In the steppe, as elsewhere in the Middle Ages, people could unite, in fact, only around a single individual (prince, count, king, emir, khan), and that, for the time being. It was almost impossible to create any strong, sufficiently long-lasting community.
Because of the permanent strife in the steppes, the same problems were multiplied. Everyone is each other’s enemy, everyone takes revenge on each other and they are not even going to recognize any ties other than blood ties. Read the article to the end and you will learn how Genghis Khan solved this problem.
Genghis Khan against the background of his army
The problem of creating strong alliances was solved quite well by the emergence of a new religion. The Arabs came together after the emergence of Islam.
The Arab conquests that followed them are just the consequences of the emergence of a new tightly-knit community — the Muslims. Against which, the old unions simply could not resist. But how often do new world religions appear that can bring together the most different people, sometimes enemies?
Creation of the Horde
Genghis Khan went the other way. From Mongolian (and not only) tribes he created the Horde. In our understanding “horde” is some kind of gathering and chaos in general. In fact, it is one of the most orderly and structured societies in history, and at that time — the most orderly.
Horde, in fact, the people — the army into which “reformatted” the tribes of the steppe.
There was conditional Djirgodai from a sort of “red turtle” of tribe Merkits and conditional Subudai from a clan of “crimson wolf” of tribe Keraites. Their tribes and clans have been in a state of enmity for 200 years already, and Jirgodai himself stole three horses from Subudai.
Now it is Jirgodai centurion of the second thousand tumen Dzhebe of Genghis Khan’s Horde and Subudai tenser of the fifth thousand tumen Tohuchar of Genghis Khan’s Horde. They are part of one whole.
Genghis Khan’s army
And Genghis Khan broke old clan orders simply «through the knee». He introduced the decimal system — no old wars by families and clans — only “tens” and ‘hundreds’, where “red turtles” and “crimson wolves” could be together. The tribes that did not fit into the new system were simply destroyed, like the same Merkits and Tatars.
As a result, out of a bunch of free-loving, no one but family and family not recognizing nomads turned out to be a monolith, possessing an iron bond, bound by the strictest discipline, subject to a common command and united by one goal.
Even if not the closest and obvious as, for example, to steal a herd of horses from neighbors. It turned out to be a hammer that demolished everything from Croatia to Cambodia. (Let’s remember what was going on in power in the same Khorezm — the state possessing an army capable of stopping the Mongols)
But Genghis Khan did not stop there. These reforms, grandiose in themselves, were only part of the changes made by the Great Khan.
Army reform — ahead of the times….
To the decimal system he added promotion only as a result of personal merit, not generosity (In the Middle Ages, especially for Europe, a thing unheard of. There was something similar in China, but everything there was ruined by total corruption).
The Guard (Keshik) was used as an officer’s school. The Praetorian Guard of the Roman Empire in the 1st century and the Guard Preobrazhensky Regiment of the Russian Empire in the 18th century did the same.
There was created, in fact, a general staff (yurtchi) — planning operations, making plans for campaigns and routes of movement. All this is the work of “officers of yurtchi”. A separate service was in charge of supply (cherbi). In Europe, interestingly enough, even in the 17th century they were quite content with private traders — marquettes.
Genghis did not forget intelligence. As I have already mentioned in one of the previous articles, both tactical and operational. Spies were sent to the country with which the war was planned, often under the guise of merchants. They scouted the general political and economic situation, routes of travel, and possible obstacles.
Merchant scouts
On the basis of this information, the «general staff» drew up a campaign plan, to which the commanders adhered. (No “Suzdals” and “Chernigovs”) all work as one unit according to a single plan. And when the war began, before the main army went full-fledged DRG (sabotage — reconnaissance groups).
They were engaged in tactical reconnaissance and sabotage. The main army moved in carefully thought-out ways and not distracted by “trifles”.
In many respects this, and not only the general mobility of nomads (which, of course, was) and explains the unthinkable for contemporaries speed of movement of the Horde. In general, such an organization of the army would not be shameful even for the 19th century, and even for the 13th — the army of the Mongols is almost a “battle starship”.
When the Mongols started a battle, they necessarily applied another “thing unheard of”, at least in Europe — namely, continuous command of the battle. What did Richard the Lionheart or Mstislav the Udaloy do?
At the council before the battle they tried to somehow foresee the course of the future battle, approximately to distribute the roles, and then the princes took spears in their hands, sat on horses and became ordinary, albeit wonderful, soldiers. (the same with European counts and kings or Muslim emirs).
As you understand, dear readers, if a man is waving his axe in the front row, he has no time to exercise “general leadership”. As an example of another quote:
The regiments came together. Daniel rode forward, and Semyon Olyuevich and Vasilko Gavrilovich struck the Tatar regiments, and Vasilko was wounded. And Daniel himself, being wounded in the chest, by youth and courage did not feel the wounds on his body. He was eighteen years old and strong.
Daniel fought hard, beating the Tatars. Mstislav the Mute saw this, and thinking that Daniel was wounded, he himself rushed upon them, for he was a strong man; he was a relative of Roman from the family of Vladimir Monomakh. He loved Daniel’s father very much, and the latter entrusted him with his volost after his death in order to give it to Prince Daniel.
When the Tatars turned to flight, Daniel beat them with his regiment, and Oleg of Kursk fought them hard, but new regiments fought us. For our sins Russian regiments were defeated.
Daniel, seeing that the battle was heating up, and the Tatar archers were firing hard, turned his horse under the pressure of the enemy. While he ran, strongly wanted to drink, and having drunk, has felt a wound on the body which has not noticed during fight because of courage and force of the age. For he was brave and courageous, and from head to foot he had no blemish.
The commander must be in the rear, preferably on a hill, to follow the course of the battle and with the help of messengers and signals to direct the battle. Yes, it is already some Napoleon at Austerlitz or Kutuzov at Borodino, but not “half-naked wild nomad” in the 13th century.
In a rear
At such brilliant, ahead of the time on centuries, the organization Horde would be a formidable force even if consisted of children and pensioners. Except that it consisted not of invalids, but of steppe warriors, permanently on the verge of survival.
Their ability to shoot archery, ride a horse or cover huge distances depended not only on war, but also in ordinary “civilian” life.
If you put it all together, then just and get a battering ram, which could not resist no one. Just couldn’t…