Mongols crush Polish-German host at Legnica

April 9, 1241

In a field in Silesia, a Mongol tumen under Baidar and Kadan destroyed the combined army of Henry the Pious of Poland and the Teutonic Knights. Henry's head was paraded on a spear before the walls of Legnica. The knights' severed right ears filled nine great sacks. News of the disaster raced west through Christendom, and monasteries from Prague to Paris began praying for deliverance.