The Mongolians

By Sarah Wyczawski

In the 13th Century there was a little boy named Bataar. Bataar was so proud of his name because it means hero and he wanted to grow up to become just that.

He would practice his wrestling every day with the other children and he was a great learner. Pretty soon Bataar was the best wrestler of all the other children and this made his father very proud.

When Bataar’s father saw the great potential in him to be a warrior, he decided to teach Bataar everything he knew about the Mongolian army.

Bataar’s father decided to begin by explaining the decimal system. This was the system of command of the Mongolian Army. The men of the army from 14 to 60 years old were put into groups of 10 then 100 then 1000 and finally 10000. Each group had a specific name and was under an individual leader who ruled as he felt was best.

After Bataar fully understood the decimal system, Bataar’s father moved on to the mobility of the units which was of the utmost importance. Each soldier owned 3 or 4 horses which would allow the fastest transportation times as they could switch from horse to horse when one needed a break.

Bataar’s father told Bataar of the intense training that the warriors must go through before they are initiated into the army. He said that individual combat such as jousting was emphasized more heavily than group combat tactics.

Bataar’s father then continued to explain the intense and utmost loyalty that members of the army had to one another. The system of the warriors would completely shut down if any one turned out to be a traitor. Bataarknew immediately that to become a hero he would have to be the most loyal and most obedient warrior in the whole army.

To practice their fighting tactics the Mongols would drive their cattle into the center of a huge circle that would be made of all the warriors riding on their horses. Once the command was given by the lead warrior the men would begin their slaughter. Even though Bataar was sad about the deaths of the animals he knew that they must be killed in order to practice obedience.

Next Bataar’s father explained to him the cavalry that made up the Mongolian units. He explained that in each unit of ten their were six men who were light cavalry horse archers and the other four men were heavily suited and armed lancers.

Bataar was most excited to hear about the weapons that the Mongolian army used in battle. His father told him that Scimitars were used. Bataar had no idea what a scimitar was so his father explained that scimitars were just like axes.

Other weapons that are used are the Mongol Bow which was a recurve bow that was known for its accuracy, force, and reach. Also the sword is a powerful weapon for slashing. Bataar’s father pulled out his sword and Bataar was honored to even be able to touch its magnificence.

Bataar’s father told him that Siege Machines and Catapults are also affective ways to slaughter the opponents. He also explained to Bataar the use of Kharash which took captives and made them run in front of the warriors to take the initial round of arrows. Bataar thought that was very smart.

“We also use psychological warfare,” said Bataar’s father. He explained that the Mongolians instill great fear into their opponents and so before they go and take over their city they allow the people to surrender and instead pay tribute to the Mongolians.

The last tactics that Bataar’s father explained to his was the flanking idea where the Mongolians would split up into different groups to encircle the city so that no one could escape. Also, he explained that the Mongolians were well practiced in the feigned retreat were they would fake defeat and then surprise the opponents when they attacked again.

Bataar was fascinated by the whole procedure, but wondered if it really worked like his dad said it did. His dad answered with an of course and told Bataar that they had captured almost all of continental Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Eastern Europe.

Bataar was truly amazed and when he went to bed that night he dreamed of the day when he would be able to become a warrior just like his father.