The Devil's Horsemen: The Mongol Invasion of Europe by James Chambers

by James Chambers

On Christmas Day 1241, the armies of Batu Khan, the founder of the Golden Horde, crossed the Danube while the disunited kingdoms of the West lay at their mercy. The Mongol invasion of Europe was entering its final phase, and it seemed as if all of Christendom was about to be destroyed by soldiers from Hell.The Devil's Horsemen is an examination of the origins and consequences of this extraordinary campaign. Based on a wealth of contemporary sources, it describes in detail the tactics and training of the finest army the world had ever seen, and tells the story of Subedei Bahadur, the illiterate military genius who brought 20th-century warfare to medieval Europe. Remembered today only as savage barbarians, the author shows how the Mongols were in fact formidable soldiers who invented strategies and tactics later adopted to devastating effect by Rommel and Patton.Chambers also explains how one of the most impressive military operations in history resulted in the drawing together of the two hemispheres of the old world and the start of East-West communications. In particular, he chronicles the uneasy relationship that developed between the papacy and the Mongol Khans and pin-points the reasons for the Church's failure to consolidate the spread of Christianity in the East.Finally, Chambers establishes that Europe was saved from Mongol domination solely by chance - had Ogedei and Mangku, last of the great Khans, lived only a few years longer, the largest empire ever known would have stretched not just to the Carpathians and the Euphrates, but as far as the Atlantic Ocean itself.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval, Military History, Military Fiction, War, Asia

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Skallagrimsen]

In the thirteenth century there was no army or combination of armies in Europe that could withstand the Mongol war machine. Even in the unlikely event that the rival European rulers united against them, the Mongols would have crushed Christendom, just like they crushed the Persian and Chinese empires.

Why didn’t they? The answer might be alcoholism.

In the 1230s, Ogedei Khan, son of Genghis Khan, ordered the Mongol Hordes to invade the west. More than 100,000 mounted warriors soon surged into Russia, Bulgaria, and the Ukraine, slaughtering, burning cities, laying waste to civilization. Nominally, it was Ogedei’s nephew, Batu Khan, who commanded the Hordes. Operational authority, however, lay with the legendary general Subotai, one of the greatest military geniuses in all of history. By 1241, the Mongols had devastated Poland and Hungary. Subotai began drawing up plans to attack Germany and Italy.

The outcome of the impending conflict was inevitable. The heavily armored knights of western Europe would be massacred by the faster, more maneuverable, and better disciplined horse archers of the Mongols. Nor could the Europeans hide in their stone castles, which would only be demolished by the Mongols' Chinese siege engines. In a word, medieval Europeans were no match for the Mongols' scientific approach to warfare. The king of the Germans, Friedrich II, inspired little confidence, offering his services as court falconer to the Khan of the upcoming regime.

But the Mongols never went further into Europe. Instead, they turned around and sped all the way back to Mongolia. For Batu had received word that Ogedei, his uncle, was dead. Batu needed to get quickly back to Karakorum, the Mongol capital, together with his loyal warriors, if he was to play a role in the selection of the next Great Khan. Dynastic politics took precedence over westward expansion. On the cusp of certain destruction, Europe was spared by dumb luck.

Soon the Mongols were too busy fighting among themselves to spare a thought for Europe. Yet their intervention, although brief, did still manage to transform European civilization in fundamental ways. The Mongols introduced Europe to the Black Death and gun powder. They strengthened its commercial ties to the far east. But the Mongols never afterwards were a serious threat to incorporate Europe into their empire. The opportunity had passed. It died with Ogedei.

Ogedei lived to be just 56, at least a decade less than Genghis Khan, his famous father. The cause of Ogedei's death is disputed but might have been alcohol poisoning. If that is true, then one man’s bad night with the demon liquor might have made a momentous difference to the fate of western Europe. It would be a startling example of how one a tiny event can have gigantic consequences for world history.

If Ogedei had the right epiphany after some hellish hangover—who knows? —maybe he would have held on for another ten years. Even five would have been enough for the Horde to overwhelm most of western Europe. Perhaps the Iberian Peninsula, the British isles, or Scandinavia might have held out a bit longer, due to their geographical isolation, but there is little doubt they also would have succumbed. That is, assuming the kings of western Europe had even bothered to resist the Mongols. Given the obvious futility of fighting such a superior adversary, they might well have submitted, and agreed to become vassals of the Great Khan.

If Ogedei had solved his drinking problem, his dominion might have straddled the Eurasian landmass, from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. Germany, Italy, France, the Low Countries, England, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Portugal—all of them combined might have amounted to a single province on the western fringe of the Pax Mongolica.

If Ogedei hadn't been such a disgusting lush, world history might have followed a very different trajectory.

Just how different, of course, we can only ever speculate. But if you told me you wanted to write an "alternate history" on the intriguing theme of “what if Ogedei Khan had lived?” The Devil's Horsemen, by James Chambers, is the first book I'd recommend for your research.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subtitle is misleading, this book covers much more than the Mongol invasion of Europe. Really it covers all of Mongol history to the west of Karakorum, and just a teeny bit of operations to the east. Chambers writes in a compact style, and gives you “just the facts, ma’am”. For a long time, the Mongols are lucky in their leaders, their opponents and their military prowess. The Persian, Islamic and Western armies and leaders are no match. No wonder Rommel and Patton studied these campaigns. A decent number of relevant maps is appreciated. 4 Stars and highly recommended if you need a good grounding in this pivotal era.

