhere, in Imari Bay. The Japanese could not interfere with the landing by any human efforts, and the emperor, Shinto and Buddhist priests, and behind them the whole people, turned their prayers to the gods. On August 16, a strong, severe wind blew from the southwest, and a narrow dark band appeared above the horizon. In a matter of minutes, the sky turned black and a terrible, deadly typhoon broke out, the epicenter of which was the island of Takashima. Huge waves heaved up, pushing the ships together and breaking them to pieces. Hundreds of ships washed ashore, breaking on the rocks. Even before the tornado, fearing attacks by the Japanese, the Mongols connected their most capital ships thick chains, creating a semblance of floating fortresses, and now they went to the bottom, dragging each other with them. When the storm stopped three days later, only a few miserable boats remained on the water. The Mongols lost almost all the ships and about 100 thousand people, and the samurai enthusiastically rushed to finish off the few survivors. The enemy was completely destroyed. Japan could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Kublai Khan planned another invasion, but it never took place: the resistance of the peoples of Korea, South China and Vietnam prevented.

From the moment of the defeat of the Mongols and until the Second World War, the foot of the invader never set foot on the Japanese islands.

Mongolian Khan Kublai, having conquered China and Korea (Korea), decided that Japan should belong to him by right. But he miscalculated cruelly - both military campaigns of the Mongol-Tatars against the country of the samurai in the 16th century ended in defeat.

Diplomacy as a method of persuasion was not good

By the second half of the 16th century, the Mongols had already captured China, Korea (Korea) and turned their eyes to Japan, which was only 50 miles away. At the same time, the invaders remained steppe nomads, and did not understand a single belmes in maritime affairs. It was clear that an armed invasion of Japan was impossible without a flotilla, which the Mongols steppe dwellers never had and could not have had.

But at first, Khan Kublai hoped for a long time that Japan would fall at his feet and become a vassal of the Mongol Empire simply fearing its power, by definition. Khubilai sent messengers - "diplomats" with a request-a threat to "resolve the issue" and "enter into friendly contact" in a good way, otherwise he threatened to send troops. The Japanese were silent.

The prehistory and development of the Mongol-Japanese conflict is described in detail in "Yuan shi" - in the historical work of the Chinese chroniclers of that time, which in the 19th century for the first time in Europe was translated (precisely into Russian!) by our compatriot, the outstanding Russian Sinologist Father Iakinf (Bichurin) : The Tatar-Mongols of Genghis Khan conquered the territories of modern Northern China even earlier than Goryeo, and China also played a certain role in trying to capture Japan. By the way, the Yuan dynasty was also created by Khan Kublai.

...but also the military campaign

The Mongols did not have the slightest experience in shipbuilding, and without the presence of warships, it was pointless to attack Japan. They were forced to build ships by the inhabitants of Koryo, defeated by Khan Kublai Khan. Part of the troops for the attack on the Japanese were also "legionnaires" from among the indigenous inhabitants of the country captured by the Mongols. In 1274, the fleet of invaders, consisting of 23 thousand soldiers, of which 15 thousand were Mongols, and the rest were Koreans, advanced towards the lands of Japan. The conquerors of new lands went on 300 large ships and 400 small ones. In preparation for the war, Koryo, devastated by the Mongols, could not provide the soldiers with provisions, and it had to be urgently requested from China.

On the Japanese islands of Tsushima and Iki, the invaders slaughtered most of those who were not captured. As the British researcher of Japanese military history Stephen Turnbull wrote in his work, this fact shocked the Japanese, they had never before allowed themselves to kill civilians in military conflicts.

In the battle for Hakata Bay, all the advantages and disadvantages of the opposing sides were manifested. The Mongols threw metal bombs-balls with catapults, which exploded and ignited the enemy soldiers, the invaders crushed the rough and outnumbered military force. Opponent tactics entered into confrontation with each other - among the Japanese, the military tradition prescribed to attack first, chop and collect the heads of enemies. The samurai had to fight a worthy opponent one on one. Immeasurable courage was the main advantage of the Japanese warriors. The Mongols, on the other hand, marched in phalanx and took them by force.

In the decisive battle, the Japanese withdrew to fortified positions in anticipation of reinforcements that were to arrive from the islands of Shikoku and Honshu. The Mongols did not expect such fierce resistance from the samurai and they themselves understood that this was by no means the final stage of the battle, help would come to the enemy.

