Mongol Secrets Revealed: Tactics, Weapons, and Conquests

By: Sophia Pastorini

Citations• "Mongol military tactics and organization." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 23 November

2009. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., Web. 23 Nov 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_military_tactics_and_organization>.

• May, Timothy. "Mongol War Tactics." Mongolia Attractions. Web. 23 Nov 2009. <http://www.mongolia-attractions.com/mongol-war-tactics.html>.

• "The Art of War under Chinggis Qahan (Genghis Khan)." Web. 23 Nov 2009. <http://www.deremilitari.org/RESOURCES/ARTICLES/onon.htm>.

Once upon a time, in a land very far from here in the 13th century, lived the Mongols. They were very selfish peoples, and wanted the whole world to themselves.

It all started with a man by the name of Genghis Khan. He came to be one of the emperors who gathered more land in conquest than any other in history. He did this by his great war tactics and weapons.

Genghis Khan was a very hard worker, so he wanted his soldiers to be to. So, unlike the European armies, Mongols practiced horsemanship, archery, unit tactics, formation, and rotation. The European armies only had a few highly skilled professionals.

He got hot from a long day of work!

Included in their work, the Mongols were taught loyalty. However, sometimes they did slip up. In cases where a soldier ran from danger in battle, he and his 9 other comrades were sentenced to death!

To show further signs of loyalty, the Mongols played a hunting game. In this unique ritual, they would make a great circle around a group of animals. If anyone tried to start the massacre before assigned by the commander, they would be punished!

They got a good source of food out of this too!

The Mongols carried weapons called siege machines to break down city walls. These were held by the many back-up horses Mongols warriors had.

One thing that made the Mongols stand apart on their war tactics was their doubled curved bow. Genghis Khan made sure this weapon was highly successful by making three lines of people with bow and arrows to rotate shifts.

The Mongol bow made of wood, horn, and sinew was unmatched with accuracy, force, and reach. It was made small so it could be aimed at any direction by calavry-men. It got to as far as 400 m! That’s far!

If you weren’t an archer on a horse with a bow, you were a lancer on a horse with a lance. Because 6 of every 10 soldiers were cavalry a archers, this left 4. The lancers job was to finish the enemy after the archer had put them in alarm.

Because Mongols were preparing for long battles, they packed very lightly so they wouldn’t be weighed down in their travels. They carried a light meat called borts, and 3 or 4 extra horses so they would always stay fresh. In times of life-threatening circumstances, the Mongols would drink mare blood for thirst!

Mongols also carried small horses in relation to other armies. However, since other armies carried much heavier armor, the Mongols were able to outrun their enemies in battle!

Technology was a very important role in Mongol warfare. When Mongols did population massacres, they often spared the engineers from China and Persia. The captives are the ones that made the siege machines to destroy cities!

Don’t stand in front of one of those!

Kharash. This was the word used for human shields. This would be the people surrendering (letting up ) from earlier Mongol battles. They would charge forward and attack the enemy, sparing the real Mongol soldiers.

With all these strategies, the Mongols were able to gather vast amounts of lands in China, Russia, and the Middle East. This was the overall goal of their empire and they completed what they wanted to!