Much of the book talks to and shows how ignorant the targets of Mongol expansion were about the Mongol Empire and military capabilities. However, one western group was fully informed and kept it to themselves:

The two generals were at last confident enough to divide their Strength Subedei rode south-west to reconnoitre the coast of the Sea of Azov and ensure that the Cumans had not found any allies strong enough to threaten their security, and Jebe rode west to wait for him on the banks of the Don.

It was while slaughtering Cumans on the Sea of Azov and burning the towns that had given them shelter that Subedei accomplished one of the most significant achievements of the expedition, For the first time he met men from western Europe. To the merchant adventurers from Venice it was obvious that these Mongols were not mere nomad bandits like the Cumans: the soldiers wore fine silk under their lightweight armour; their discipline and their weapons were such as the Venetians had never seen; with their army rode doctors and diplomats and a corps of interpreters that included an Armenian bishop; and so efficient were the Moslem merchants in their baggage train that they were already printing cheap Bibles and selling them to the local Russian inhabitants. To Subedei, on the other hand, the Venetians had proved that they were not his enemies and it was in his interest that they should become his friends: they had no soldiers, they had not offered protection to the Cumans and their knowledge of European geography and politics would be invaluable. For several days he entertained them lavishly and the Venetians were happy to accept his hospitality and answer his endless questions about the civilizations of Europe and the positions and strengths of the kingdoms that lay at the end of the steppes. And by the time the feasting and the entertainments had ended a secret treaty had been signed between Venice and the Mongol Empire. The travelling Venetian merchants would make detailed reports of the economic strength and military movements in the countries that they visited and spread such propaganda as the Mongols required, and in return wherever the Mongols rode all the other trading stations would be destroyed and Venice would be left with a monopoly.

Chingis Khan is numbered among history’s greatest conquerors and commanders, and it is perhaps only because of the horrifying slaughter and destruction that followed in the wake of his conquests that he does not stand above them all.

Like Napoleon, Chingis Khan was fortunate in the quality of his generals and many of his victories were as much due to the strategic genius of Subedei as to his own genius for organization and command in battle. The khan was a shrewd judge of his men; his highly trained officers were promoted for ability and achievement alone and were chosen for their skill and understanding of men as well as for their courage. “There is no man alive who is braver than Yessutai’, he said, ‘no march can tire him and he feels neither hunger nor thirst; that is why he is unfit to command.’

The indigent nomads whom he molded into a modern army were out of necessity expert horsemen and archers, but they were also superstitious by tradition and bandits by instinct. He knew that although they had rallied to his standard for survival, they continued to fight because they believed in his ‘divine purpose’ and because he made them rich. Yet such was the natural discipline upon which he built that even the seizure and disposition of plunder was organized and controlled. John of Plano Carpini, the papal ambassador who visited the Mongol court twenty years after Chingis Khan’s death, wrote that the Mongols were more obedient to their lords than any other people.

Today Chingis Khan is remembered as the almost proverbial personification of ruthless cruelty, and it is true that the scope of the devastation which he wrought has not often been equalled - but nor has the scope of his conquests. Sometimes he destroyed the cities, soldiers and subjects of one prince merely to strike terror into another, sometimes so that never again could they rise against him, and sometimes simply because they had been his enemies and he had no use for them. If defeated soldiers were loyal to their Leader they might rally, and if they were not, the khan could not trust them, and so he killed them. His nomads had no use for cities that had once housed their enemies, unless they were a centre of trade from which they could draw revenue or a centre of administration from which they could govern; and what they did not use they destroyed. But Chingis Khan never saw himself as the aggressor; with the exception of the reconnaissance into Europe, which Subedei persuaded him to allow, whether in defence of an ally or as the result of a threat or a broken treaty, the Mongol army always marched in answer to at least some provocation.

In every other way Chingis Khan was a surprisingly enlightened and liberal ruler. He did not use murder as a political weapon and torture was rare. The laws which he codified governed over fifty nations and were far less cruel than the laws of Islam. It is true their common sense was coloured by the traditions and superstitions of the steppes. For example, it was forbidden to cut the throat of an animal killed for food; instead, it was decreed that the animal should be slit open and bled by having its heart pulled out by the hand of the hunter. It was also forbidden to urinate in running water or to wash in it during a thunderstorm, and among the comparatively few crimes punishable by death were adultery and cattle theft. Nevertheless, the laws also embodied many of the basic human rights that are still being fought for today = “here was no discrimination between the subject peoples…., Women were emancipated to make them equal…

[Jamie Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Western civilization has a conceit of superiority. It can be hard to imagine how the armies of Europe could have lost to a bunch of barbarian nomads from the back of beyond. In reality, the fight was never even close. The Mongol armies were superior to both their Islamic foes and the Western feudal forces in every way: better trained, equipped, disciplined, and led. They had greater mobility and used vastly superior tactics, as well as an amazing communications system which allowed rapid coordination of their forces over vast areas. They routinely destroyed armies twice their size. Most of the Western armies were levees of untrained peasants, filled out with some knights and unreliable mercenaries. The Mongols crushed them when they stood and slaughtered them when the fled.

And if there is one word that best describes the Mongol horde, it is slaughter, Slaughter on a massive, indiscriminate scale. Sometimes they would spare those who could be used as slaves, but other times they massacred every man, woman, and child, as they did to the 50,000 people of the city of Bulgar, and to a multitude of other towns, villages, and farms. The killing was primarily used to spread terror, but it was also sometimes done when there was no reason for it or even when it was strategically counterproductive. According to a Wikipedia article, the Mongols may have exterminated up to 5% of the entire world’s population at the time, which would make their wars the greatest human extinction event in history, even when the twentieth century’s industrial scale murder is included.

