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

ANCIENT WARFARE

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

Birthdates which occurred on November 16:
0042BC Tiberius Cesar 2nd Roman emperor (14-37 AD)
1766 Rodolphe Kreutzer France, composer/virtuoso violinist (Paris Conserv)
1873 W(illiam) C(hristopher) Handy Alabama, "Father" of the Blues (St Louis Blues)
1888 Clinton Golden Pennsylvania founder (United Steelworkers of America)
1889 George S Kaufman Pittsburgh PA, playwright (This is Show Business)
1895 Michael Arlen Armenia, English writer (An American Verdict)
1896 Lawrence Tibbett Bakersfield CA, baritone (Metropolitan 1923-50)
1899 Mary Margaret McBride Paris MO, radio personality (WOR-AM, NYC)
1904 Eddie "Lockjaw" Condon Goodland IN, jazz guitarist (Eddie Condon's Floor Show)
1908 Burgess Meredith Cleveland Ohio, actor (Mr Novak, Penguin-Batman, Rocky)
1916 Daws Butler Toledo Ohio, cartoon voice (Elroy Jetson)
1922 Royal Dano NYC, actor (Red Badge of Courage, Cocaine Wars, House II)
1928 Clu Gulager Holdenville OK, actor (Virginian, Survivors, Tall Man)
1930 Chinua Achebe Nigerian writer (Christmas in Biafra)
1933 Guy Stockwell NYC, actor (Chris-Adventures in Paradise)
1935 Elizabeth Drew journalist (Politics & Money: The Road to Corruption)
1944 Joanna Pettet London, actress (Knots Landing, Cry of the Innocent)
1945 Martine van Hamel Belgium, ballerina (NYC Ballet Co)
1948 Steve Railsback actor (Blue Monkey, Green Monkey, Escape 2000)
1950 Carl J Meade Illinois, Major USAF/astronaut (STS 38, sk:STS-50)
1950 David Leisure actor (Joe Isuzu, Airplane, Charley-Empty Nest)
1953 Griff Rhys Jones British humorist/actor (Morons From Outer Space)
1958 Marg Helgenberger North Bend NB, actress (China Beach, Ryan's Hope)
1963 Zina Garrison Houston, tennis player (1988 Olympics Gold, Bronze)
1964 Dwight Gooden pitcher (NY Mets)
1967 Lisa Bonet San Francisco CA, actress (Cosby Show, Different World, Angel Heart)
1969 Bryan Abrams vocalist (Color Me Badd-I Want to Sex You Up)
1970 Martha Plimpton actress (Goonies, Mosquito Coast)
1971 Donald Wolf computer game creator

Deaths which occurred on November 16:
1271 Henry III, king of England (1216-71), dies
1831 Karl von Clausewitz, Prussian strategist (On War), dies at 51
1885 Louis Riel French rebel who fought against Canada, executed at 41
1960 Clark Gable dies at 59
1961 Sam Rayburn Speaker of the House for 17 years, dies
1965 Alexander King writer (Jack Paar Show), dies at 66
1981 Enid Markey actress (Aunt Violet-Bringing Up Buddy), dies at 85
1981 William Holden, actor (Network, Wild Bunch, Breezy), dies at 63.

