WARRIOR EPIC: MASTERS OF - DTIC

Professor Schwarzhas few kind things to say about Harold Lamb's workswhich I had thought were fairly important in Mongol studies.titledbibliography of books by Chang Chih-Yi,Articles on Mongolia,printedin1950,A similarilyBibliography of Books andws of lesser value to me as itconcentrated on social and economic issues that were current in that decaderather than historical work.There were no military related works in thisbook.The best aeneralwork,covering some of the military aspects of theMongols but also the political,SaunderzJ.J.in1971.economic, and historical impacts, ha: beenin his work The History of the Mongol Concuests,Peter Brent,writing in the popular style,publisheddoes good work instressing the interrelationships between the Mongols and other societiesof the erainof the valueitThe Mongol Empire.itLacking footnotes,could offer the technicalthe book loses someresearcher, especially in thatcontains a reference to the actual words spoken by Genghis Khan when heissued orders to his generals on the specific maneuver and battle formation for an engageme.ýTo have this seed be untraceable was particularlyfrustrating.IfwereBrent was frustrating,enlightening.Thethe military writings of the 1928-1933 eraearliestvolumeonthe Mongolswrittenmilitary scholar was Charles Johnston's Famous Cavalry Leaders,byapublished4 .'.,,,.4lllImm

in 1908.clearWhile apictureappear,short work,of MongolwrittenbyCaptains Unveiled,in the popular style, Johnston provides aoperations.a military-orientedwhileservingtoof Mongolmen to writeoperations.articlesauthor.Liddellanother workHart'sGreatsupport his ideas for mechanizationof armies and the primacy of mobility,elements1928 doesNot untilmanages to capture the essentialHart's book sparked four other militarythe Period 1929 to 1933.on the Mongols inOfthese four, only C. C. Walker,in the Canadian Defence Quarterly of 1931-1933,analyticalprovidesothers areanin-depth,sparse at best.the Mongol campaigns,treatmlentof the Mongol.C. C. Yalker provides a detailedThereview ofevaluated against the 1930 perceptions of war fight-ing.Not untilaboutthe applicabilityeleven years later,of ain 1944,does another scholar writestudy of Mongoloperations.Harold Lamb,writing for the Infantry Journal Reader,provides interesting and rmanblitzkrieg.Foranother twenty years the pages of the military journals were silent untilRichardDevereaux,writingfbr the Military Reviewin 1963,offeredavaluable analysis of Genghis Khan's Yassa (Mongol Code of Conduct).The most recent work reviewed, published in 1979, was James Chambers'sThe Devil's Horsemen.valuableoF Mongolresearch workoperations inincursians for us today.Writtensince itEurope,withoutfootnotes,thebookisstillagives a concise yet comprehensive reviewtheir tactics,and the meaning of those

The greatest single problem encounteredturewaslanguage.Frustrationin the review of the litera-and confusion continuallyconfronttheresearcher of the Eastern peoples as no two historians ever called anything by the same entirelymation of the commoniy read name.of Chinese,Armenian,Russian,villages, cities, and riversor are written as an approxi-The problem is not simply a translationor Persian into Enqlish.Western authors,writing a tertiary work often rearrange or respell a name without explanation.Even if an explanation isoffered itmakes little sense to a non-Sinologi st.Thisnames.thesisThereisuses whatnoattemptappearstoto makeone deviation from this rule willbethe most camonlyany linguisticacceptedcorrections.Thebe the citations of source titles andany quotations which will retain original spelling.6

PART IIIOverview of the Mongol WarriorThewarriorstribe of herdsmenwecommonly refer to asthe Mongols were afrom an area in central Asia.one of approximatelynine verySignificantly they weresimilar tribes in the central Asian areabut each of these tribes had their own culturally distinctiveTheUighurs,livingfrom the Mongols,To the north,to thenomadicsouthwest,enjoyed a writtenwhile not culturallylanguage whichfeatures.dissimilarthe Mongols did not.the Buriats used reindeer as their beasts of burden but theMongols were unfamiliar with the animal.the twelfth century,Prior to and up to the end ofthen into the early years of the thirteenth,as nomads,the Mongols did not till the soil or build cities.t;ie Mongolera of Kubilal Khan in the mid-thirteenth century,to build cities and live in fixed villages.livingLater,inthey beganIn this thesis, the periodcovered generally begins and ends with the Mongols a nomadic people.Initially then, the Mongols were a member of a multi-tribe pop,'.lationof central Asia,As theircompeting for qround and resources with their neighbors.power grew andallianceswerearmies grew less and less purely Mongol.ascendency Is the year 1194, when Temuiln,named,destroyedhis foster-father's7formed,the composition of theA convenient beginning of Mongolas Genghis Khan was originallytribe,thepowerfulKeraits,in a