The Western princes were hopeless amateurs and incompetents when they fought the Mongols. The Russian nobles were so distrustful of each other they did not have an overall commander; they attacked piecemeal and were destroyed piecemeal. The Hungarian nobles were so jealous of their privileges that even as the Mongols were on their doorstep they were still arguing with their king and refused to put their full forces at his disposal. The Holy Roman Emperor was at war with the pope, was excommunicated by him twice, and rampaged up and down Italy while the Mongols were annihilating nearby states. Had the Mongols pressed onward, the only thing that would have stopped them was the Atlantic Ocean. Europe was only saved by the sudden death of the Great Khan back in Mongolia, and the need to return and choose a new one.

And then, a few years later, it was the Islamic world’s turn. Baghdad, seat of the caliph and center of the Muslim world, was sacked. It probably would have fallen even with competent leadership, but the caliph was so certain that his religious brethren would flock to his call for help that he did not even order the city’s walls to be repaired until, literally, the day before the attack came. The Mongols were poised to destroy Islamic civilization just as they had been posed to destroy that of Europe, but once again the death of the Great Khan halted their campaign and sent their leaders back home. In this case the Mongol civilization fractured around multiple claimants to the leadership, and never afterwards posed a direct threat of invasion to either Europe or the Near East.

And so, by the slenderest of historical threads, the unexpected deaths of two khans just as the fatal blows were poised to strike, Christian Europe and Islam were able to survive, rebuild, and move forward. It was, as Wellington said of Waterloo, “the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life.”

[Adam McPhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mongols stomped the planet from 1206 to the end of the century, and it effected pretty much everyone. The book follows the campaigns of the Mongols. Everyone knows about their superiority with mounted archers, but they also used Chinese engineers and artillery, which was so advanced that they scared the Europeans to death by advancing under a smoke screen, or firing early rockets at them. They drowned enemies by flooding dykes or by tricking armies into following them onto insufficiently thick ice.

I think the only emotion a medieval person could feel that would be greater than being part of the victorious Mongol army would be the absolute dread of knowing that the horde is bearing down on you. Consider that Kai-Kawus tried to supplicate a khan by giving him socks which bore Kai's face on the bottom, so that the Khan could spend his days trampling on Kai's face. Or the other prince who threatened to wring the Khan's ears, and followed through by giving him gold earrings. Or the fact that the Pope was ordered to visit Karakorum to pay tribute.

It couldn't last forever: like many great empires, it eventually dissolved due to insufficiently strict adherence to the right of primogeniture, while in the long term the growing use of gunpowder eventually rendered the Mongols' tactics obsolete.

A fitting tribute to the strange and beautiful alienness of the Mongols.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Devil's Horsemen is an excellent history in all respects: well-written, detail-rich yet with a minimum of nonsense, and all in 168 pages. "In the late winter of 1220, Ali ad-Din boarded the only remaining fishing boat in the village of Astara on the shores of the Caspian Sea and sailed out towards the island of Abeskum." Thus opens the astounding tale of one of the most fascinating periods in world history as the male descendants of Chinggis Khan attempt to conquer their known world. The key players come alive in Chambers' history by the inclusion of the small enriching details regarding personality or mannerisms that many academic authors omit in favour of strings of 'facts and dates'. Thankfully, this is not one of those 'mountains of skulls' histories of the Mongol invasion of Europe as so many are. Yes, there is devastation and millions die, but the story is told succinctly: "...and the Khwarizmian army was annihilated" (p. 11).

This is a book I highly recommend you read twice in a row. Think of it as one of the ways you might approach a jigsaw puzzle. First you need to turn all the pieces right-side-up, then you start fitting the pieces together. On the first reading you get the storyline, but with the second immediate reading, the story comes to life--the names and places are familiar and the overall picture comes together and is so fascinating I, like another reviewer, could barely put the book down.

There are only four maps, but they are the only ones needed and they are excellent. What pure delight it is to have good maps when one is following a historical period such as the Mongol invasion of Europe when the military strategy that enabled success or failure was usually the key factor in a battle's outcome.

It is clear from the story's readability that the author was not an academic but someone who truly loves history and wants readers to love history, too. And his insights into the military superiority of the Mongolian armies (Chapter 5: The Mongol War Machine) is one of the book's unique highlights.

[Scott Humphries · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're not steeped in Mongol history (I'm not), the following might contain some spoilers...

I found this book randomly on a shelf in our house. No recollection of how it got there. In all likelihood, I bought it ten years ago after a friend turned me on to the enjoyable historical fiction of Conn Iggulden’s Conqueror series about Genghis Khan. Historical fiction can be great, but it can sometimes deceive you into thinking you learned some actual facts about the world rather than just reading an entertaining story. Historical fiction is better where the author includes a detailed explanation of how much of the book was historical and how much fiction. (Graham Moore’s excellent Last Days of Night, a novel about Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, Nikolai Tesla, and young lawyer Paul Cravath in the early technical and legal struggles of the proliferation of electric light in the U.S., has a fine example of such an explanation.) So, I probably bought this book to get some grounding in reality.

The Devil’s Horsemen is the antithesis of historical fiction. It’s hardcore history, with an extensive primary and secondary bibliography in tow. Chambers lays down the facts, and they’re fascinating.

