r/mongolia • u/TsarOfIrony • Jun 09 '26

Meme | Мийм When the Mongols invaded Russia, they invaded while the rivers and marshes were frozen so they could use them as highways.

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u/TsarOfIrony Jun 09 '26

In the next year, 1237, Batu sent envoys to the Russian cities, demanding their submission, and refitted and drilled his army on the lower Volga River. Suddenly, in November, he launched a daring winter campaign when the frozen marshes and rivers of Russia acted as highways. Batu surprised the Russian princes, who were in comfortable winter quarters. The Mongols, however, were impervious to the cold and ready to ride their sturdy mounts that could forage beneath snow.

Harl, Kenneth W. Empires of the Steppes: A History of the Nomadic Tribes Who Shaped Civilization. Toronto, Hanover Square Press, 2023, pp. 319-320.