[7]: 97–99 A combined force of Poles and Moravians under the command of Duke Henry II the Pious of Silesia, supported by feudal nobility and a few knights from military orders sent by Pope Gregory IX, attempted to halt the Mongol invasion of Poland.

After King Béla IV of Hungary rejected Batu Khan's ultimatum to surrender the Cumans, Subutai began planning the Mongol invasion of Europe.

[8] While deciding whether or not to besiege Wrocław, Baidar and Kadan received reports that King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia was two days away with an army over twice[7]: 99  the size of Henry's.

[7]: 97–99 The Mongol diversionary force, a detachment (no less than one and no more than two tumens) from the army of Subutai, demonstrated the advantages of the tactical mobility and speed of mounted archery.

These were standard Mongol tactics used in virtually all of their major battles; they were made possible by continual training and superb battlefield communication, which used a system of flags.

A contemporary European account, the Ystoria Mongalorum, supports these numbers, placing the Mongol force that invaded Poland at 10,000 horsemen.

[9] Lesser trained forces included an army from Opole under Duke Mieszko II the Fat; Moravians led by Boleslav, son of the Margrave of Moravia Děpolt III; conscripts from Greater Poland; and volunteer Bavarian miners from not long before established town of Goldberg (Złotoryja).

Henry's better trained troops were his own gathered in his Silesian realm, mercenaries, and very small contingents of French Knights Templar and other foreign volunteers.

A legend that the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Poppo von Osterna, was killed during the battle is false, as he died at Legnica years later while visiting his wife's nunnery.

[12] The Templar contribution was very small, estimated around 68–88 well-trained, well-armed soldiers;[6] their letter to the king of France gives their losses as three brother knights, two sergeants and 500 'men'—according to their use of the term, probably peasants working their estates and thus neither better armed or trained than the rest of the army's infantry.

Ponce d'Aubon reported to King Louis IX of France that the military order lost 500 people, both in Legnica and subsequent raids on three Templar villages and two "towers"[13] among them nine brothers, three knights, and two sergeants.

As Baidar and Kadan's orders had been to serve as a diversion, they stayed to keep the Bohemian forces tied up, avoiding confrontation with the larger army while splitting up into bands and sacking minor towns and villages.

Although the Mongols repeatedly expressed a desire to conquer central Europe in ultimatums up to the 1270s, Poland and Hungary stayed outside of the Golden Horde's sphere of influence.