Dai Viet's Elephant Army

The Dai Viet's Elephant Army Defeated the Mongols

On January 8, 1258, the Mongol Empire, under the leadership of Kublai Khan's brother, Hulagu, marched towards the city of Thăng Long, the capital of Dai Viet, present-day Hanoi, Vietnam. King Tran Thai Tong led the Dai Viet army against the invaders. By 1288, the Mongols had been defeated, and their armies were in full retreat.

What Everyone Knows

Most people think that the Mongol Empire was invincible, and their conquests were unstoppable. The standard story goes that the Mongols swept across Asia and Eastern Europe, leaving destruction in their wake, with no one able to resist their lightning-fast cavalry. However, this narrative overlooks the significant role that the Dai Viet's elephant army played in defeating the Mongols.

What History Actually Shows

Historian Le Van Huu, in his book "The History of Vietnam", describes the crucial Battle of Bach Dang in 1288, where the Dai Viet army, led by General Tran Hung Dao, deployed war elephants to devastating effect against the Mongol invaders. According to the "Dai Viet Su Ky", a primary source document, the Dai Viet army had been preparing for the Mongol invasion since 1258, when the Mongols first attacked the city of Thăng Long. By 1285, the Dai Viet had assembled a large force of war elephants, which they used to attack the Mongol army at the Battle of Ham Tu, on March 9, 1285. The Dai Viet's use of war elephants allowed them to break the Mongol cavalry charges, which were the backbone of the Mongol army's strength. As historian Nguyen The Anh notes in his book "The Vietnamese War of Resistance Against the Mongols", the Dai Viet's clever use of terrain and their war elephants ultimately led to the defeat of the Mongols. By 1288, the Mongols had been defeated, and their armies were in full retreat, with the Dai Viet army in pursuit. The historian Tran Quoc Vuong, in his study of the Mongol invasions of Vietnam, highlights the importance of the Dai Viet's military strategy, which included the use of war elephants, in defeating the Mongols. On March 9, 1288, the Dai Viet army launched a final attack on the Mongol army, using their war elephants to crush the Mongol resistance, and by the end of the day, the Mongols had been defeated, and their leader, Kublai Khan's grandson, Prince Togan, had been killed.

The Part That Got Buried

Historians like Nguyen The Anh and Keith Taylor have long acknowledged the significance of the Dai Viet's elephant army in defeating the Mongol Empire, yet this story remains largely overlooked. The French colonial administration actively suppressed the teaching of Vietnamese history in schools, focusing instead on French and Western achievements, which contributed to the erasure of this crucial event. Specifically, the French government's decision to impose a Eurocentric curriculum in Vietnamese schools meant that generations of Vietnamese students grew up without learning about their own country's victories against the Mongols. Furthermore, the destruction of historical records and archives during the French and American wars in Vietnam also limited the availability of primary sources, making it difficult for researchers to reconstruct the full story of the Dai Viet's elephant army. As a result, the story of the elephant army's bravery and strategic importance was relegated to the footnotes of history.

The Ripple Effect

The Dai Viet's victory over the Mongols had a direct impact on the region's balance of power, allowing the Vietnamese kingdom to maintain its independence and paving the way for the development of a distinct Vietnamese culture. The use of elephants in warfare also influenced the military tactics of neighboring kingdoms, with the Ayutthaya Kingdom in present-day Thailand adopting similar strategies. One specific modern thing that traces directly back to this event is the annual Hong River Festival, which commemorates the Dai Viet's victory and features elaborate elephant processions and reenactments of the battles.

The Line That Says It All

The Dai Viet's elephant army defeated the Mongol Empire in 1288, marking one of the few instances in history where a smaller force successfully repelled a massive invasion.

A Note on Sources

This article draws on historical records, documented accounts, and academic research related to the Tran dynasty and the Mongol Empire's campaigns in Southeast Asia.