“Serendipity” is typically defined as the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. For example, in the final minutes of the “games” section of the LSAT, I worked the last problem and got answers to the six associated multiple-choice questions. I had time left, so I worked it again. But the second time I got a different set of answers to the six questions. As I worked it a third time, the proctor called “30 seconds,” and I had to choose which set of answers to bubble in. I quickly scratched my initial answers onto the Scantron form. Fortunately, they were right. As a result, I aced the games section, which got me into Harvard Law (missing 6 of the 36 “games” questions would unquestionably have gotten me dinged). There I met my wife, and the rest is history. If I’d chosen the second set of answers, my life would be wildly different. That’s serendipity.

This is exactly the picture Chambers paints of the Mongol invasion of Europe.

By the middle of the thirteenth century, Genghis Khan (Chambers uses “Chingis,” a less bastardized version of the Khan’s name) had united the Mongol tribes, and his sons, following the brilliant military strategies of their chief of staff Subedei Bahadur, had expanded their empire to the largest the world has ever known – it stretched from Korea to Kiev, from Syria to Scandinavia. At the time, western Europe was preoccupied with the Crusades (which, as an aside, Chambers mocks as “the conquest of land and the acquisition of other men’s wealth justified as dissemination of the true Christian faith”). Likewise, the Saracen princes of Islam defending against those Crusades were in no condition to repel a second, wildly superior invading force.

And superior the Mongol army was. As Chambers puts it, it was “not until the advent of mechanized war that the real Mongol genius came to be appreciated and the tactical principles of the Mongol army, based on fire power and mobility, were seen to be as basic as the principles of geometry.” Chambers sets out in detail how some of the greatest military strategists in history – including Gustavus Adolphus, Napoléon, Clausewitz, Rommel, Patton et al. – all benefitted from Mongol wisdom. His conclusion: the Mongol army was “a ‘modern’ army and the differences between it and the armies of the twentieth century can all be accounted for by progress in science and in technology, but not in the art of war.” Sound evidence backs him up: on its initial foray west across the Danube, Genghis’s grandson Batu destroyed Europe’s strongest force, the Hungarian army (along with a host of Teutonic and papal knights), with superior intelligence, planning, communication, tactics, skill, discipline, firepower and mobility, despite being vastly outnumbered.

But back to serendipity. By the fall of 1241, the Mongol army had swept through Russia and eastern Europe and wiped out any force that could have conceivably opposed its advance to the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, or the Red Sea. Batu’s army sat between Vienna and Venice, consolidating its gains and resupplying from the spoils of its massive and decisive victories. The Mongols were poised to strike west: the very concepts of Europe, Persia, Christianity and Islam were ripe for wholesale eradication.

It was not to be. In December 1241, Batu’s uncle, the Supreme Khan Ogedei – who’d succeeded to the throne upon his father Genghis’s death in 1227 – himself died, of alcoholism, binge-drinking after a hunting trip. The far-flung Mongol princes, by tradition and law, returned to the empire’s capital at Karakorum to determine Odegei’s successor, and a massive invasion of western Europe was tabled, never to occur. Had Ogedei just knocked back a few less casks of airag (the fermented horse milk popular at the time) and lived but another year, we’d all be speaking Mongolian today….

Chambers explores all the trappings of this tale, including how little Europe understood about Asia (and vice versa) and how western kings and scribes at the time, either out of ignorance, arrogance, or selective amnesia, mischaracterized the Mongols as a “horde” of nomadic bandits rather than the formidable, disciplined army they were. As a result, the Europeans ignored them until it was too late to save themselves; instead, Europe was saved by chance.

Chambers finishes the story, recounting in detail how the Mongol threat to Europe ultimately ebbed. When, finally, in 1260, 19 years after having dominion over the entirety of Europe but an easy march away, the Mongols turned their eye westward again, it was the Persians that saved Western civilization. At Ain Jalut, near the hills of Galilee where David fought Goliath, in a battle Chambers (and others) characterize as “one of the most decisive and significant battles in the history of the world,” the myth of Mongol invincibility was destroyed when a relatively small Mongol/Christian vanguard of 25,000 was overwhelmed by 120,000 Persians defending their homeland under the leadership of the storied Egyptian Sultan Baybars. Then, not long after Ain Julat, and before the Mongols mustered a full army to punish the Persians, the Mongol princes, now several generations removed from Genghis, began quarreling among themselves, and the empire splintered. As a result, a full-scale Mongol invasion of Europe never came to pass.

The book paints an impressive picture of the simple but effective Mongol empire. For example, communication across the realm was critical and relied on a horse messenger system that makes the Pony Express – itself remarkable – look like a petting zoo donkey ride; its messenger routes form the thoroughfares across Asia to this day. Chambers describes the recorded awe with which the first European ambassadors to Mongolia beheld the Khan’s empire and its treasures (Marco Polo’s travels and similar account would follow decades later). At the same time, he catalogs the disdain with which Mongol princes viewed traditional loot of gold and silver, versus their delight at the capture of fine (and useful) horses. Because it’s key to the story, he carefully traces the history of Genghis’s progeny and their varying roles throughout the empire, from the illiterate but principled Genghis to his more worldly but chaotic posterity. It’s a short work (168 pages), but dense.

Finally, some might accuse Chambers of a wee bit of Mongol hero worship. But he doesn’t whitewash the abject brutality the Mongol armies employed to expand their empire. Rather, he recounts it matter-of-factly, a la Old Testament. He appropriately labels the bloody Mongol sackings of Kiev and Krakow, of Budapest and Baghdad, among many others, as “slaughters.” Chambers just doesn't dwell on the violence, merely acknowledging it much like the Book of Kings reports God mauling 42 innocent children with a couple of bears, i.e. in a sentence. I chalk this up not to any intent by Chambers to downplay the bloodshed, but rather to his, and his British countrymen’s, notorious penchant for understatement.

