Page "Battle of Mohi" Paragraph 22

In spite of this, by Candlemas ( February ) 1242, more than a year after the initial invasion and a few months before the Mongols ' withdrawal, a significant number of important castles and towns had resisted the formidable and infamous Mongol siege tactics.

Among the nearly eighty sites that remained unconquered, only three were of the most formidable type: the then-new stone castle on an elevation: Fülek, Léka ( near the western border ) and Németújvár.

The rest were either fortified towns ( e. g., Székesfehérvár ), old committal centre castles ( e. g., Esztergom citadel ), fortified monasteries ( e. g. Tihany and Pannonhalma ) or military fortresses ( e. g. Vécs guarding a main trade route in the mountains of Transylvania.

Ultimately, the country was not subdued, and though much of the population was slaughtered, the king and higher nobility avoided capture.

As a tardy revenge, the Hungarians and Croats ambushed and destroyed the rearguard division of the retreating Mongol army in the Carpathians.