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FReeper Canteen ~ Part II of The Mongols ~ November 16, 2004
www.coldsiberia.org ^ | November 16, 2004 | LaDivaLoca

Posted on 11/15/2004 7:57:52 PM PST by LaDivaLoca

 
 

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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




TOPICS: Front Page News; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; Political Humor/Cartoons
KEYWORDS: ancientwarfare; mongols
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To: beachn4fun

141 posted on 11/16/2004 8:54:07 AM PST by tomkow6 (.......................they're coming BACKKKKKKKKKK!......to Camp Run-A-Muk.............)
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To: tomkow6
1965 Venera 3 launched
and crashes into Venus


142 posted on 11/16/2004 8:57:38 AM PST by Lady Jag (YAHOOO!!! W2!!!)
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To: Kathy in Alaska

Hi there, I hope you have a great day!

143 posted on 11/16/2004 8:59:35 AM PST by laurenmarlowe
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To: Lady Jag


 


144 posted on 11/16/2004 9:04:55 AM PST by tomkow6 (.......................they're coming BACKKKKKKKKKK!......to Camp Run-A-Muk.............)
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To: Kathy in Alaska
My "weekend" was great. We pulled out the carpet in our living, dining areas and one hallway and installed laminate wood. We've had the carpet since 1992, so figured it was time for that to go. This should keep the dust to a minimum and make for easier cleaning. I was so sore and hurt in places I did not know existed on my body. Much better now.

The rain is starting to fall again, but not very heavy. The heavy stuff will hit this PM and continue until Thursday.

145 posted on 11/16/2004 9:10:25 AM PST by Arrowhead1952 (****We won - - - you lost - - - - GET OVER IT!!****)
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To: Kathy in Alaska

What's a snooze bar ~ is it anything like a Hershey bar? :)


146 posted on 11/16/2004 9:14:01 AM PST by blackie (Be Well~Be Armed~Be Safe~Molon Labe!)
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To: beachn4fun

Beachy and the Mongols ~ Bump!


147 posted on 11/16/2004 9:15:01 AM PST by blackie (Be Well~Be Armed~Be Safe~Molon Labe!)
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To: tomkow6

148 posted on 11/16/2004 9:15:56 AM PST by Lady Jag (YAHOOO!!! W2!!!)
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To: beachn4fun

mine


149 posted on 11/16/2004 9:16:37 AM PST by tomkow6 (.......................they're coming BACKKKKKKKKKK!......to Camp Run-A-Muk.............)
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To: beachn4fun

mine


150 posted on 11/16/2004 9:16:47 AM PST by tomkow6 (.......................they're coming BACKKKKKKKKKK!......to Camp Run-A-Muk.............)
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To: Radix

Radix, do you think this gal's name is

Sandy?

 


151 posted on 11/16/2004 9:20:21 AM PST by tomkow6 (.......................they're coming BACKKKKKKKKKK!......to Camp Run-A-Muk.............)
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To: All

My son, Matthew (age 30), just left to go back to LA
He was up here since the begining of October
He came up for the Cranberry harvest at my neighbors farm.
I did have a chance to take him to the Coast Guard base.
He knew run-a-muk and momma cat from last year.
Now he knows the 4 kittens.
Mr Goat, like last year, was a royal pain in the ----
He's known Scooter for years.
So it's just me and the critters again.


152 posted on 11/16/2004 9:23:57 AM PST by 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub (Have you said Thank You to a service man or woman today?)
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To: blackie
What's a snooze bar ~ is it anything like a Hershey bar? :)

Something one shouldn't push if one is supposed to get up and go to work. WORK....something my favorite curmudgeon needn't worry about. LOL!! d:o) And a Hershey bar is better!


153 posted on 11/16/2004 9:33:48 AM PST by Kathy in Alaska (Support Our Troops! Operation Season's Greetings - www.proudpatriots.com)
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To: Lady Jag

Yahooooooo. Lady J.


154 posted on 11/16/2004 9:37:14 AM PST by beachn4fun (When in doubt, empty the tagline.)
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To: blackie

Beachy and the Mongols. Who would have ever thought that Blackie would get both at the same time? LOL.


155 posted on 11/16/2004 9:38:07 AM PST by beachn4fun (When in doubt, empty the tagline.)
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To: blackie

LOL. Whew....we.....blackie, you sound like tomkow. Way to go.


156 posted on 11/16/2004 9:38:49 AM PST by beachn4fun (When in doubt, empty the tagline.)
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To: beachn4fun
"They probably even think that today's generation, being raised by the 60s & 70s crowd, are much more liberal than the 50s crowd."

I believe that there has been a cultural shift which the media and hard core liberals seem to be unable to perceive.

157 posted on 11/16/2004 9:39:07 AM PST by Radix (Will the last person out please turn off the Tag Lines?)
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To: tomkow6; Lady Jag

As if you could ever compete with this.........


158 posted on 11/16/2004 9:41:20 AM PST by beachn4fun (When in doubt, empty the tagline.)
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To: Radix

I think it's funny and kewl that we are able to keep the MSM guessing!


159 posted on 11/16/2004 9:42:57 AM PST by beachn4fun (When in doubt, empty the tagline.)
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To: tomkow6

Radix, do you think this gal's name is

Sandy?

I think that her name is probably not Lumpy or Rocky!

Maybe it is Crystal, like a sand crystal.

What was the question again?

160 posted on 11/16/2004 9:43:37 AM PST by Radix (Will the last person out please turn off the Tag Lines?)
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