This book is by no means a comprehensive survey of the history of the Mongol empire. It picks up essentially with Genghis Khan’s death in 1227. (A year after this book was published in 1998, Chambers wrote a separate book about Genghis Khan). There’s literally one sentence about Kublai Khan’s (Genghis’s grandson) establishment of the Yuan dynasty in China. And it doesn’t mention the 100 years of Mongol invasions of India, or the campaigns in the Far East. Type into Google “Mongol invasion of” and from the auto-prompts you get a quick sense (i.e. a long list) of not only what this book doesn’t cover, but how comprehensive an impact Genghis Khan and the Mongolian Empire had on the world. But if you’re looking to learn how we all came a few drinks away from speaking Mongolian today, The Devil's Horsemen is your book.

[Jordan B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reminded me just how vast our globe's history is and how that I'll never run out of subjects to research.

That being said, it did kind of drag on and on. The profusion of names was getting very tiresome towards the end, and it was all I could do to push through to the finish. But I'm glad I read it. Overall, a good book.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the 13th century, a tribe of nomads arose out of the Gobi desert. First, they conquered northern China, then they marched westwards, subjugating every village and kingdom along the way. Many of those they defeated joined their ranks until their army grew to an enormous size, enormous enough to conquer lands all the way into the heart of Europe. These nomad warriors were called Mongols, sometimes also known as Turkomans or Tartars, and their lack of interest in unnecessary material goods meant that their only desire was a lust for domination and destruction. James Chambers’ The Devil’s Horsemen gives a clear historical overview of who these Mongols were and what they accomplished.

The leader of the Mongols was named Temujin, now readily known by the infamous name of Chingis Khan. He was brutal and cruel but also smart, pragmatic, orderly, and fiercely loyal to his own people. This book does not say much about who Chingis Khan was or how the Mongols lived. Their lifestyle in the Gobi Desert and their defeat of the Chin kingdom is only briefly mentioned. The story starts in Chingis Khan’s later years when he gets betrayed by the Khwarizm king Mohammad Shah. After easily defeating him in battle, the Mongols conquer all of Transoxnia, the steppes that are now the locations of the Stan countries of Central Asia. The Mongols keep pressing onwards, eventually overcoming the Caucasus, Ukraine, Russia, Asia Minor and Eastern Europe. Then, as if for no reason at all, they turn around and return to their capitol, Karakorum, a small vilage of yurts where members of Islam, Buddhism, and Nestorian Christianity are commanded to live together without fighting. Then Chingis Khan dies which comes as a surprise if you expect the entire history of the Mongols to revolve around him.

Up to this point, the author offers a bird’s eye view of the Mongol invasions. Details and biographical information is scarce. From a distance it shows where the Mongols went, who they took on as allies, and who they fought against. One interesting detail is the effect the Mongols had on Europe since their violence caused a migration of Slavic people to the west. After they destroyed the supposedly amazing kingdom of Bulgar in southern Russia, its people fled to the Balkans and established the kingdom which is now known as the country of Bulgaria.

Then the middle section of The Devil’s Horsemen takes an interesting turn. Chambers writes a detailed analysis of the Mongol army. He describes their weaponry, their uniforms, their organizational structure, their communication system, and their strategies. This is the most interesting part of the book because it clarifies how the Mongols operated at their smallest scale instead of leaving the you to speculate about that on your own.

The historical narrative picks up from there with another interesting twist. As the Crusades begin, the Catholic church sends two ambassadors to travel across the steppes to petition the Mongols for an alliance against the Arabs. Then the Mongols, under a new leader, cross back over to Europe and go to battle against lands as far away as Poland, Hungary, and Austria.

This book is very easy to read. Although it is a truncated history of the Mongols, it does give a good overview of what they did and how they changed history. The lean details make it read like a description of a series of maps more than an examination of a living culture. That is not such a bad thing if you are new to the subject of Central Asian history and the Mongolian hordes that made it such an important region for the development of Europe. The author tends to be disparaging of the Mongols because of all the destruction and chaos they brought with them, but he could have given them more credit for the ingenuity they put into the organization of troops, their innovations in weaponry and armor, and their ability to overlook the combative nature of different religions for the sake of uniting them into one army. Plus the fact that a band of starving nomads conquered everything from Northern China to Vienna is impressive too.

The Devil’s Horsemen is a good, accessible introduction to the subject of the Mongol wars. It should be of interest to casual readers of history or people who want an easy introduction to this subject. There is a lot more to the biography of Chingis Khan and the history of the Mongols who survived him so people interested in a more complete narrative might want to skip over this one.

[Wes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty amazing that the Mongols were on the verge of completely conquering both Europe and the Middle East, only to be turned back both times not by opposing armies but by the deaths of the khans and in-fighting. Without those dynamics, the Mongols would have taken virtually all of Asia, Europe and the Middle East and both Christianity and Islam as we know them would have been dramatically altered if not wiped out entirely.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s interesting how opportunistic political arrangements were. When push came to shove nothing mattered but who could help you defend yourself. How tangled some of the arrangements were...

[Monica Bond-Lamberty · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my first reads on the Mongols.
Undoes the Western narrative that the Mongols stopped their advanced into Europe because of European superiority.
A quick read, though I prefer Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World despite its hyperbole at times.

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would say that the 1970s reading list makes this book useful

mine has the 2001 preface

and he added some recent books and articles up to 1991
where the original list went up to 1976

[Laura Turchetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

The more things change, the more they remain the same. Great history of the period.