Reported: MISSING in ACTION
1965 GREEN DONALD GEORGE---BALDWIN PARK CA.
1966 PITTMANN ALAN D.---SHELBY IA.
1967 SCHULZ PAUL H.---EIRE PA.
[03/14/73 RELEASED, ALIVE AND WELL 98
1968 COPLEY WILLIAM M.---NORTHRIDGE CA.
1968 KARST CARL F.---GALATIA KS.
[REMAINS RETURNED APRIL 1994]
1968 WIECHERT ROBERT CHARLES---WEST JORDAN UT.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
0013 Tiberius' triumphant procession through Rome after siege of Germany
1380 French King Charles VI declares no taxes forever
1532 Pizarro seizes Incan emperor Atahualpa after victory at Cajamarca
1676 1st colonial prison organized, Nantucket, Massachusetts
1776 Hessians capture Fort Washington, Manhattan
1798 Kentucky becomes 1st state to nullify an act of Congress
1798 British seamen board the U.S. frigate Baltimore and impress a number of crewmen as alleged deserters, a practice that contributed to the War of 1812
1821 Trader William Becknell reaches Santa Fe, N.M., on the route that will become known as the Santa Fe Trail
1841 N.E. Guerin of NY patents cork-filled life preserver
1864 Union Gen William T Sherman begins march to the sea during Civil War
1864 Confederate retreat at Lovejoy, Georgia
1894 6,000 Armenians massacred by Turks in Kurdistan
1901 3 autos race on Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, fastest speed achieved by Henry Fournier who drives a mile in 51 4/5 seconds
1907 Oklahoma becomes 46th state
1908 Arturo Tuscanini begins conducting NY's Metropolitan Opera
1914 Federal Reserve System formally opens
1918 Hungarian People's Republic declared
1920 Postage meter 1st used in US in lieu of postage stamps
1924 Cleveland Bulldogs lose to Frankford Yellowjackets, ends 31-game undefeated streak (NFL & major-league football record)
1925 American Association for the Advancement of Atheism formed in NY
1926 NY Rangers 1st game, beat Montreal Maroons 1-0
1933 Roosevelt establishes diplomatic relations with USSR
1939 Al Capone freed from Alcatraz
1945 Yeshiva College (University), chartered in NY, 1st US Jewish College
1950 UN gets US government approval to issue postage stamps
1955 1st speed-boat to exceed 200 mph (322 kph) (D.M. Campbell)
1957 Ed Gein butchers last victim
1959 "Sound of Music" opens on Broadway
1960 After the integration of two all-white schools, 2,000 whites riot in the streets of New Orleans.
1962 Wilt Chamberlain of NBA San Francisco Warriors scores 73 points vs NY
1963 Toledo, OH newspaper strike began
1964 Radio CJCX Sydney Nova Scotia (Canada) starts short-wave transmission
1965 1st public announcement about Walt Disney World
1965 Venera 3 launched, 1st to land on another planet (crashes into Venus)
1965 In the last day of the fighting at Landing Zone X-Ray, regiments of the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division repulse NVA forces in the Ia Drang Valley.
1966 Dr Sam Sheppard freed after 9 years in jail, by a jury
1973 John Lennon releases "Mind Games" album
1973 President Nixon authorizes construction of the Alaskan pipeline
1973 Skylab 4 launched into Earth orbit
1974 1st intentional interstellar radio message sent, Arecibo telescope towards M 41, a cluster of stars some 25,000 light years away (selling aluminum siding)
1974 John Lennon's #1 solo "Whatever Gets You Through the Night"
1974 Milwaukee Bucks lose their 11th straight NBA game (team record)
1976 Rene Levesque's "Parti Quebecois" wins elections in Quebec
1976 Rick Barry (San Francisco), ends then longest NBA free throw streak of 60
1979 Paul McCartney releases "Wonderful Christmas"
1981 Luke marries Laura on General Hospital
1982 5th Space Shuttle Mission-Columbia 5-lands at Edwards AFB
1982 Agreement reached ending 57 day football strike
1984 14th Shuttle Mission (51A) -Discovery 2- lands at Kennedy Center
1988 Benazir Bhutto wins 1st free Pakistani elections in 11 years
1988 Estonia declares sovereignty in internal affairs
1988 Robin Givens sues Mike Tyson for $125 million for libel
1989 6 Jesuit priests are killed by El Salvadorian troops
1990 Manuel Noriega claims US denied him a fair trial
1993 The United Nations Security Council voted to end the manhunt for Somali warlord Gen. Mohammed Farah Aideed.
1995 Attorney General Janet Reno announces she has Parkinson disease
1995 Queen Mother Elizabeth undergoes hip surgery
1997 85 percent of citizens of Hungary voted in favor of joining NATO.
2000 Al Gore won a legal fight to expand manual recounts as he struggled to trim George W. Bush's 300-vote lead in Florida's presidential race.

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Oklahoma : Admission Day (1907)
US : Culinary Week Begins
US : Holidays Are Pickle Days (thru 12-31)
Sweden : Gustavus Adolphus-day
Night of Hecate (Greek - goddess of the Moon, of the Underworld, and of magic).
Elephant Round-up Day (Thailand).
First Day of Ashura (Oman).
International Doll Collectors Month

Religious Observances
Greek church : St Matthew & Paul of the Cross
Ang, RC : Memorial of Margaret, Queen of Scotland (opt)
RC : Feast of St Gertrude, virgin, patroness of West Indies (opt)

Religious History
1621 The Papal Chancery first adopted January 1st as the beginning of the calendar year. Previously, March was the first month, which explains why our modern names for the 9th_12th months begin instead with prefixes meaning "7" (sept_), "8" (octÂ) "9" (nov_) and "10" (dec_).
1894 Death of James McCosh, 83, Scottish_born theologian and educator. President of Princeton from 1868_88, McCosh was one of the first orthodox clergymen in America to accept and defend the theory of evolution.
1918 In NY City, the United Lutheran Church was organized by a merger of three general Lutheran bodies in the U.S. and Canada. (In 1962, the ULC became one of the branches of Lutheranism which formed the Lutheran Church in America.)
1946 The Evangelical United Brethren Church was constituted at Johnstown, PA by a merger of the United Brethren in Christ and the Evangelical Church. The new denomination originated in the work of two German Reformed pastors, Philip W. Otterbein and Martin Boehm, who had ministered among Pennsylvania Germans two centuries earlier.
1952 "Our Goodly Heritage" debuted over CBS television. This Sunday morning Bible study program, hosted by William Rush Baer of New York University, aired a little over five years.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
" God never imposes a duty without giving time to do it. "

Office Inspirational Sayings...
If at first you don't succeed, try management

Things I learned from children...
A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq.
foot house 4 inches deep.

Dictionary of the Absurd...
canape
1. A snack a Scotsman can't afford
2. A small urinal.

Historical Spam Subject Lines...
URGENT VIRUS ALERT! Don't Open Your City Gates for Giant Wooden Horses!

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