retaliatory raid.After this victory,Genghis took in many of the Keraitwarriors and so began the melding of various tribes into his Mongol amy.This acquisition of foreign troops continued until its zenith in 1294, whenas many as fifty separate and distinguishable peoples were a part of themassive M4ongol organization.TheMongolsnot TatarswereHistoricallyor Tartars.therebeen much confusion between the two but the two names (Mongolare not synonymous.and Tatar)Before and during the rise of the Mongols, the Tatarsexisted as an independent tribe,of the Mongols.hasliving about two hundred miles southeastThe Tatars were subdued and incorporated into the Mongolamy just like every other tribe and nation-state the Mongols overcame.In the chapter title,Mongolscamefrom aHellI.Even ifplace calledMongols.at that time,way to describe them,From that title,isitmeantthe Mongolsprobable thatthe mis-of the name Tartar became fixed as the accepted name for theA similar inaccurate nicknaming occurred in World War I,the Germans being called Huns.hundredto a belief of Eurooeans that theTartarus which,this was a convenientdid not come from Hell.applicationI alludedyears,the onlyseparated by over fifteenBesides beingsimilarity betweenwiththe two might have beentheir military efficiency.8iI41in

Once militarybegan,expansionwerehomogene'ous organization,the Mongols,initially aalthoughrapidly lose their intrinsic culturaltoidentity due to the inflcx of other warriors from Lribes and states whichThe readereither by force or pursuasion.were conqueredkeep this heterogeneous characteradvised toisin mind as he reads of the tremendousachievements of this mighty military force.The wordAnother word of caution as to what the Mongols were not."horde"isofbastardizationaof"tent villagewriting,has achievc.1 .Ieneralthe and re-Most dictionaries now giveDefined as a "large, moving throngor to gather in a horde (verb'"3 or "aa massedorduwordthe popular reference to the Mongols asa simple definition of the .3rd horde.(noun)MongolianBy translation,the clan."2peated use in historicalthetribe or clan of Asiaticgathering of a savage or uncivilizedpeople; a fierceand vowerful Mongol horde.,"4 I submit that the association of the wordthewithhordeMongolswerebrilliantlyriors who,Mongolsnot a hordeled,convenient but historicallyisincorrect.as comnonly thought of hut a wellmasterfullycontrolledorganizationalbeit destructive beyond imaqination,ofTheorganized,variegated war-achieved military featsunequalled before or since their time.The Mongols originatedin an area roughly northwest of the currenteastern juncture of the borders of Russia, China, and Mongolia.9The

IAmur (Heilung)generallydividesriver, whose mouth iswestsouthwestintothetowardson the Sea of Okhotsk,LakeOnan and KerulenBaikalin centralruns upstreamAsia.The Amurrivers about five hundred miles eastof Lake Baikal.BURIATS E Ks 0 TATARSATRMERK ITSKERAITSTO THE WEST.-KIRGHIZ*NAIMANCHINAUIGHURMAP 1GEOGRAPHIC ORIGIN OF THE MONGOLS10 II*#',0--

The area between these two rivers is where the trihe kncwn as the Mongolsisrecognizedto have begun making their mark on world history.important to fix this location,Itisas the ability of a supposedly illiteratenomad to go from this humble origin to conquer Eurasia from the PacificOcean to the Black Sea is no small feat.Before concluding,warriorisappropriate.a word about the character of the individual MongolRememberingthe conglomeration ofsoldiers thateventually grew out of the Mongol victories, the characteristics cited hereare truest for the "pure" Mongol warrior.I include the nine tribes ofcentral Asia as possessing a large part of these characteristics. As nationstates and other tribes added their nurbers to Genghis Khan's ranks, thecharacteristicsquite naturally became less obvious and more diffused bygeographical location, inbred cultural differences,(i.e. Chinese, Persian,Turkoman, etc. ), and to some extent, religious convictions.The mostsignificant,yetwarrior was his self-discipline.simplest,characteristicof the MongolHe was so not only -inthe strength affor-ded him by his natural everyday existence in the cruel harshness of steppeliving,but more importantly,ness to sacrifice allin his unswerving devotion to duty, willing-for the military mission at hand,loyalty to his commander and comrades.11and unparalleled

