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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: HiJinx

A-ha!! Now I get it!! :o) 'Thumper" is also a term used for 4-strole dirt bikes because of their low rumbling engine noise as compared to a 2-stroke. I couldn't imagine that they blew away a dirt bike! LOL!!!


241 posted on 11/16/2004 6:41:55 PM PST by StarCMC (It's God's job to forgive Bin Laden; it's our job to arrange the meeting.)
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To: Fawnn

LOL!!! I used that excuse a LOT BEFORE Jake was here...I think it might be wearing out!!


242 posted on 11/16/2004 6:42:53 PM PST by StarCMC (It's God's job to forgive Bin Laden; it's our job to arrange the meeting.)
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To: StarCMC; All

Good evening everyone. Another wonderful nite in the Canteen. Thought I'd stop by for some friendly company.


243 posted on 11/16/2004 7:25:09 PM PST by txradioguy (HOOAH!!!...Not Just A Word...A Way Of Life!)
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To: All

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!


Senator Kay Bailey Hitchinson just told Greta that the Clintoon Library and Massage Parlor "looks like a boxcar"!!!


244 posted on 11/16/2004 7:27:31 PM PST by txradioguy (HOOAH!!!...Not Just A Word...A Way Of Life!)
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To: txradioguy
Howdy TX!! How are things looking for you tonight?


245 posted on 11/16/2004 7:31:16 PM PST by StarCMC (It's God's job to forgive Bin Laden; it's our job to arrange the meeting.)
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To: LaDivaLoca; bentfeather; Bethbg79; Diva Betsy Ross; Kathy in Alaska; 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub; ...

Evening all...

May I request a song for me and the Colonel to dance to?

"The Test Of Time", by Patti Austin

Thank you!!


246 posted on 11/16/2004 7:32:06 PM PST by trussell (Unemployed intellectual...will act like a pompous ass for food!!)
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To: trussell

Putting it up -- I'll post it to you ASAP!! :o)


247 posted on 11/16/2004 7:38:12 PM PST by StarCMC (It's God's job to forgive Bin Laden; it's our job to arrange the meeting.)
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To: StarCMC; Colonel_Flagg

Thank you Star!!


248 posted on 11/16/2004 7:40:03 PM PST by trussell (Unemployed intellectual...will act like a pompous ass for food!!)
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To: tomkow6

250??


249 posted on 11/16/2004 7:40:08 PM PST by StarCMC (It's God's job to forgive Bin Laden; it's our job to arrange the meeting.)
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To: tomkow6

250??


250 posted on 11/16/2004 7:40:13 PM PST by StarCMC (It's God's job to forgive Bin Laden; it's our job to arrange the meeting.)
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To: tomkow6

250??


251 posted on 11/16/2004 7:40:20 PM PST by StarCMC (It's God's job to forgive Bin Laden; it's our job to arrange the meeting.)
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To: trussell; Colonel_Flagg
I should be headed home within the hour and I'll look for it. In the mean time.....


The Platters ~ The Great Pretender

252 posted on 11/16/2004 7:43:57 PM PST by Kathy in Alaska (Support Our Troops! Operation Season's Greetings - www.proudpatriots.com)
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To: beachn4fun

beach.....#200!!


253 posted on 11/16/2004 7:46:55 PM PST by Kathy in Alaska (Support Our Troops! Operation Season's Greetings - www.proudpatriots.com)
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To: Spotsy; trussell; Lady Jag; Arrowhead1952; Darksheare; txradioguy
Thought maybe some of you troll hunters might enjoy this picture!


254 posted on 11/16/2004 7:47:31 PM PST by StarCMC (It's God's job to forgive Bin Laden; it's our job to arrange the meeting.)
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To: StarCMC

How cute!! I hope the kitty didn't eat it!!


255 posted on 11/16/2004 7:52:15 PM PST by trussell (Unemployed intellectual...will act like a pompous ass for food!!)
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To: Kathy in Alaska

Good Song Ma!!!

Thank you!!


256 posted on 11/16/2004 7:53:36 PM PST by trussell (Unemployed intellectual...will act like a pompous ass for food!!)
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To: trussell

With a little photoshopping that pic could be a lot of fun!! LOL!!!


257 posted on 11/16/2004 7:55:27 PM PST by StarCMC (It's God's job to forgive Bin Laden; it's our job to arrange the meeting.)
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To: rmlew

Welcome to the Canteen, rmlew. Thanks for adding more information about the Mongols.


258 posted on 11/16/2004 7:58:34 PM PST by Kathy in Alaska (Support Our Troops! Operation Season's Greetings - www.proudpatriots.com)
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To: trussell; Colonel_Flagg; Kathy in Alaska
Patty Austin - Through The Test of Time

259 posted on 11/16/2004 7:59:01 PM PST by StarCMC (It's God's job to forgive Bin Laden; it's our job to arrange the meeting.)
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To: trussell

Let me see what else I can come up with from here.


260 posted on 11/16/2004 7:59:11 PM PST by Kathy in Alaska (Support Our Troops! Operation Season's Greetings - www.proudpatriots.com)
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