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I purchased The Devil’s Horsemen: The Mongol Invasion of Europe primarily for descriptions of the military campaigns (which are well-presented) and tactics, I was pleased to read James Chambers’ narratives of successful and failed diplomatic overtures and the recounting of fascinating examples of revenge. Frankly, it is hard to believe how dense the information provided can be in a book that is less than 200 pages long. Personally, I would have enjoyed some more maps showing the sweep of campaign moves (with arrows as per military atlases and books) rather than the static maps of the general territory involved, but I’m delighted with what Chambers has presented.

The Mongols have a ruthless reputation in the western world and Chambers illustrates some justification for this perception. One only reaches page 10 in the book before Chingis Khan executes an opposing chieftain by pouring molten silver in his eyes and ears till he died (p. 10). Civilians are used to provide a moving screen for Mongol forces (pp. 13-14) and those who collaborated with the enemy are slaughtered even after surrendering (p. 15). At one point, a leader rides into a besieged camp to “negotiate a truce” and ends up slaughtering the enemy while they are off guard (p. 29). The rival military leaders were placed in an airtight box to suffocate while the victorious leaders dined on the box like a table (p. 29). There was also an account of execution by cannibalism where pieces of flesh were sliced off the enemy leader and force-fed to him until he died (p. 148).

As with any major military campaign or series of campaigns, one must supplement the military strategies with diplomatic strategies. Chingis Khan owed part of his power to mandarin support in overthrowing the Peking (Beijing) regime (p. 25) and relied upon a secret treaty with Venetian merchants (pp. 23-24). As Chambers writes: “There were men in Venice who knew the truth, but they were bound by treaty and self-interest to keep quiet.” (p. 38) And although Chambers offers terrific details on how the Catholic Church kept shooting itself in the foot diplomatically (pp. 152, 157-159, 162), the most interesting account to me was of Kuyuk’s snide response to equally arrogant letters from the pope. “He scorned the solicitations of a man who also claimed to speak for God and answered his rebukes with threats.” (p. 126) After all, Kuyuk was supposed to be the “Son of Heaven” himself. “He did not understand why the pope had asked him to be baptized, nor why he should find it strange that his armies had conquered the Hungarians and other Christians since they had murdered Mongol ambassadors and refused to accept the dominion of an empire that had been ordained by God.” (p. 126)

But for me, the most valuable section of the book dealt with military doctrine and tactics for the “Golden Horde.” The Mongols used Base 10 to its fullest: 10K was a division called a tumen, tumen were divided by 10 into thousands called minghans, in turn divided by ten into hundreds called jaguns, and divided into literally tens called arbans. (p. 54) In terms of tactical organization, the main force would deploy in five ranks: two heavy cavalry in the lead (one serving as the vanguard in shock charges) and three light cavalry which could protect the flanks by maneuvering to counter enemy flanking movements (p. 62). The preferred tactic (shades of Israel at the second Battle of Air or Hannibal at Cannes) was called the mangudai where a “suicide squad” of light cavalry would charge the enemy, break ranks, and flee in expectation of the enemy offering pursuit. The main army would bleed the pursuit dry with archers and then, the heavy cavalry would charge to devastate the enemy (p. 63). Late in Mongol history, the roles where reversed when Babybars Mamluk cavalry did the same thing to Ked-Buka’s Mongol cavalry (p. 154). Chambers also has a nice analysis of the impact of Mongol tactics on later wars (pp. 66-67).

The Devil’s Horsemen: The Mongol Invasion of Europe is full of fascinating anecdotes, historical insight, and useful details. I am so delighted to have found it and it has emboldened me to play Richard Berg’s and Mark Herman’s fine Great Battles of History volume with the same title, Devil’s Horsemen. Highly recommended (both the book and the game)!

[Hedlun · Rating 4 out of 5]

I probably would have appreciated this book more if I were more than a recreational historian. I would warn potential readers that it was confusing at times to keep all the people straight, especially given the unfamiliar nature of so many names. Overall, though, this was a fascinating read. I was caught of guard that the story begins with Genghis Kahn already leading the Mongol army, and dies abbout 20 pages into the book. In many ways that made the rest of the story even more interesting. The tactics of the Mongol army are clever and both strategically and technologically sophisticated. Though brutal, one cannot help but admire them as "undersdogs" who were repeatedly dismissed and disrespected, each time to their enemies' peril. Several of the conquests and escapes described seem like they would make a good action movie (is it pitiful that I evaluate them in those terms?). Similarly, some of the interactions between diplomats and Khans, the internal political struggles that ultimately brought the Mongols down, and the various forms of execution employed make this a very interesting read.

[Greg Schloesser · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the West, we are not taught much about the Mongol invasion. About all we learn is that it was a barbarian horde led by a ruthless leader named Genghis Khan. I wanted to learn more.

While browsing a bookstore in Bryson City, NC, I found The Devil's HJorsemen for an irresistible price. The book was published in 1979, so I feared it may be outdated and a bit dry. To my surprise, it was both informative and interesting.

For the most part, the author did a good job describing the main Mongol incursions into Europe without causing too much confusion due to foreign names and antiquated country and provincial names. He resisted delving too far into battlefield tactics or political intrigues. I felt he provided enough information to gain a good understanding of the whys, hows and outcomes of these incursions.

I do feel he rushed the book to an end, however, and the final chapter was difficult to decipher as he crammed-in so many incidents and characters in a just a few pages.

Still, I found the book to be quite useful in my understanding of this time period.