Whilesimilarseveralto these,leadershiptheenjoyeddiscriminatorof brilliant generals,societies couldthe erasocietiesnot compare.exhibitingthe orotectionissomewhatthat under the organization andwhich the Mongols enioyed,these otherThe single reference to another culture oftraces of this prowess was a very complimentary onegiven by the Mongols to the Teutonic Knights,talerstroopsofwho were crushedKnights Templar,by the Mongols at Leignitz in1241.and HospiAfter thebattle, the Mongols apparently expressed admiration for their foes who haddemonstratednents.Mongolafearlessness and discipline unseen in any previous oppo-A naturalcouldridehorseman from childhood,riding beforefor days onremounts,end,usinghe waled,theduring the coldestwinter with little food and no rest, and then willingly fling himself intobattle without hesitation.mentality.A spirit of contempt for death pervadedThe reason goes beyond the simplisticmedievalAsia was ion that life inor the notion that unquestioning obedienceand unforgivingpainofleader who imposed his willimmediate death.hisWhilethethreatwasandofharsh punishment may have had an affect, the real reason lies much deeoer.During the first Russian campaiqn of Subedei (1221-1223),of an envoy sent to the Russians by Subedei,manders,towere killed.pursueSubedei,AllSubedelsome elusive Kumans.ten warriorsone of Genghis's Arny com-sought from the Russians was freedomHe did not want war with the Russians.a patient man, dispatched two more warriors to entreat the12IDI

Russians to avoid war and a!lcw the Mongols to capture the elusive Kumans.The Russians were "astounded at the contempt for death with which the twoMongols had ridden into their camp."5amination.A theoryexiststhemselves to not fear death.precepts,their ownpartiallydriventhatThis contempt fcr death bears ex-postulatesthattheMongolstrainedUsing a combination of Chan (in Japan,Zen)perceptions of the meaning and reason for life, perations, the Mongols were able to create a submersion of the personality,therebyvoiding the otherwiseh.6instinctive fear of death and harm.Thissubmersion was epitomized by a military unit, controlled as a kind of shocktroop reserve by Genghis personally, called the Mangodays.normalhuman responses,and military efficiency.the Khan of Khans,swayinglutely nothing,these Mangodays were the ultimate weapon of terrorPersonally committed to battle with the order ofthe theory claims more than one battle was won,indecisivelydeath-defying men.Unencumbered byfor a period of time,afterby this unstoppahle force ofThey were devoted to the act of war and feared abso-except,And here isthe key,failing in their mission andliving to tell about it.Anothertheory on the use of the Mongudai(sic)isthat they werethe force employed in the standard Mongol deception of feignied retreat.Deta;ls of this deception tactic are given in Chapter 4.thatthe Mongudaiwere called7Chamberssayssuch because of their great courage.Byriding outnumbered into battle with reckless abandon and creating as muchhavoc as possible in the enemy ranks, then withdrawing to entice the enemy13

to chase them into the inevitable Mongoltrap,they influenced the battleby creating an advantage for the Mongols.Such a mentality must have assuredlyother warriors of the Mongolacceptedpline,spread by simple osmosis to theempire and become,standard of behavior.Therefore,to a lesser degree,anby his remarkable self-disci-founded in a hard and cruel life on the steppe, and military skill,based on hi.an overridingnaturalhorsemanship and expertise with the bow, and possibly'contemptfor death,'the Mongol warrior was the figure ofgreat military efficiency during his era.There is a similarity betweenthis mentality and the Moslem thought that the greatest feat isoneself in battle for Allah.to giveThe genesis of this Moslem thought was whenMohammed was leading his smallforce of loyalfollowersinto the attackagainst the Jealous and bigger force of Meccans who opposed Mohammed's riseto power.followersAs they crossed over the wall Mohammed promised that any of hisslain that day would be in Heaven with Allah.8While there isno Mongolian source which refers to anything similar in the Mongol warrior,the Chinese were forced to admit thatlike a God."9Perhaps the Mongol"God,"the"he (Genghis Khan] led his armieswarrior truly perceived their supreme Khan as atherefore willingsteppe warriorswereto die for him,fanaticallyLynn Montross and Peter Brent,but there isloyalfor example,to Genghis.no question thatSome scholars,believe they were loyal only14aal

