Mongol conquest In Japan

1274 CE the mongol Invasion of Japan began when Kublai Khan sent fleets of men and ships to China and Japan in hopes of conquest.

*(First Invasion) Mongol Invasion of Japan 1274*

-----------------------------------------------------Timeline-------------------------------------------------------------

1)Mongols depart from Masan Korea on route to Tsushima Japan. -2 November 1274

2)Mongols land on Sasuura Tsushima ,Sukekuni leads the resistance and is killed on Komoda beach. -5 November 1274

3)Mongols attack Iki and Death of Taira Kagetaka. -13 November 1274

4)Mongols raid the Matsuura peninsula. -15 November 1274

5) Mongol assault on Hakata Bay. -19 November 1274

6)Retreat Hakata bay on 20 November.

Before the idea of the invasion of Japan by the mongols was conceived the ruler of the mongols also known as "The Great Khan" went about a more diplomatic approach of attempting to take control of Japan. A quote that explains this well is how, "The Great Khan sent a letter to Japan in 1268 CE recognising its leader as the 'king of Japan' and expressing a desire to foster friendly relations but also demanding tribute be paid to the Mongol court with the ominously veiled threat that the use of arms was, the Khan hoped, to be avoided."- Cartwright

This quote explains how while the Mongols did attempt to go about a diplomatic approach at first there was also no intent not to control Japan but it was originally intended to be a mutually agreed deal where Japan would in a way pay the Mongols to ensure they would not be attacked.

After Japan refused to pay tribute to the Mongols due to possibly misunderstanding of their enemy and who was attempting to make relations with them the Mongols began to prepare for an attack on Japan.

In 1274 the Mongols departed for their invasion of japan with their first stop being Tsushima island. The mongols would land on a sandy secluded beach as pictured above known as Komoda beach or on maps Komodahama Beach.

This Mongol attack included 8,000 Mongols transported on 900 ships. -Turnbull

On Tsushima Island the mongols were spotted in the water and it allowed the jitodai of Tsushima to organize a hasty defence. The jitodai during this time was, So Sukekuni and he lived from (1207–1274). This date of death is significant because it takes place during the battle of Komoda beach.

Preparing to attack the mongols Sukekuni had an army of 80 mounted samurai which would ultimately fail against the immense 8,000 strong army of the Mongols. While this 80 samurai along with other supporters may normally have been a more than adequate defense against an invader, the mongols were no ordinary invader.

While the Kamakura shogunate and Tsushima Islands defenses held off the Mongol invaders they were able to send a message to the Dazaifu with a warning to prepare for war and an imminent attack by the mongols.

On Komoda beach The Japanese resistance is defeated and the mongols begin to take control of Tsushima Island. After this initial defeat the rest of the island quickly falls to the Mongol invaders.

With the fall of Tsushima island the Mongols began their attack on the next closest island, this would be Iki Island. On Iki island there was a defense led by Taira Kagetaka.

This defense was as strong as the defence on Tsushima island however , it eventually fell and those who were left were forced to take shelter within Hinotsume castle. After no reinforcements showed up to their aid the castle fell. 

 After a desperate last battle against the Kagetaka withdrew back to his castle to commit suicide along with his family.

Iki was taken over by the Mongols and soon they would depart for Hakata Bay.

Through both of these battles the Mongols may have won but it is almost certainly due to the sheer size in numbers the mongols had against the Japanese Samurai.

When the Mongols land on Hakata bay it is where the Japanese defenses will suffer the most defeat and will not be adequately prepared to defend against the fighting styles of the Mongols.

In beginning the attack on Hakata bay the Mongols used many new tactics that were unknown to the Japanese warriors and as stated in the article by Turnbull, "Two commanders took control of the defence: Shoni Kagesuke, the younger brother of the shugo Shoni Tsunesuke, and the Satsuma shugo Shimazu Hisatsune, who took up a position in the vicinity of the Hakozaki Hachiman Shrine. Mongol detachments landed in the western area of the bay around Imazu, Sawaraura and Momojibara. From here they planned to move eastwards along the coast to take Hakata, and then turn inland up the river valley to Dazaifu. All the available accounts suggest that the pace of the fighting was first set by the Mongols, leaving the Japanese defenders confused by their unfamiliar tactics. First, the way in which the Mongol soldiers advanced on foot in large and comparatively dense groups protected by shields, controlled by drums and to the accompaniment of much noise, required a major reconsideration of traditional Japanese fighting techniques."-Turnbull

What this quote explains is that while the Japanese warriors were well skilled and extremely trained, they were not prepared to face an enemy that fought in groups with shields, this along with the way that the Mongols moved according to the beats of a drum confused the Japanese warriors and left them vulnerable to the incredible strength of the Mongol Army.

In additional consideration of this passage it is shown how while the Japanese Kamakura felt prepared in every way for the Mongol attack on Hakata bay in reality they were not prepared to take on an enemy with such different fighting styles from what they were used to and along with the organized drum taktiks and grouped fighting that forced the Kamakura to fight instead of relying on arrows and choosing an equal opponent the samurai were forced to take on hoards of Mongols with no success.

 Eighteen days after the first landing by the Mongols and even though they successfully created a bridgehead at Hakata Bay, the mongols decided not to push on deeper into Japanese territory. This could have been because of a lack in supplies or the death of the Mongol general Liu Fuxiang that was killed by a samurai's arrow, however it is unknown in truth and it is also possible that the entire mission could have been simply to get more information on the Japanese army and its preparedness to create an even stronger second attack. -Cartwright

1281 CE the Mongol invasion on Japan begins once again when more troops are sent out from Korea but now from China as well.