[Mary Soon Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summer-reading book review #24: "The Devil's Horsemen: The Mongol Invasion of Europe," by James Chambers. Though at times too densely packed with information to be easily digestible (at least by me), this is a good reference work on the Mongols. I found myself highlighting detail after detail, including such tidbits as "Inalchuk was sent to Chingis Khan's headquarters, where molten silver was poured into his eyes and ears until he died" and "there was a whole period in Chinese art when all the statues and paintings were of horses, since the Mongol patrons desired nothing else" and "After the battle the Mongols recorded the number of enemy dead by cutting an ear from every body and collecting them into nine large sacks which they sent to Batu."

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's easy to get a sense of vertigo trying to correlate all of the names of the people and places described in this book, but this is both a good introduction for someone new to the topic of the Mongols as well as a fine supplement for those who are not. It provides a wide sweep of the huge Mongol Empire on all levels, from the gear that an individual Mongol horseman would take on campaign, to Mongol tactics, leadership profiles and cultural aberrations and impacts. It also dispels many of the preconceptions of the world many people have today and I often suggest this book to those who think brutal, invasive imperialism, genocide, induced mass slavery and a contempt for the cultures of others is only a European practice and characteristic.

[John Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the first half of the thirteenth century, the famous (and also infamous) Mongol leader Chingis Khan transformed his people almost overnight from an insignificant group of tribesmen constantly at war with each other to the world's military superpower. Mongol armies centered on well trained, well equipped, highly disciplined, and utterly merciless horsemen burst out of the steppes, and within the space of several decades conquered most of China, Persia, Russia, and southwestern Asia, reaching as far as the gates of Vienna before being forced to turn back due to their own internal political disputes.

This short book competently tells the story of the westward portion of the Mongols' expansion through Asia and on into Europe. It is competent, but no more. Three stars.

[Tapio · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough and relatively detailed description of the Mongols' campaigns in Europe, Chambers' book sheds light on the subject in a rather compact package. Having never really broached the subject before, I found the book quite well-written, with an approachable narrative structure. The text is slightly tedious in that it involves hundreds of names, which, especially toward the end of the book, become quite difficult to follow. Sometimes history is like that, and with a complex subject handled in relatively few pages, it is quite understandable that readability is to some extent sacrificed to give the reader the whole picture instead of cutting corners.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was impressed with the depth of the author's research. This historical work does not read like a novel, so it could be heavy at times with facts, dates, places, and names. I am glad I stuck with it. I am now much more educated on the the Mongol invasion and the state of the western world at the time. My perception of Chingis Khan changed greatly. He truly was a great thinker, leader, statesman, and seeker of knowledge. If he hadn't murdered so many, many people, he would be remembered as one of the great ones.

[DoctorM · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fine introduction to the Mongol invasions of Russia and Eastern Europe. Light on culture or the clan politics that made the Mongol empire so ephemeral, but a good introductory look at the era of conquest. Chambers focuses on Mongol military organisation and the remarkable adaptability and power of the Mongol armies and on the shock that spread out across Central Europe when Mongol horsemen appeared from over the horizon. And, yes, you will want a Mongol bow. You really will.

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read! nice overview of the history, military organization, lifestyle and leaders of the Moguls. This is one of top history books i have ever read. Nice easy read and great writing lets you read, learn and enjoy all at the same time. Highly recommended

[Hakam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Mongol invasion of Europe represents a pivotal moment in medieval history. On Christmas Day 1241, Batu Khan's forces crossed the Danube River, marking a critical phase in their campaign against the fragmented kingdoms of Western Europe. Chambers emphasises that this invasion was not merely a series of battles but rather a systematic military campaign characterised by superior tactics and organisation, which allowed the Mongols to dominate their adversaries despite being outnumbered.

Chambers meticulously details the Mongol military structure, highlighting their use of horse archers and innovative strategies that would later influence modern warfare. He describes how the Mongols employed mobility, discipline, and advanced communication methods to outmanoeuvre and outfight European knights, who were often encumbered by heavy armour and rigid formations. The author argues that the Mongols' scientific approach to warfare fundamentally altered the landscape of military strategy in Europe.

Key Tactical Advantages:

1. Mobility: The Mongol cavalry was highly mobile, allowing them to execute rapid flanking manoeuvres.

2. Discipline: Troops were well-trained and operated under strict command structures.

3. Psychological Warfare: The fear instilled by their reputation often led to premature surrenders among European forces.

Cultural Misunderstandings

Chambers also addresses the cultural disconnect between the Mongols and Europeans. He argues that Western perceptions of the Mongols as mere "barbarians" blinded European leaders to the true nature of their threat. This misunderstanding contributed to a lack of preparedness among European states, which underestimated the capabilities and organisation of the Mongol forces until it was too late.

Interestingly, Chambers posits that Europe's eventual reprieve from complete conquest was largely due to fortuitous circumstances rather than military prowess. After significant victories over Hungarian forces, Batu Khan received news of his uncle Ogedei's death, prompting a retreat to Mongolia for succession purposes. This turn of events spared Europe from what could have been a devastating overthrow.

The aftermath of the Mongol invasions had far-reaching effects on European society. Chambers notes that while immediate destruction was avoided, the invasions prompted migrations and shifts in power dynamics within Europe. The eventual confrontation at Ain Jalut in 1260 marked a significant turning point where Mongol invincibility was challenged by Persian forces, illustrating that their empire was beginning to fracture due to internal strife among leaders.

Chambers provides an insightful analysis into the military innovations and cultural misunderstandings that defined this era. His work serves as a reminder of how chance events can shape history and highlights the importance of recognising and understanding adversaries in warfare. By framing the Mongol invasions within this broader context, Chambers contributes significantly to our understanding of medieval military history and its lasting impact on Europe.