as longas the plunder and loot of war were readily won,acceptance".of.depends upon a degree ofthe ruledthe ruler byand that theI dis-happiness which only an increasing scale of rewards can bring."10agreewith this estimate.Genghis andsubordinate chiefs inspiredhisgreat loyalty in their warriors which transcended simple greed and avaricefor loot.The leadership techniques creating this loyalty and the train-inq whichsupporteditGiven that capsuledigest of manysources,willbeaddressedversion -fMongolinbacknround,secondary and tertiary.are few and require researchersto be fluentpath,swayingthreetimesbackacrossandforth acrossthesameground,what follows isaAvailable primary worksin at least five differentThe Mongols left little written recordlanguages.in later chapters.detailin their destructiveAsia and Europe,destroyingthesometimes two orrecentlywrittenGreat libraries and centers of learning withrecords of their activities.unrecoverable manuscripts and scrolls were reduced to ashes in their wake.In a place called Bokhara,Russia,the Jewishscribes cannot produceprior to the year 1220,thereany manner ofrecordeddata!vw,, though they have done their scholarly worksince epproxiat,'1y ',70Mongols has le',vities.about 125 miles wst of Samarkand in southernt0%e worldA.D.11The destructive efficiencyof thefew documents concerning their specific acti-Subseqt'nt translations of these few are all the single languageresearcher has to learn fr.mn.15

CHAPTER 2THE LEADERSHIP OF GENGHIS KHANThere is no hero equal to Yisunbeg, and no man as skillful,but not knowing fatigue and hardships on campaign, he thinksYet others cannot stand sothat everyone has his endurance.Yisunbeg is not fit to be chief over hisTherefore,much.Only a man who feels hunger and thirst, and by thistroops.estimates the feelings of 7thers, is fit to be commander, ashe will see that his warriors do not suffer from hunger andThethirst and that the four-footed beasts do not starve.meaning of this is that the campaign and its hardshiimust bein proportion with the strength of the weakest warriors.that a man's greatest strengthGenghis Khan understoodWhenweakness.greatestthe quote above)he declinedGenghiswas conferring with hisisalso hisgenerals(inon the selection of a new chief for one of his armies,the selection of Yisunbeg.Genghis saw that although Yisunbegdisplayed the finest fighting qualities and admired him for them, Yisunbeosince he cared little for the needs of his troops.could not be chosendecidedGenghisinsteadtoform a new unit of soldiers with a specialmission and made Yisunbeg their chief.Thisan tofHealsotheperceptive brilliancenotdemonstratedThrough formaland socialschools,onlyrequiredthe leadershipeconomic,The new unit was the Manqodays.of GenghisKhan as asuperb military leadershipto organizeand managetherequirements of the world's largest empersonal counselling,complete with visitsto a battle area to discuss a subordinate's conduct of the fight, he16

developedin his leadersthe same excellent leadership qualities he pos-sessed, which were to carry him and his generals to the tremendous achievement of the Mongol empire.To understandled.the leaders,itisimportant to understand those theyLife on the steppe was a struggle of man over the elements.bitter winters accompaniedbyCold,high winds and the subsequent wind chillcombined with hot, dry suinmers under a merciless sun made the Mongol warriorphysicallytoughand endurinq.Havingfew creature comfortsdepending on heards of animals for food causedpsychologicallyvery simple and efficient.Ifthe steope dweller to bythe Mongol,or any of hissimilarily cultured nomadic neighbors needed something he didn't have,tookitandhePeter Brent advises that they werefrom those who did have it.quarrelsome, and the lands they moved through were litteredwith the remains and the memories of a thousand pointless battles,a hundred thousand pernickety disputes. The rise of one broughtthe jealousy of another; the lush grazing of a rich clan broughtdown on it a retribution of the struggling; the decimation of aflock by winter would be followed in the spring by a decimatiinof those whose flocks had survived.02He had to act first or natureCombat with nature was not disimilar.would strike him down without remorse.cipate storms and blizzards,of direction.He had to read the weather, anti-become a human compass with an unerring senseObservers have noted the Mongol could ride on the steppe fordays with few, if any, landmarks and ride right up to a water source. Whilethis ability may beaccountedfor as raw17.4instinct,the Mongolwarrior

was not an unthinkinq savage.of action, then decided.He weighed alternatives,evaluated coursesHe attacked his tormentors with his natural skillas a warrior or struck camp and moved swiftly to avoid the coming stormwith its killing cold.The unforgiving elements and his unrelenting foewere not long in imposing their will on him if he was slow to act.Deci-sion making was therefore a rapid process.Leadership then had to be decisive and

Mongol(s), steppe warrior, barbarian, tartar, Genahis Khan, Subedei, Maneuver warfare, thirteenth century. M0 This AIMThAcr study (cVintkea attempts o-orwoedN to illuminate _ooo md some Aftddl prevailing 01 610C ""Oh-) myths about the Mongol warrior. The investigation is focused