*(Second Invasion) Mongol Invasion of Japan 1281*

-----------------------------------------------------Timeline-------------------------------------------------------------

1)Japan prepares for another attack from the Mongols.- 1274-1281

2)Eastern Route Army leaves Korea and attacks Tsushima. - 24 May 1281

3) Eastern Route Army attacks Iki. - 14 June 1281

4) Eastern Route Army divides. One wing attacks Nagato province on Honshu while other wing attacks Hakata Bay. - 23 June 1281

5)The Mongols are unable to land because of the resistance mounted from behind the defensive wall. - 23 June 1281

6) The Mongols occupy Shiga and Noki islands, where they are subjected to attacks from the Japanese. These attacks are not big ships from the Japanese yet small ships with Samurai and fighters to push back against the Mongols. - 23 June 1281

7)The Eastern Route Army that attacked Hakata bay withdraws to Iki Island which is already occupied by the Mongols. - 30 June 1281

8)Finally the Southern Route Army arrives from China and meets with the Eastern Route Army around Hirado. - July/Aug 1281

9) Battle of Takashima. - 12 August 1281

10)The kamikaze which literally translates to "divine wind" destroys the Mongol fleet in Imari Bay and the Japanese Samurai win the battle. - 13&14 August 1281

11)Surviving ships are taken back to China. - 15 August 1281

In the second attack on Japan by the Mongols many more troops were sent out, this time troops were sent from all around mongol occupied territories in preparation for an even bigger and more successful attack on Japan. "Six hundred warships were ordered from southern China, in addition to 900 from Korea. The supposed numbers of troops were 40,000 on the eastern route from Korea and 100,000 Southern Chinese. Both numbers are almost certainly a considerable exaggeration, but the addition of the Southern Song forces must have resulted in an army at least three times the size of the multitude of that in 1274. No figures are available for the size of the Japanese Army, although it is also likely to have been much larger than in 1274." -Turnbull

The Mongol army again attacked Tsushima Island as well as Iki island all before beginning their second attack on Hakata Bay on Kyushu. In this attack one difference occurred, this time the force split and one fleet attacked Honshu where it was fortified at Nagato. Along with this the Japanese created even better defences and created a very strong resistance at Hakata.

With this split fleet the eastern general decided to go against orders and launch an attack before the second fleet arrived and unexpectedly to him the border was extremely well fortified by the new wall and the defences were much better which made it extremely hard for the Mongol forces to land at Hakata.

This attack proved to be very insignificant in the damages done to the Japanese defenses and the Mongol army was forced to evacuate to Iki island.

In this second attack by the Mongols the Japanese Kamakura are more prepared and are able to succeed in driving back the Mongols to Iki Island, along with this the Japanese led attacks on the Mongols on Iki island with small ships and proved to continuously weaken the Mongols army.

"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."-Cartwright 

This battle against the Japanese defense proved to be much more difficult than the first time, the Japanese plan to fortify with walls was extremely effective and aided in keeping the mongols in the water and unable to land.

Fighting went on for weeks on end and Mongol forces were certainly running short on supplies and disaster for the Mongols struck on August fourteenth.

This disaster came in the form of intense weather conditions and led to the ultimate downfall of the Mongol attack on Japan. In this disaster, "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." -Cartwright

This passage gives insight into a reason why the Japanese won against the Mongols second invasion, with the increased preparedness of the Kamakura shogunate and the defensive walls built it allowed the Japanese to hold the mongols off while mounting well planned defenses. Along with these defenses the Japanese were able to hold the Mongol army in the water and along with continuous fighting the Mongols began to run out of supplies and then the Kamikaze or "Divine winds" came to destroy the Mongol fleet.

The surviving then sailed back to china with a fatal defeat against the Japanese ending the second and last attack on Japan by the Mongols.

----------------------------------------------Final Analysis-----------------------------------------------

Throughout the Mongol attacks on Japan it can be deduced that because of this first attack on Japan by the Mongols and the fact that they left to prepare for a second attack become extremely vital to the way that the warriors of Japan were able to fend back the Mongols on this final battle on Takashima. With many factors coming into play for the reason that the Mongols were defeated on this battle, the biggest and most easily seen reason is the "Kamikaze". Because of these "Divine winds" along with the strong defensive walls put in place after the first attack the Japanese warriors were able to keep the Mongols in the water and not allow them to use the extremely successful techniques they used before in the first attack at Hakata bay. It can be seen that if the mongols persisted on in this first attack and sent more troops to japan through this already successfully taken entrance they may have been able to conquer Japan, however the Mongol army decided to leave and prepare for an even bigger and originally planned more successful attack on Japan but what actually happened was not this. After the "Kamikaze" destroyed much of the Mongol fleet and the Japanese warriors fought off what was left of these Mongol attackers those who were left were either executed or were sent back, those who were sent back were primarily of the song chinese dynasty who were once allies of Japan. Finally, because of the original attack by the Mongols the Japanese defense were given the ability to prepare for their new enemy and be much more ready for the second attack, this preparedness along with intense weather conditions hindering the power of the Mongol fleet allowed Japan to win the attack and fend off the Mongols.