1. Answer these quick questions in your
workbook…
• What is the technical name of the Mongol bow and why was it so
effective?
• How did the Mongol commanders communicate with troops in
battle?
• List three features of the Mongol horses.
• What siege weapons did the Mongols adopt from the Chinese?
3. Mongol Tactics
• Genghis Khan's Arts of War were based on five key
principles:
1. speed
2. suddenness
3. ferocity
4. variety of tactics
5. iron discipline
• Avoiding causalities was important to the Mongols.
• Dalintai’s (1993) analysis of the Secret History
suggests that the Mongols had 16 tactics.
20. #1
Crow Soldiers and Scattered Stars Tactics
(also known as Ocean Waves Tactics)
When facing the enemy, the armywould split into small groups consisting
of three to five soldiers to avoidbeing surrounded.
When the enemy regrouped, theMongols too regrouped. Theywere to
appear suddenly, like something dropping fromthe sky, and disappear
like lightning. The attackwould be signalled by a shout or the crack of a
whip. One hundred cavalrymencould surround one thousand enemy
soldiers and one thousand cavalrymencould control a front thirty-three
miles long in order to attack the enemy at the right place and the right
moment.
21. #2
The Cavalrymen Charge Tactics (also known
as Chisel Attack Tactics)
A group of cavalrymen would make a direct charge into the enemy line.
If the first charge failed, a second and even third group would attack.
No matter how great the opposition, even if they numbered a hundred
thousand, they were unable to withstand the charges. Finally, in response
to a signal, the Mongol cavalrymen would charge from all directions into
the enemy lines in order to destroy their formation.
22. #3
Archers' Tactics
The archers, armed with shields, dismounted from their
geldings and shot at the enemy, sometimes using the
geldings as shelter. Other archers shot from horseback. (The
horses were trained to stop dead in mid-gallop to allow the
archer to take aim.) Once the enemy came under fire, their
lines would be broken and they would scatter in disorder. At
that point, the cavalrymen would attack.
23. #4
Throw-Into-Disorder Tactics
If the enemy was strong on the battlefield or sheltering in
a fort, theMongolswould herd oxen and wild horses into
the enemy lines to cause confusion.
24. #5
Wearing-Down Tactics
When the enemy stood in a defensive position with
spears planted in a row, thus preventing a cavalry
charge into the line, the Mongols would withdraw their
main forces, leaving only a few small detachments to
harass the enemy by shooting arrows into the spear-held
line. Due to lack of food, water, and rest, the
enemy would eventually have to move.Once the
weary forces were on themarch, the Mongol army
would launch a surprise attack.
25. #6
Confusing and Intimidating
When the Mongols encountered numerically superior forces,
they often sent troops to stir up dust behind theirown lines by
means of branches tied to the tails of their horses. Onseeing
the dust, the enemy often believed that large reinforcements
were at hand and fled. The Mongols alsomounted stuffed
dummies, small Mongol children, and females on the spare
horses to suggest that the army wasmuch bigger than it
actually was.
26. #7
Luring into Ambushes
In 1211, when theMongols first attacked the Jin territory in northern China,
Genghis Khan sent Jebe andGuyigu Nek ahead to attack the famous
Chabchiyal Pass. TheMongols could not break through this pass because
it backed ontomountain cliffs and was strongly fortified. Insteadthey
decided to lure the enemyout by slowly retreating. The Jin armythought
that theMongols had given up, so they chased after themandwere
surprised, after a certain distance, to see the retreating soldiers suddenly
turn to counter-attack. At thatmoment, the mainMongol army appeared
fromall sides in a pre-arrangedambushand slaughteredthe enemy until
theirbodies piled up as far as Chibchayal, `like rotten logs'. Jebe stormed
the gate of Chibchayal and took the pass.
27. #8
Arc Formation Tactics
The Mongols would send out two detachments in a wide curve, like the
tips of a bow, but with the main forces staying at the centre of the arc,
hiding in shady places to await the enemy. These two detachments
went ahead to engage the enemy, shooting to infuriate them and lure
them to where the main forces were waiting. These two detachments
also closed in from the flanks or from behind the enemy. The Mongols
called these tactics `bow tactics'. The Cossacks also used these tactics
to defeat their enemies.
28. #9
Lightning Attack And
Surprise Attack
These twotacticswere perhaps the most important of all: lightning attack
meant speed, and surprise attackmeant suddenness. In 1213, theMongol
army, commandedby Jebe, failed to take the city of Dongchang
(Mukden), so they retreatedfor six days over a distance of some 170miles.
The enemydefending the city thought that theMongols had given up, but
Jebe returned, covering the distance in one night and launching a surprise
attack.
29. #10
Outflanking Tactics (a)
When the Mongol cavalrymen could not attack the
enemy from the front, they would leave a small
detachment to draw the attention of the enemy.
Meanwhile the main force went round the back, by
way of difficult paths, to attack the enemy from the
rear.
30. #11
Encircling Tactics
Genghis Khan used these tacticsmany times in order to
destroy hisenemies. The tactics were based on the enemy’s
strengths and formations. If the enemy openly exposed his
flank and rear, and the city defenders were weak, the
Mongols would encircle them from all sides. If the enemy
deployed their forces by the rivers, exposing two or three
flanks, then the Mongols would encircle them from all sides of
the riverbank.
31. #12
Open-the-End Tactics
If the enemy was very strong and ready to fight to the death,
the Mongols would leave a gap in their ranks. In this way, the
enemy might think they could see an escape route, scatter,
and start to run. At that precisemoment, the Mongols would fix
upon a suitable place to kill the fleeing enemy.
32. #13
Combining Swords and
Arrows
The Mongols avoided hand-to-hand fighting if at all possible,
preferring to use bows and arrows, with a range of 200 to
300 yards, to kill the enemy. Plano Carpini records: 'If at all
possible, the Mongols never engage in hand-to-hand
fighting. They always first use arrows to kill the enemy and
their horses. After killing or wounding the enemy and their
horses, making them too weak to fight, the Mongols move in
to finish them off.'
33. #14
Hot Pursuit Tactics and Dispersing
Tactics
If winning, the Mongols would pursue the enemy
so that no one escaped alive. If losing, they
would disperse in all directions, so that the
enemy
was unable to catch them.
34. #15
Bush Clump Tactics
These tactics involved dividing the soldiers into
many small groups which, although keeping in
contact with each other, maintained a low profile
as they advanced. Such tactics were also used at
night-time, and on dark or cloudy days.
35. #16
Outflanking Tactics (b)
The Mongols faced a march of more than 1,500 miles to their goal in Bukhara
and Samarkand. The Khwarazem Shah had deployed his forces along the Syr
Darya River. The Mongols divided their forces into four contingents, three of which
moved to face the Shah across the Syr Darya. The fourth and largest contingent,
commanded by Genghis himself, turned north and then due west into the Kizil
Kum Desert, instead of turning south. There were neither roads nor water in this
region. For several months, Genghis made his way secretly across the desert,
while the Shah’s forces were being worn out on the battlefront. In March 1218,
Genghis approached Bukhara from more than 400 miles behind enemy lines. This
campaign is regarded by military historians as one of the most dramatic
outflanking manoeuvres of all times.
