Battle of Samara Bend

Battle of Samara Bend
Part of Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria
Date 1223 Location Kernek, Volga Bulgaria Result Decisive Bulgarian victory
Belligerents
Volga Bulgaria	Mongol Empire
Commanders and leaders
Ghabdulla Chelbir	Subutai, Jebe
Strength
30,000	25,000-30,000
Casualties and losses
5,000-10,000	4,000 survived1
1 - according to the local oral traditions

The Battle of Samara Bend or the Battle of Kernek was the first battle between Volga Bulgaria and the Mongols, probably one of the first major battles the Mongols lost. It took place in autumn 1223, at the southern border of Volga Bulgaria. The Bulgars allegedly retreated and the Mongols pursued them. Then the main Bulgar forces ambushed the Mongols. After Mongols were rounded up, the Bulgars massacred them and only 4,000 managed to escape, according to local traditions and proven from Arabian chronicle.^{[citation needed]}

Background

The Bulgar's inflicted a defeat on the Mongols. According to historian Richard A. Gabriel, prior to this battle, Subotai's 18,000 Mongols combined with 5,000 Brodniki allies, killed over 40,000 Russians in open battle at the Kalka River. The Mongols chased the Prince of Kiev and the rest of his army for 150 miles and spent 3 days attacking the remaining 10,000 men at a fortified camp on the Dnieper River before they annihilated the Russian army to the last man. Subutai, after his victory over the Russians was instructed by Genghis Khan to search for his son Juji's army of 20,000 men and link up in a effort to defeat the Volga Bulgars. The newly revived Mongols were defeated in battle shortly after linking up their armies by a well prepared Bulgar ambush despite their larger army. This is considered the only loss of the Mongols during the rule of Genghis Khan. After 14 years of hard work and exhaustive preparation, the Mongols finally managed to defeat the Volga Bulgars. By then, other forces from Europe had already learned of the Mongols and were better prepared. Some historians claim that had it not been for the Bulgars to repel and weaken the Mongols during their first attack and weaken them during their second, they might have reached and conquered the whole of the European continent.

Numbers

The details about the Bulgar ambush and the Mongol victory at the Kama river have not survived. It is highly unlikely, that even with Jiji's reinforcements, Subotai's army numbered more than 30,000 men since Subotai and Jebe's army combined was estimated to only be between 25,000-30,000 men at the start of their western reconnaissance raid in 1220. His, and Jebe's, decisive defeats of the numerically superior Georgian, Cuman and Russian armies with less than 3 tumens (30,000), makes it reasonable to assume that Juji's reinforcements were an effort to bring back Subotai's depleted army to its original strength.^{[citation needed]}

Aftermath

The Mongols reversing their defeat at "Samara Bend" soon after with only 4,000 men at the Kama River is also something to consider, since there is no mention of further reinforcements.

In 1236 the Mongols under Batu and Subotai returned to Bulgaria and made it part of the Mongol Empire.

References

• (Russian) История Татарстана, Казань, "ТаРИХ", 2001.
• (Russian) История Татарской АССР, Казань, Татарское книжное издательство, 1980
• Genghis Khan's Greatest General:Subotai the Valiant,2004