How the Samurai Defended Against the Mongols - Middle Ages DOCUMENTARY

#Documentary #Mongols #Japan

[birjarualin]

“Less honorable samurai sneaking around the island of Tsushima” I see what you did there, nice game reference

[megapangolin]

Completely fascinating and educational video. One could never have anticipated just how complex Japanese feudal society was, especially the leadership. As for the legal complexity of raising troops it rivals the modern day. Well done, I really enjoyed this.

[Uribo_BFV]

I was very impressed by your historically correct video about the Mongol invasion of Japan, as I was fed up with so many people believing in the so-called "kamikaze myth" that Japan just happened to win thanks to typhoons.

[shehansenanayaka]

Kings and generals always give us best videos. We always appreciate your hard work and dedication to make these videos

[georgepatton]

contained the enemies at the beach head, don't let them in open country, nullify one of the Mongol's main strength, ie horsemanship, by forcing them into frontal slog fest, hell even the Japanese archers weren't slouches themselves when comparing to the Mongols, etc. The Mongols were doomed to fail, since there were away too many disadvantages from the beginning

[Ecclesia_]

It is always good to have a manual ready for 'how to defend against the Mongols'. You never know when they might strike again! Thank you for this valuable piece of work.

[ronjohnson]

Love the look at the way various cultures dealt with (or failed to deal with) the Mongols. Also like the way the downside of the actions taken was pointed out. Yeah it worked, but ...

[hugom]

Wonderful to see a good historical video on the topic, since many go the easy route and do not go over fine and important details and just chalk it all up to the kamikaze. Thank you for your work!

[soumyadiptamajumder]

The Second Invasion (Koan Campaign)

Kublai Khan's second invasion fleet was a whole lot bigger than the first one. This time, thanks to his recent defeat of the Song and acquisition of their navy, there were 4, 400 ships and around 100, 000 men, again a mix of Mongol, Chinese, and Korean warriors.

Once again, the invaders hit Tsushima (9 June) and Iki (14 June) before attacking Hakata Bay on Kyushu on 23 June 1281 CE. This time, though, the force split and one fleet attacked Honshu where it was rebuffed at Nagato. Meanwhile, at Hakata, the Japanese put their defences to good use and presented a stiff resistance. The fortification walls did their job, and this time the attackers could not establish themselves permanently on the beach, resulting in much shipboard fighting. Eventually, after heavy losses, the Mongols withdraw first to Shiga and Noki Islands and then to Iki Island. There they were harassed by Japanese ships making constant raids into the Mongol fleet using small boats and much courage. Many of the later stories of samurai heroics come from this episode of the invasion.

The Khan then dispatched reinforcements from southern China, perhaps another 40, 000 men (some sources go as high as 100, 000), and the two armies gathered to make a combined push deeper into Japanese territory, this time selecting Hirado as the target in early August. The combined fleets then moved east and attacked Takashima, the battle there taking place on 12 August.

Fierce fighting raged for several weeks and the invaders likely faced shortages of supplies. Then, yet again, the weather intervened and caused havoc. On 14 August a typhoon destroyed most of the Mongol fleet, wrecking ships that had been tied together for safety against Japanese raids and smashing the uncontrollable vessels against the coastline. From half to two-thirds of the Mongol force was killed. Thousands more of the Khan's men were washed up or left stranded on the beaches of Imari Bay, and these were summarily executed, although some Song Chinese, former allies of Japan, were spared. Those ships that survived sailed back to China.

The storm winds that either sunk or blew the Mongol ships safely away from Japanese shores were given the name kamikaze or 'divine winds.' as they were seen as a response to the Japanese appeal to Hachiman, the Shinto god of war, to send help to protect the country against a vastly numerically superior enemy. The name kamikaze would be resurrected for the Japanese suicide pilots of the Second World War (1939-1945 CE) as they, too, were seen as the last resort to once again save Japan from invasion.

It seems, too, that the Mongol ships were not particularly well-built and so proved much less seaworthy than they should have been. Modern marine archaeology has revealed that many of the ships had especially weak mast steps, which is something absolutely not to have in the case of a storm. The poor workmanship may have been due to Kublai Khan rushing to get the invasion fleet together as many of the ships in the fleet were of a variety without a keel and highly unsuitable for sea voyages. Further, Chinese ships of the period were actually renowned for their seaworthiness, so it seems the demand for a huge fleet in a short space of time resulted in a risk that did not pay off. Nevertheless, the crucial factor in the fleet's demise was the Japanese attacks which had forced the Mongol commanders to have their large and unwieldy ships lashed together using chains. It was this defensive measure which proved fatal, come the typhoon.

[abcdef]

Always loved to read about this subject.

We usually associate Japanese Warfare with the Sengoku Period or the Imperial Expansion Era, making interesting to see Japan dealing with a foreign invasion.

It is curious how this event isn't popular as the Sengoku Period, and everybody thinks that Japan was saved only by the typhoons, and not by the courage of the Japanese people.

[ohtpus]

this channel has helped me through many restless nights. big thanks to everyone involved! <3

[Rahbekkk]

Crazy how the threat of the mongols inadvertently led to 250 ish years of, more or less, a perpetual state of civil war in Japan.

[jozzieokes]

im always learning new things, thanks to your amazing team!

[Roboheart]

This is one of your best videos. I am familiar with the basics but never heard the amount of detail you provided. 👍

[stonefish]

You must have realize that i just started to watch your whole mongolian history serie in my holidays! Thanks for the fresh stuff, love it!

[mojotheaverage]

I'm really glad that western accounts are finally giving up on the myth that the mongols only failed due to the kamikaze and not due to the hard fighting of the samurai and their innovative tactics

[OspreyPens]

we have been watching your documentary for several years and absolutely love your content keep up the great work

[christianabbott]

This was an awesome video! Thank you for this! I had just purchased a book covering the Mongolian invasions of Japan. Decided to watch this before reading it to give me an insight of what I would be looking at. Awesome video!

[robwalsh]

It's interesting when you compare Japan with Britain.
Despite becoming one of the largest empires in the world, Britain was subject to defeats in the homeland from invading Romans, Vikings, Normans, Dutch, etc.
Japan did a remarkable job defending their homeland for centuries, but had a much smaller empire than Britain. They had a rare amount of self-rule in those days.

[ksmsepk]

これは新しい研究が反映されているようですね
いまだに台風の話ばかりが有名ですが
これが真実のようです