FReeper Canteen ~ Part II of The Mongols ~ November 16, 2004

www.coldsiberia.org ^ | November 16, 2004 | LaDivaLoca

[LaDivaLoca]

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Part II of The Mongols

Mongol Military Might

Mediaeval historians used to assert that the Mongol military superiority was due to their overwhelming numbers. As we are now aware of, this is incorrect, and assertions of Mongol numerical superiority must be interpreted as partly a specious excuse for European inferiority when fighting against the Mongols in the battlefield. Even though they never fought against the most powerful warriors who ever existed in the West, the Celts, there is no doubt that the Mongols proved superior to all those whom they met in battle.

Quality, not quantity, was the key to the incredible unbroken line of Mongolian military successes. Since the spiritual aspects of this phenomenon has been covered elsewhere on these pages, what will be elucidated here is the technical details of their military performance, their equipment and their use of it.

Organization

Although supreme command lay in the hands of the Supreme Khan, the high Mongol principle of promotion to posts of leadership and authority on the basis of ability alone, introduced and enforced by Chingis Khan, resulted in an unmatched quality of troops from the ordinary soldiers to the top command. Each Mongol warrior was simply incomparably superior to their Western counterparts. This exceedingly high quality ensured the competence and integrity of the commanding leaders. Thus, leaders at every level could always be entrusted with a high degree of independence in the decisions and in the execution of the different moves and operations.

After the death of Chingis Khan in 1227, none of his successors inherited his genius. For this reason, the real command of the large armies rested with the generals he picked when he was still alive, although the princes of the blood held the nominal command. The diamond among all the generals of Chingis Khan was Subedei, whose mastery of every aspect of warfare, such as intelligence, psychological warfare, military tactics and strategy and logistics, won him a place in history as the mastermind of the great Mongol campaign in Russia and Europe during 1236-1242. Subedei as a man personified the best characteristics of the Mongol forces: caution, high intuition, great intelligence and understanding, mobility, alertness, speed and power. Other eminent Mongol generals worthy of note are Chepe and Muqali, the latter did much to secure Mongol victories in China.

The organization of the army was based on the decimal system. The largest unit was the tjumen, which was made up of 10.000 troops. A large army used to consist of three tjumens (Plural form t'ma in Mongolian), one consisting of infantry troops who were to perform close combat, the two others were meant to encircle the opponent from both sides. Each tjumen consisted of ten regiments, each of 1.000 troops. The 1.000 strong unit was called a mingghan. Each of these regiments consisted of ten squadrons of 100 troops, called jaghun, each of which was divided into ten units of ten, called arban. There was also an elite tjumen, an imperial guard which was composed of specially trained and selected troops. As for the command structure, the ten soldiers of each arban elected their commander by majority vote, and all of the ten commanders of the ten arbans of a tjumen elected the commander of a jaghunby the same procedure. Above that level, the khan personally appointed the commanders of each tjumen and mingghan. This appointment was made on criteria of ability, not age or social origin.

The commanders of tjumens and mingghans had the military title of noyon. A commander of a whole army, which as mentioned typically consisted of three tjumens or more of light cavalry and in addition several mingghans of artillery, carried the title of orlok. In other words, the orlok was the commanding general.

source: http://www.coldsiberia.org/monmight.htm

Next Tuesday, Part III of The Mongols

[Mr. Silverback]

From my inbox...

While looking at a house, my brother asked the real estate agent which direction was north because, he explained, he didn't want the sun waking him up every morning. She asked, "Does the sun rise in the north?"

When another person jumped in and explained that the sun rises in the east (and has for some time), she shook her head and said, "Oh, I don't keep up with that stuff."

And then she voted.

---

I used to work in technical support for a 24x7 call center. One day I got a call from an InDUHvidual who asked what hours the call center was open. I told him, "The number you dialed is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week." He responded, "Is that Eastern or Pacific time?" Wanting to end the call quickly, I said, "Pacific.."

And then he voted.

---

So my colleague and I were eating our lunch in our cafete! ria when we overheard one of the administrative assistants talking about the sunburn she got on her weekend drive to the shore. She drove down in a convertible, but "didn't think she'd get sunburned because the car was moving."

