WI: The Mongols push through the Balkans

What if the Mongols decided on a different course of invading Europe where, instead of attacking through Poland/Hungary, they push through Anatolia (destroying the Ottomans in the process) and onto the Balkans?

How will Europe react? How will history turn out in this scenario?

Eh, why. Hungary and Poland has plains, nice territory for their horses. That's why they chose the route they chose. Best route for nomadic light cavalry.

Also in the mid 1200s the Ottomans were not yet a thing.

True. The Balkans are full of mountainous terrain, which sucks if you're the Mongols. Even when they popped up in the Balkans in OTL, they could only inflict a limited amount of damage (some, but way less than in Hungary and other lands to the north) and had any lasting presence only in the northernmost fringes of the region.

Pushing through Anatolia would probably have to come via Iran/Persia, and the Mongols did take the eastern chunk. The only thing is, how do you get them to NOT attack through Europe sooner?

Persia and Mesopotamia were tougher nuts to crack than the Cumans and Rus, so there's no obvious way how the Mongols are slowed down on the way.


And sending the historical invasion over the Caucasus rather than the Hungarian plains seems like a bad idea indeed.

Maybe into the Slavonian Plain if they've conquered Hungary.

Why bother? They had all the recipes for success IOTL with their plan, and were partway through accomplishing it when the Mongol political situation changed. There was no reason to come up with a different strategy because it worked.

avernite said:

Pushing through Anatolia would probably have to come via Iran/Persia, and the Mongols did take the eastern chunk. The only thing is, how do you get them to NOT attack through Europe sooner?

Persia and Mesopotamia were tougher nuts to crack than the Cumans and Rus, so there's no obvious way how the Mongols are slowed down on the way.


And sending the historical invasion over the Caucasus rather than the Hungarian plains seems like a bad idea indeed.

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You know what the toughest nut to crack was?

China. They used much more soldiers and people to conquer China than Persia, after all.

Evidently, the Mongols didn't care about how tough their enemy was as much as...well...whatever they cared about. If you get them reasons to invade the Balkans, they'll invade the Balkans (as long as they have a front there).

ZhugeLiang said:

You know what the toughest nut to crack was?

China. They used much more soldiers and people to conquer China than Persia, after all.

Evidently, the Mongols didn't care about how tough their enemy was as much as...well...whatever they cared about. If you get them reasons to invade the Balkans, they'll invade the Balkans (as long as they have a front there).

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Sure. But that was not my point - the OP seemed to ask to make them forego attacking Hungary to conquer Anatolia instead. I see no way to speed up the Mongol invasion of Syria/eastern Anatolia enough to ensure they conquer Anatolia before they get to the Carpathian mountains and start thinking of invading Hungary.

avernite said:

Sure. But that was not my point - the OP seemed to ask to make them forego attacking Hungary to conquer Anatolia instead. I see no way to speed up the Mongol invasion of Syria/eastern Anatolia enough to ensure they conquer Anatolia before they get to the Carpathian mountains and start thinking of invading Hungary.

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Ah, I see. Maybe they try through Eastern Europe (though they would hid the Carpathians) instead of through the Middle East. Somehow, they get through (don't ask me for details, I don't know much about this part of the world) and push into the Balkans.

avernite said:

Sure. But that was not my point - the OP seemed to ask to make them forego attacking Hungary to conquer Anatolia instead. I see no way to speed up the Mongol invasion of Syria/eastern Anatolia enough to ensure they conquer Anatolia before they get to the Carpathian mountains and start thinking of invading Hungary.

Click to expand...

If I get it right the discussion is about the Western campaign of the imperial Mongol army headed by Batu Khan and Subuday, which was interrupted because of the early unexpected death of Ögedei Khan.

Well, the point is this army could not invade and conquer Anatolia, no way.
The mission of this campaign was to conquer the territories of Jouchi Ulus (the lands which were granted by Chengiz Khan to the House of his elder son Jouchi, but they were not conquered yet).

And Anatolia was not in Jouchi Ulus. And Iran and Mesopotamia was not in Jouchi Ulus either. Of course they were going to be conquered by the Mongols; actually the whole world was to be conquered. But later, after the House of the eldest son of Chengiz Khan gets what is his - the Cuman steppe with parts of the Central Asia and Europe.

As for pushing through the Balkans... that's tactical. I mean if Europe was about to get conquered it did not make too much difference which parts of her come first and which parts a little bit later.