[Stephen Hoogerhyde · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was younger I had an interest in the Mongols, particularly how Chingis Khan unified the warring Mongol tribes and set out on building one of the largest empires in history. This book picks up the story after Chingis Khan has established himself, and relates the Mongol invasions of Northern Asia into Eastern Europe and Russia, and later into the Middle East.

The skill, discipline, incredible mobility, efficient intelligence network, and fury of the Mongols are breathtaking. Despite the wild rumors and speculation that had grown up around them from the limited contact with the West, they did not fight in huge numbers; in fact, they were often outnumbered by their foes. However the military genius of Subedei Bahadur in particular enabled them to not just defeat but crush their opponents.

At one point the Mongol empire stretched from the Pacific shore to Eastern Europe. Poised on the Danube to press their invasion into Western Europe, the Mongols withdrew upon news of the death of Ogedei Khan, the son and successor of Chingis Khan, because Mongol tradition required them to return to the capital city for the election of a new kahn. Their campaign against the Islamic empire ended when Mangku Khan died, and once again the Mongols withdrew to their capital city.

As Chambers points out, but for the premature deaths of the two supreme kahns, the Mongol empire might well have stretched from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean (and the Islamic territories might well have been subdued as well).

The book contains several maps, a glossary of terms, and a genealogical chart of the Mongol imperial family, all of which are VERY helpful in reading through the book. An interesting read about an era and an empire with which I suspect very few are at all familiar.

[Lianne]

It seems I've been on a quest following various histories of Europe and Asia especially as they coincided with the period of the crusades. A friend gave me this slim but dense scholarly book about the Mongol invasions. It was a missing piece alongside other histories I have been reading about the Knights Templar, and a recently published history of Ukraine that has a good chapter on the founding of Kyivan Rus. It's relevant to remember that in addition to Islam, the Byzantines, and the Holy Roman Empire, plus the Papal influences, waves of Asiatic horsemen were invading the territory of Europe and the Middle East from the Eastern steppes. Genghis Khan and his military genius Subedei Badahar brought 20th century warfare to medieval Europe and were only stopped at the gates of Vienna by chance. It is generally recognized that the Mongols were the first professional soldiers whose tactics were implemented by both Rommel and Patton. There is a reason why Gengis Khan's genes can be found in millions across Europe and Asia. Raping and pillaging were effective. Yet while the Mongols were barbarians they also practiced religious tolerance. Some of the Khans (sons and nephews of Genghis) converted to Nestorian Christianity. Sometimes there were strange alliances between the Mongols and Christian rulers. What is hard to fathom and accept is that hundreds of thousands of villages, towns and cities were razed and millions of people slaughtered in the path of the horsemen. Human life was so cheap. I see some parallels of the Russian army's invasion of Ukraine 700 years later when perhaps Vladimir Putin thinks he's Genghis Khan.

[Carlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

More than anything this book was helpful in understanding how close the Mongol empire came to sweep all of Europe and the Middle East, which were each saved by the death of a great Khan rather than any military victory. Chambers lays out with exhausting detail the explosive advances allowed by the mobility and superb communication of the Mongol army. He likewise highlights the divisions, hubris and complacency, in both Christian Europe and the Muslim Empires, that helped the Mongol army achieve unparalleled feats. Chronicling in detail the invasion of Central Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East, Chambers gets the balance mostly right and only occasionally falls into the trap of listing too many battles instead of focusing on the most crucial. He similarly finds the balance in detailing the growing divisions on the Mongol court as well as the dawning realization by Christian and Muslim rulers of the existential peril they were facing. All in all, this book served its purpose well, showing the brilliance and reach of the western campaigns of the Mongol expansion.

[Ross Heinricy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot begin to tell how much I enjoyed this book! As you can see it only took a total of three days to read it, and that was because i literally couldn't put it down. I have never read anything about the Mongols or their magnificent leaders, or the grandeur of their armies and what they accomplished both socially, economically or militarily.
A few things stood out: 1st) the weapons they used and with such amazing ability, 2) the spy network and intelligence gathering abilities, 3) and finally the swiftness of attack and the ability to effectively communicate with all the moving parts and armies that were in play. I look forward to reading more books written by James Chambers, and also more on the subject of the Mongolian people so as to broaden my perspective of the Mongols and their people, culture, etc.
I highly recommend this book!

[Kallie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant account, well-written and -organized, of the Mongol conquests in Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. There are pretty good maps, and a chart of Genghis Khan's progeny to help keep the actors straight (a list of others would have been helpful). Somehow, Chambers manages to make this incredibly detailed tapestry of rulers, internecine conflict, battles, and shifting alliances possible to absorb, though re-reading would be required to retain a lot of the detail. But I now know what part the Mongols played in Russian history (devastatingly feudal), and the Mamaluks in spreading intolerant Islamic dogma over a region that had, as simply Moslem, blossomed with art and architecture. The review of regional geography was helpful, illustrative. And Chambers' writing style is deft and fluid, a pleasure to read.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very well written book about the Mongol empire, which nearly took over half of the known world during the 1200's. Chambers' historical writing reads like a work of fiction, and he can capture the events that took place with thrilling imagery and pace.

The book does tend to drag in some areas, and some details are redundant.

It was widely thought by European kingdoms that the Mongols were primitive and mysterious people, when in fact the warriors were sophisticated, logical, and very dangerous. This is what Chambers does so well: he describes the misunderstandings by European and Russian empires before the Mongols invade their territory with ferocious ambition.

This work is a good introduction to Chengis Khan and his empire for anyone interested, and offers as a good source for research.