[8] As in the second invasion, its purpose was to loot Lesser Poland, and to prevent Duke Leszek II the Black from interfering in Hungarian and Ruthenian affairs.

The invasion was also part of the hostilities between Poland and Ruthenia; in 1281, the Poles had defeated a Mongol force near Goslicz which had entered Duke Leszek's territory in support of Lev I.

[9] In November 1287, Nogai Khan demanded that the princes of Ruthenia show up personally leading their armies to join him on an expedition to Poland, while he and Talabuga gathered their own cavalry.

An ad hoc strategy was devised whereby most forces concentrated on castles and fortified cities rather than riding out to meet the Mongols in field battles.

[15] On December 7, 1287, the northern group of Mongol forces under Talabuga left a camp near Volodymyr, and, after by-passing Lublin, the army tried to cross the Vistula near Zawichost.

Mongol and Ruthenian forces failed to capture many fortified locations after the column dispersed into multiple detachments and raiding parties.

The southern group of Mongol forces under Nogai Khan (divided into at least three detachments) crossed into Poland on December 24, 1287 and besieged Kraków.

The Mongols launched an unsuccessful assault on the fortified city, suffering heavy casualties and losing several of their leaders in the process.

[19][20] Nogai Khan decided to change plans, divide his detachment into smaller units, and plunder the areas both north and south of Kraków; his units plundered the villages around Kraków and the Duchy of Sieradz while engaging in small battles with local Polish forces sallying from towns and castles.

[21] Soon after the battle of Kraków, Leszek, his wife, and a small group of retainers slipped into the Kingdom of Hungary and requested aid from King Ladislaus IV, who had defeated another Mongol invasion less than two years earlier.

Second, the Poles' upgraded fortifications made their settlements much harder to take, which enabled Leszek and his nobles to put into action a simple three-stage defensive plan.