The redistribution of forces for the Mongol warriors that night became fatal for the invaders - a terrible typhoon rose, sinking hundreds of Mongol ships and destroying thousands of foreign soldiers. The Japanese ships were more maneuverable, and they took advantage of this to finish off the Mongols. The few surviving Mongol ships returned to Koryo.

"Kamikaze" is a term from that time

The second invasion of Japanese territories for the conquering Mongols also ended in defeat. The samurai, realizing that they would not be left behind just like that, by 1281 strengthened the defensive fortifications, developed defense and offensive tactics. This time there were already several times more invaders and ships, but the resistance from the Japanese turned out to be much more fierce and sophisticated. Samurais on small, maneuverable boats made local raids to destroy the enemy.

In August 1281, the heavens themselves again helped the Japanese in their defense - kami-kaze ("divine wind"), but simply the same typhoon, again mixed hundreds of enemy Mongolian ships into the sea, like a vinaigrette. The Japanese, taking advantage of the situation, slaughtered discouraged enemies like chickens. The losses of the attackers due to the elements and combat losses amounted to tens of thousands.

… In fact, the unsuccessful attempt to capture Japan put an end to the history of the conquests of the Tatar-Mongol empire. She won no other significant victories.

Like a disaster. However, at this point he was busy with the final subjugation of China, and the task of conquering Japan was not a priority for him. Unlike the Mongols, the Japanese were on alert. The country has been actively religious activity, the Hakozaki temple was rebuilt, it became a symbol of the victory of the Japanese over the invaders. 120 warriors who showed courage and courage in the Hakata Bay were awarded, round-the-clock security appeared on the coast. The Japanese also planned a raid into Korea led by a general named Shoni Tsunesuke, but these plans never came to fruition. In 1276, the regent Hojo Tokemun ordered to build a defensive wall in Hakata. The wall was over two meters high and made of stone.

In 1279, the Mongols consolidated their success in southern China, and the conquest of Japan again became a priority for Kublai. The second invasion has a much larger scale than the previous ones. 900 ships were ordered in Korea, the rest of the warships were built in South China. The overall command of the Mongol invasion was given to Arakhan. The Mongolian troops were divided into two armies. According to Kublai's plan, the two Mongol armies were to meet before the attack, but he was not destined to materialize.

In July 1281, 900 ships of the eastern army, carrying 25,000 soldiers and 15,000 sailors, attacked the islands of Tsushima and Iki before landing in Hakata Bay without reinforcements. The Mongols made attacks along the bay for a week. The Japanese troops responded to every attack of the night raids. Under the cover of night, Japanese warriors in small boats, which housed 10-15 people, sailed up to the Mongolian ships. Finding themselves in close proximity to the Mongolian ships, the Japanese warriors cut down the masts of their junks and made a kind of bridge from them to the enemy ship. Samurai were invincible in close combat, unlike Chinese, Mongol and Korean warriors. According to one of the stories, 30 Japanese warriors completely destroyed the enemy on his ship overnight and swam back. Kusano Jiro decided to attack in broad daylight, and destroyed many Mongol ships, although he lost an arm in this battle. Kono Mihiari also raided in daylight, the Mongols thought they were going to surrender. But instead of surrendering, Kono and his samurai boarded the ship and captured the Mongol general. Such raids brought huge losses to the Mongol army and crushed the soldiers' faith in their invincibility.

The Mongols also attacked Shiga Island off the coast of Hakata Bay, but even there they met fierce resistance from Japanese troops led by Otomo Yasuori and Adashi Moremune. Unable to do anything in such a situation, the Mongols decided to anchor off the coast. With the help of catapults, the Mongols threw stones at Japanese ships, but the indescribable courage and courage of the samurai forced them to retreat to the island of Iki and wait for reinforcements from South China there. The Mongol fleet was forced to return to Takashima Island in order to replenish food supplies and heal the wounded. But here, too, misfortune awaited the Mongols, but already from the weather. July in Japan is the season of heavy rains associated with high temperature. In cramped conditions on board, about 3,000 Mongol warriors died of disease, and the ships began to rot. The morale of the Mongols was broken by these circumstances, but they were forced to wait for reinforcements from South China on rotting and stinking ships.

