Genghis Khan is one of the greatest military leaders that have ever walk the Earth. He was born in 1162. Temujin was a boy that would help shape the world of today. His father Yesugei was the chief of the nomadic tribe. He was poisoned by another tribe, and that meant that Temujin would have to lead the tribe, but the tribe left Temujin because they thought that under his rule they would all be raided. Later on, in time, Temujin attacked the tribe that killed his father. After the attack he had all the men killed so only the women and children remained. Temujin later became known as Chinggis Khan, which means universal ruler, which later became Genghis Khan. Genghis Khan made a very important quote that will echo throughout time. On Bibliography.com Genghis Khan said:
“I am the flail of God. If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.”
Genghis Khan was able to overpower most of Asia because of his great strategies.
Genghis Khan was an amazing general who knew what he had to do to build his empire. His first move was to unite the nomadic Mongol tribes. History.com explains that, after each attack, he would kill the chief of the tribes and take the remaining people, because he showed that he was strong and worth following. He started to arrange his troops into squads of ten. He was able to win each attack on the opposing tribes because of his speed and his brilliant strategies. After he eliminated most of the tribes the others started to join him. They started to join him because they knew that if he attacked them they would not be able to stand a chance. After all the tribes were united under him he was named Chinggis Khan which later evolved into Genghis Khan. Now that all the tribes were united he was able to begin the takeover.
The weapons that the Mongols used were ahead of their time warriors and legends.com explained in great detail. They adapted weapons that his opponents used. They had two different types of weapons that were used on a daily basis. Each Mongol carried a bow, three types of arrows, and a curved sabre. The bow’s that they used were their primary weapons because they had distance and the horses. The bows were not made out of wood like all the other bows of the time. They were made of the horns of the animals they killed. Their bows lasted longer than their opponents bows because of the horn it was made of. The arrows were normally 100cm in length and had around three bird feathers at the end to increase accuracy. They had three types of arrows. One was the standard arrow which was used on enemies that had little to no armor on. The armor piercing arrow was used on enemies that were heavily armored. The special arrows were different from the others. Some were for attacking and some were not. The flame arrow was a special arrow for attacking and the signal arrow was for warnings. Their sabre was their close quarters’ weapon. It was a curved sword that was much easier to wield than the standard longsword. Its curved design gave the sword more power for each slash. They were made of a thin sheet of metal. Since it is extremely light the Mongols can use them on land and on horseback. On warrior and legends.com it says that, the Lamellar armor that the Mongols used was made of animal hides, leather, or metal. The Mongol warriors would choose to use this armor first because if they didn’t have the armor they would have to fight in their everyday clothes. The armor has two layers that mean more protection from swords and arrows. Their armor is multiple pieces like one for the torso, one for the hands, and one for the feet. The helmets that they had were made of iron or brass and some were lined with fur. On the top of the helmet, there would be a hole for the wearer’s hair to be put through for decoration. The shields that they had were mostly made of leather, willow, or wicker. The shields were easier than the armor to make so almost all of the Mongols had a shield. The weapons and armor was one more advantage that the Mongols had over their opponents.
Genghis Khan was very smart to take the ideas of his opponents that he defeated. The Field Museum communicated that, Genghis Khan took idea’s from the Chinese, Persians, and the Arabs. He took the catapult which he used many times, especially during sieges. Isolation, which means that he stopped the income of food and supplies. Damming, which is rerouting a river to flood towns and maybe cities. Lighting, this makes his army look bigger than it really is. The catapults were used during sieges to attack the city inside the walls with flaming stone or to attack the wall directly with big stones. The catapult was one of his strongest weapons he had and what he used them for was amazing. To shoot flaming stones into the city to burn the houses is a great idea because soldiers would have to put out the fires and that means less protection on the front gate. He used isolation to stop the income of food and supplies to a town, he starved the townspeople until they submit. He would stop the supply of food from getting to the towns or cities which would make the people hungry and weak. Damming is when someone changes the course of a river to flood a town or even a city. The damming is great to flush out anyone who is hiding or if the town is not complying. He used lighting right before a siege because it makes his army look bigger than it really is. The Mongols would make straw fakes and light more campfires to make the army look bigger. This idea of taking ideas would help him in his present day and his future.
Genghis Khan was a master of the siege The Field Museum declared. He would send scouts out to find out the time that resources and food would be moved, and to look at the guard positioning. This let him know more about their opponents than they know about them. He would cut off supplies to the city so they can’t get new gear. He would starve them and then when they are weak he would attack and take the city. He was able to surprise the defenders by the distance the Mongols could travel in a short time. The Mongols were able to travel very fast on horseback and were able to strike more fear into their opponents like that. He also had men go into the city two or three days before the siege to get prepared to attack from the inside. This was a great idea because it is a two-pronged strategy. An attack from the outside and an attack from the inside too. He used lighting to make his army look bigger to strike fear into his opponents. He used this to make their opponents afraid and when someone is afraid they can’t think straight and they will make a choice that will cost them the city.
Fear is a great weapon in war and it is still used today Psychological Warfare suggested. Genghis Khan was a master of putting fear into the hearts of his opponents and his own men. This fear made his men work harder because they were afraid of him. He also used fear to unite the Mongol tribes under his rule. Before the siege he wants his opponents to know he is coming because they will hesitate and will not be able to fight with a clear mind. Fighting with a clouded mind is very difficult because you can’t think straight, you will make a mistake, or you will do both. He used lighting to make his enemies be afraid because it made the Mongol army look almost three times as larger than it really is. This let him put fear into his enemy’s minds at night which would result in a lack of sleep and their brain won’t be able to work fast and would not be able to react to something as fast as they would normally. Genghis Khan burned whole towns because he wanted his enemies to know his strength and that would make his opponents fear him. Whoever controls the fear in a battle has more control than your enemy’s do.
The Mongols were masters of the horse archer tactic, and the warriors and legends site gave many examples of why. Before Genghis Khan, the horse archer tactic was used for hunting because on a horse they were able to keep up with the running animals. The Mongols were once a bunch of nomadic tribes and hunting was a huge part of their lives. They adapted to their living conditions by using horses. The Mongols were able to control the horse with their feet and shoot with their bows in hand. This was an effective tactic in a are because the Mongols were always in motion, so their enemies would have a hard time hitting them and the Mongols opponents would be easy to pick off. They would have three different quivers with different arrows. The standard arrow, the armor piercing arrow, and the special arrow. This tactic was most effective on an open plain with a lot of room.
The Mongols were one of the greatest armies in history and it was because of their leader Genghis Khan. He was ruthless and feared throughout Asia. Genghis Khan’s empire is the largest in history before the British empire. It lasted longer than Napoleon’s empire and bigger than the Roman empire. Genghis Khan was a very successful man and died a very successful man. Genghis Khan lived up to his name and became a great ruler. Genghis Khan overpowered most of Asia with his amazing battle strategies and he helped form today’s Asia.
Originally published 15.10.2019