Command structure of the Mongol Army

[KhamsinFilms]

Fun Fact: they also had a distinct combat philosophy. They believed that in battle, scared men behave like cattle gone mad. So many of the maneuvers were derived from their experience with stampeding herds

[JeremyEJohnson]

20k to 25k is actually a massive troop count for the time when compared to contemporary European armies.

[DeusEversor]

Fun fact, word tumen exists in Polish language to this day and functions in a phrase "wzbijac tumany kurzu" - to raise up clouds of dust, as when a mongol tumen would do upon its charge :)

[JamesJames-olkh]

They owe a lot of there success to the ability to process milk proteins which most Asians of the time could not using female horses so they could bring there food on the go

[tailsx]

Thank you for this information. I am using the mongol culture as a basis for my orcs in my D&D world.

[Cassius]

They also relied heavily on foreign levies and slaves for their infantry

[bigussmonkey]

This guy is the history teacher i want

[Min-kvvs]

Another impressive logistical feat accomplished by Genghis Khan: he established an extremely rigid policy on the organization of both command and control nodes in his camps AND the internal organization of the interiors of his C2 nodes. So organized that any replacement would know not only exactly where the C2 tent is, but also where to report within that tent.

Source: Genghis Khan And The Shaping Of The Modern World

[stevencolor]

Another fun fact about their formations, orders were comprised in rhymes whenever possible to help ensure they reached their destination unchanged.

For example: instead of telling a part of the army they are to flank around and hit the enemy rear, they would say something like "attack them in the back"

[lukeskywalker]

Do a doco about their composite bows !
Simply a divine weapon .

[BalroomBlitz]

“Ten of us will strike you as thunder
Hundred of us will shatter your hearts
Thousand of us will destroy and obliterate
Ten thousand of us will hand you the wrath of Heaven”

The HU—“Wolf Totem”

[austinflint]

imagine not losing one, but two entire armies to typhoons when trying to invade japan, thats cursed my guy

[caelodevorago]

Their only issue was that they struggled against opponents with lots of ranged soldiers (Their bows were fairly short ranged compared to European bows as well as inaccurate at long range), as well as organized armies (The enemy could keep their men calm and react right to the harassment), and they struggled against armored men (Padded gambesons and mail in Europe were enough to stop their arrows). It's why we never saw them be able to push further into Europe, despite what people think

[diddydiditdude]

Hey buddy. The question on the screen was “what IS” the formation of the mongol army. Not what “WAS” I want the current stats 😂

[RedWinter]

That was one of big surprises to learn about the Mongol empire and army for me. Looking at the map of control they had, you'd easily think they fielded an army in the millions, after all, China alone consistently required an army that size just to protect its borders and keep the internal peace throughout its history. But no, the average Mongol army apparently numbered 150 to 200 thousand. What made them an effective fighting force however was owed in large part to thst small number. Armies have big bellies and basically lumbered about because of the supplies needed. The Mongol army had a built in baggage train with each man having 2 to 3 horses on average, the horse literally supplied everything a mongol soldier might need from transport, baggage, food and drink even the bowstrings of their famed horse archers were made of horse hair. So that means compared to their contemporaries who had men marching on foot, carrying their own personal supplies and weapons who also had to wait on baggage trains of wagons. Well, the army thst gets to the theatre first typically wins. They also practiced psy war to a clever degree, they'd send out various raiding bands to attack several cities and towns simultaneously, the impression this left on the enemy is that you have such a massive force coming from all directions and thus the enemy was more pliable to surrender.

[Johnson_]

That might not sound alot in general army terms for the time but for a near completely mounted force that's absolutely massive.

[Kan_in]

This will help me with the mongol invasion of Tushsima, thank you

[stevenjack]

I love learning about army units from somebody while they are in the restroom...

[cygnusereve]

It's not if one retreated, the whole unit would be put to death. It was the opposite (I think). If you leave one man behind (to die), the whole unit gets killed.

I think there was also a punishment for leaving your comrade's body when you retreat.

[jackconrad]

25k sounds small until you realize they’re basically they’re their own contemporary equivalent to an attack helicopter