And then she voted.

---

I was in a high school advanced physics class and the teacher was talking about a new military weapon that uses sonic waves on the battlefield to burst enemy soldier's chests. One InDUHvidual in the class spoke up and said, "Well that's stupid! Why don't they just wear headphones?"

And a few years later, he voted.

---

My sister has a lifesaving tool in her car. It's designed to cut through a seatbelt if she gets trapped. She keeps it in the trunk.

And then she voted.

---

My friends and I were on a beer run and noticed that the cases were discounted 10%. Since it was a big party, we bought two cases. The cashier multiplied two times 10% and gave us a 20% discount.

And then they all voted.

---

I was hanging out with a friend of mine when we saw a woman walk by us with a nose ring attached to an earring by a chain. My friend said, "Wouldn't the chain rip out every time she turned her head?" I had to explain to her that a person's nose and ear remain the same distance apart no matter which way the head is turned.

And then she voted.

---

I couldn't find my luggage at the airport baggage area. So I went to the lost luggage office and told the woman there that my bags never showed up. She smiled and told me not to worry because they were trained professionals and I was in good hands. "Now," she asked me, "has your plane arrived yet?"



And then she voted.

[Arrowhead1952]

Good morning to everyone at the FR Canteen.
Another wet day in Central Texas.
More than 2 inches of rain and counting.

[beachn4fun]

Why good morning Common Tator. Thank you for another little scoop on the Media. You know I almost feel sorry for those guys. Why you ask? Well, didn't you? LOL.

Really, they are trying to reach the new generation with all the shows they are putting on television. They probably even think that today's generation, being raised by the 60s & 70s crowd, are much more liberal than the 50s crowd.

But, lo-and-behold! Surprises meet them. Cause now the 50s crowd are rearing their ugly head (not literally). They are speaking up and out. They have a lot more wisdom and power than many of the 20-somethings. Then you have those Devils at FoxNews, like Hannity, making sense and influencing so many. Gasp! Even some of the 20-somethings. Now, OMG, what is the MSM going to do? They ask themselves! LOL.

[beachn4fun]

Why Good morning Mr. Silverback. Thanks for joining us this morning.

[beachn4fun]

Good morning to you Arrowhead. Mmmmmm.....is that biscuits-n-gravy I see there? Thank you! Yum...yum

[Arrowhead1952]

Mmmmmm.....is that biscuits-n-gravy I see there? Thank you! Yum...yum

Sure is. I think you were the one asking for that last week.

[beachn4fun]

Now, let's see. I heard that a Hawk has been sighted recently. Yet, I can't seem to find them.

[beachn4fun]

I'm always looking for good biscuits-n-gravy! Thank you for remembering.

[beachn4fun]

I'm looking for Darkwing. I haven't seen him much around the Canteen. I wonder if he's lost.

[beachn4fun]

Oh, look. I think I've spotted Hondo.

[beachn4fun]

I'm searching for Beth, too. Oh, where oh where can she be. Maybe she's lost too!

[beachn4fun]

Let me see.......if I keep it up at this rate I wonder if I can manage to get to #100 before Tom does?

[beachn4fun]

Let me see.......if I keep it up at this rate I wonder if I can manage to get to #100 before Tom does?

[beachn4fun]

Let me see.......if I keep it up at this rate I wonder if I can manage to get to #100 before Tom does?

[beachn4fun]

Let me see.......if I keep it up at this rate I wonder if I can manage to get to #100 before Tom does?

[beachn4fun]

Let me see.......if I keep it up at this rate I wonder if I can manage to get to #100 before Tom does?

[beachn4fun]

Let me see.......if I keep it up at this rate I wonder if I can manage to get to #100 before Tom does?

[beachn4fun]

Let me see.......if I keep it up at this rate I wonder if I can manage to get to #100 before Tom does?

[beachn4fun]

Let me see.......if I keep it up at this rate I wonder if I can manage to get to #100 before Tom does?

[beachn4fun]

Let me see.......if I keep it up at this rate I wonder if I can manage to get to #100 before Tom does?