The huge armada of ships from South China (it was four times stronger than the armada from the East) began to arrive from different sides of the Japanese coast only at the beginning of August. Due to the number of ships of the Southern Fleet participating in the attack on Japan, the second Mongol invasion of this country was called the most grandiose and large-scale naval battle of those times. The two armies met at Takashima Island, where the Japanese launched a daring raid on the enemy fleet. But the forces were unequal and, in the end, the Japanese army was forced to retreat. A massive attack on Hataka Bay now looked imminent.

Kamikaze

On August 22, the southern fleet was destroyed by the "divine wind" or as the Japanese call it kamikaze . A typhoon that unexpectedly hit the coast of Japan destroyed the Mongol fleet, the soldiers were forced to stay on their ships and died. About 4,000 ships were sunk, killing a total of about 30,000 people. The losses of the Korean fleet amounted to about 30%, the Mongolian and Chinese losses were from 60 to 90%.

The destruction of the Mongol fleet was greatly facilitated by two more additional factors. Most of the Southern Fleet consisted of hastily made flat-bottomed Chinese riverboats. Unlike sea vessels, which have a curved keel to prevent capsizing, these river boats had simple flat bottoms. Such vessels cannot sail on the high seas, let alone withstand a strong typhoon. In addition, the real ocean-going vessels of Kublai's fleet built by the Koreans could have been deliberately sabotaged.

The Japanese believed that the divine wind came to destroy the fleet of foreign invaders in response to their prayers to the gods.

The eastern fleet did not suffer such a terrible fate as the southern one, and the generals considered the possibility of a second attack. The Mongolian generals demanded that the company continue, but the Chinese generals were against it. The Chinese commander Wen-hu boarded a safe ship and returned to China.

Tens of thousands of people were left on the wrecks while the rest of the fleet sailed home. These ships were the target of samurai hunting. All Mongols and Koreans were killed, unlike the Chinese. It was believed that they participated in the war not of their own free will, but under duress. Probably, they were also helped by Chinese monks, who at that time were very influential in Japan.

Khan Khubilai had plans to carry out a third attack on Japan, but the lack of military resources and the massive riots and uprisings that began in this period in the conquered territories forced him to abandon his plans.

Mongol invasions is one of the most important pages in Japanese history. For the first time in their history, the samurai put aside their differences and banded together to drive out a foreign occupier. After these events, constant duty on the coastal territory was introduced, but in 1312 the Japanese returned to their long tradition fight each other. The question of a unified Japan was raised again only a few centuries later.

Attempts to invade Japan by the Mongols were made by the Mongol-Korean-Chinese empire of Genghis Khan's grandson Kublai Khan twice: in 1274 and 1281.

Both times in short time powerful invasion fleets were created, the second of which was the largest in the history of mankind before Operation Overlord of the Second World War. However, having no experience in sailing, navigation and naval battles, as well as the armadas of the continental empire, who did not know enough shipbuilding technology, both times were dispersed both, to a small extent, by the more maneuverable Japanese fleet and defensive forces, and, basically, strong wind. The invasion failed.
According to legend, the strongest typhoons that arose during the landing of the invaders on the Japanese islands and destroyed most of the ships were called by Japanese historians "kamikaze", which means "divine wind", making it clear that this is divine help to the Japanese people.

During the first attack, which took place in 1274, the Mongol-Korean fleet operated with up to 23-37 thousand people. The Mongols easily defeated the Japanese troops on the islands of Tsushima and Iki and devastated them. Then they approached the island of Kyushu and launched an attack, which included shelling from flamethrowers. However, a typhoon began, in addition, the commander-in-chief Liu died, as a result of which the Mongols were forced to retreat. Khubilai began to prepare for a new attack. The Japanese also did not waste time - they built fortifications and prepared for defense. In 1281, two Mongol-Korean-Chinese fleets - from Korea and from South China - headed for the island of Kyushu. The number of the fleet reached 100,000 people. The small eastern fleet arrived first, which the Japanese managed to repel. Then the main fleet sailed from the south, but the repeated history of the typhoon destroyed most fleet of conquerors.

The Mongol invasions, the only significant external conflict in the centuries that affected the territory of Japan, played an important role in the formation of the national identity of the Japanese. It is to these events that the creation of the flag of Japan belongs, which, according to legend, was handed over to the shogunate by the Buddhist patriarch Nichiren.