During the Yuan Dynasty, the ruling class, led by Kublai Khan, intended to incorporate Japan into its vast empire by military means, making it a province directly under the Great Yuan Empire.
To this end, they actively planned and launched a war of aggression against Japan, hoping to demonstrate the military power of the Yuan Dynasty and achieve its grand goal of unifying East Asia.
After Kublai Khan conquered the Jin Dynasty and fixed the capital of Dadu, in order to contain the Southern Song Dynasty, he adopted the strategy of "salute first and then soldier" to treat Japan. In 1264, he sent an envoy to Japan, hoping that Japan would voluntarily submit to Japan and become part of the Great Yuan Empire.
However, at that time, Japan was under the rule of the Kamakura shogunate, and the Hojo clan, a powerful minister of the shogunate, was not interested in Kublai Khan's overtures. This arrogant attitude angered Kublai Khan, which eventually led him to decide to use force and incorporate Japan into his territory.
In the war against Japan, Kublai Khan had two major military campaigns, one in 1274, when Kublai Khan had unified the whole country and had the strength and confidence to fight against Japan. In the first operation, Kublai Khan sent 20,000 Mongol and Han troops, 5,600 Goryeo troops, and 6,700 sailors, a total of 3An army of 230,000 men marched from Goryeo Hapo to Tsushima Island, Japan.
The army showed amazing combat effectiveness in the landing operation on Tsushima Island, and successfully occupied the island in just one day. After landing on the island, the Yuan army adopted tactics such as infantry group operations and thunderstorming, inflicting huge losses on the Japanese defenders.
However, in the subsequent mountain battles, the Yuan army was not good at such terrain and was forced to retreat to the ship. At this moment, a sudden and powerful typhoon swept in, causing the ship to capsize and the Yuan army to suffer heavy losses. In the end, the first attempt of the Yuan dynasty to attack Japan ended in failure.
In 1284, the Yuan dynasty regrouped and once again assembled a large army, determined to conquer Japan. This expedition was commanded by Fan Wenhu, Li Ting and other generals, with a total strength of nearly 200,000.
The Yuan army was divided into two major line-ups, one route was Xindu and Hongchaqiu led 40,000 troops, carrying 900 warships, and set sail from Korea; On the other hand, Fan Wenhu commanded 100,000 elite Jiangnan troops with 3,500 warships, and set out from Qingyuan (present-day Ningbo, Zhejiang), with the two armies pointing together towards Japan, intending to incorporate this land into the territory of the Yuan Dynasty.
However, history does not seem to favor the ambitions of the Yuan dynasty. After the Yuan army landed, when it launched a fierce attack on the Kyushu region, it encountered unprecedented resistance. The Japanese defenders showed an astonishing will to fight, and the Yuan army fell into a bitter battle. In an unfavorable situation in the battle, the Yuan army had to withdraw to the ships again.
Unfortunately, at this time, a violent typhoon was encountered, the battleships capsized one after another, and the Japanese army took advantage of the situation to launch a counterattack, and the Yuan army suffered heavy losses, and finally had to retreat gloomily, and once again collapsed and sank on Japanese soil.
After two large-scale attacks, the Yuan army was defeated by the typhoon, which was undoubtedly a surprise for Japan. They believed that it was the blessing of the gods that saved the country from destruction.
Therefore, these two typhoons are revered by the Japanese as "kamikaze". In later discussions of the Yuan Dynasty's failed attack on Japan, many tend to attribute the cause to the effects of typhoons. However, can we really simply blame natural phenomena? Perhaps, there is a deeper reason behind this.
The invincible Yuan Dynasty actually fell twice in a row on tiny Japan, so how did Japan slip away from Kublai Khan?
First of all, the Yuan army was relatively weak in its combat effectiveness at sea and lacked sufficient experience and technology in naval operations. Although the Yuan army was large, it did not have an advantage in naval warfare, which made them powerless in the face of the complex sea environment and climatic conditions of the Japanese archipelago.
Secondly, the topographical and climatic conditions of Japan were extremely unfavorable for the Yuan army. The mountainous and sea-rich Japanese archipelago, complex geographical environment, and harsh climatic conditions made it difficult for the Yuan army to launch an effective offensive on the Japanese mainland. The Yuan army had to face the dual challenges of terrain and climate, which undoubtedly increased the difficulty of their conquest of Japan.
In the end, the Japanese were very determined to resist, and they put up fierce resistance, making it difficult for the Yuan army to gain a foothold on Japanese soil. In the process of defending their homeland, the Japanese showed tenacious fighting spirit and firm faith, which made it difficult for the Yuan army to achieve a decisive victory in the face of their resistance.
To sum up, the reason for Kublai Khan's failure to conquer Japan was not a single one, but the result of a combination of factors. The lack of naval combat effectiveness of the Yuan army, the unfavorable topographical and climatic conditions of Japan, and the stubborn resistance of the Japanese people all contributed to the defeat of Kublai Khan's conquest of Japan.