The power of the Mongol Army is
infamous and medieval accounts paint a grisly picture of their
ferocious military in action. However, one dimension of this experience
which often goes missing is the scale of such affairs: … from their camps… to their
marching formations… and their battle lines… So today let’s bring to life
the True Size of a Mongol Army. I love making documentaries and being able to
bring to life the stories from history sci-fi and fantasy that are near and dear to my heart
and as such I can appreciate especially as a DM when others attempt to do the same with their
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starter pack with this cool in-game loop enjoy [Music] Early on, Mongol armies were composed
primarily of the men from their tribe. These took the field as horse archers
or lancers. The most elite among these would be selected to serve as the
personal guard of powerful warlords. During the early reign of Temujin, this Keshik
numbered only a few hundred. However, in the process of founding the Mongol Empire Temujin
would change the nature of warfare on the steppe. The first major change was the absorption of
neighboring steppe tribes during Temujin's bloody wars of unification. These efforts would
be formalized at the famous Kurultai of 1206. Here Temujin was proclaimed Chinghis Khan, ruler of
the now united tribes which included the Merkits, Khitans, Kirghiz, Keraites, Naimans,
Tatars, Uyghurs, Oirat, and the Buryat. These once warring tribes were now recognized
as a single united people, the Qamuq Monggol Ulus. But to outsiders, they would
simply become known as the Mongols. Such a simplification glosses over
some important details. However, these new steppe forces acted in
a very similar capacity to their Mongol counterparts and will be
depicted as such in this video. Thus united, these people of the steppe
represented a significant pool of manpower. This was made even more pronounced
by Chinggis Khan’s military reforms. Like the Hsiung-Nu and the Turks before them,
every able bodied male from 15-60 was liable for service. For instance, sources writing about
these post-unification years claim that in 1267 each household with 2-3 men within this age group
was obligated to provide one of these as a soldier while households of 4-5 men provided 2 soldiers
and households of 6-7 men provided 3 soldiers. Each Mongol conscript was expected to bring
his own mount and equipment. If he could not provide his own, then his immediate superior was
required to make up the deficit. While their kit likely varied over the years, we are provided a
rather detailed reference list by the Liao Shi, a Chinese historical book compiled in the
13th century under the the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty regarding the Khitan army.
It claims that in ideal conditions, a steppe warrior was expected to
possess: 9 pieces of iron armor, four composite bows with 400 arrows, as well as a
long spear, a short spear, a club, an axe, and a halberd. They were also expected to have a small
banner, a hammer, a knife, a flint, and rations. Each man was also expected to supply
his own horses. Apparently the minimum amount was 3 but ranges could go
all the way up to 18 in some cases. For our model, we will assume an
average of 6 remounts per rider. These would have been critical for the mobility
of the Mongol army which would have not only rotated through their horses while on the move
but also used them as a source of sustenance. Returning to our list of soldier types, we
will now briefly mention a final category, the non-nomadic forces. Typically these were
not integrated into the main steppe army, being instead used as garrison forces and
sometimes auxiliary units for use in sieges. Such non-nomad units were known as Cheriks The first Cheriks were very likely formed from
deserting Jin troops during the mongolian conquest of China. These men maintained their officers
and organization and became the Hei Chun, or Black Army. They were responsible for
holding the ground that the Mongols gained. Later when the Cherik became too large to manage, the Hei Chun would be reorganized along more
Mongolian lines into the Hsin Chun or New Army. All of these elements of the Mongol army would be given structure and purpose by the Mongol
administration which met at the Kurultai. The Kurultai was a gathering of
the tribes and their leaders. It was a place of princes and chieftains. And
it was at the Kurultai that Khans were elected, commanders were appointed, and campaigns were
plotted. There was also a good deal of drinking, dancing, feasting, and gaming. As is natural
when you gather thousands of people together. Following these Kuriltai, the
Mongol army would gather for war. They did so according to a decimal
system. The smallest unit was the Arban. It was a unit of 10 men
commanded by the Arban-u Noyad. This unit likely contained 6
horse archers and 4 light lancers. Each of these men brought with them around
6 remounts for a total of 60 horses, most of which were mares. We will also assume the presence
of other animals including 3 sheep and a camel. These might be herded by the men of the Arban
but sources suggest that the use of herding dogs was quite common. Thus we will assume
the presence of 1 Bankhar dog per Arban. As a unit, we have also assumed that they share
a single yurt, or Ger. This could be broken down and carried in a LeLe cart hitched to one of the
beasts of burden. This high proportion of animals which accompanied the Mongol army played a large
part in keeping them supplied whilst in the field. Much of their diet was dairy based. Mares were
capable of producing several quarts of milk a day which could be consumed in both liquid and dry
forms. For instance the Mongols were famous for producing a fermented milk known as Kumiss which
was prepared while on the ride using a special gourd. Milk could also be turned into a dried
curd, called Qurut, which could be rehydrated in water for easy consumption. The Mongols were
also known to drink the blood of their horses and would scavenge any deceased livestock to
make a quick meal or long lasting dried meats. As an example, records indicate that during
the Khwarazmian campaign mongol riders were required to carry 3 ½ borts worth of dried
sheep per Arban. These were typically boiled in a salted water stew, known as Shülen,
within the unit’s single ceramic cauldron. Returning now to our army structure. The next
unit after the Arban was the Jaghun, or Jaghut in the plural. In decimal fashion it consisted
of 10 Arbat and thus contained 60 horse archers and 40 light lancers. These men were commanded
by a Jaghun-u Noyad, or the Lord of the Jaghun. Based on our previous assumptions,
each Jaghun brought with it a herd of 600 horses in addition to 30 sheep,
10 camels, 10 dogs, and 10 carts. In camp these men would have been
housed in around 10 standard Gers. As a point of comparison we will now drop
in a standard Imperial Roman Century. Here you can see that while both might have
roughly the same number of men, their associated gear and support elements are quite different.
The Mongol force has many more mouths to feed. On the one hand they require a simple grass and
water diet but on the other hand, the quantities of both are MASSIVE. Thus, so long as a Mongol
force could find sufficient pasturage, its war machine could chug on. But once this became
unavailable, Mongol forces were on a very tight logistical leash that required them to always
keep moving or return to the steppe entirely. If you were to find a Jaghun on its own it would
most likely be acting as a scouting unit known as an Alginci, or ‘those of the vanguard’. These
men would operate as scouts and raiders anywhere from 30 to 75 miles in front of the main
column. As such they might identify sources of supply and drive off locals from their
farms in anticipation of the army’s arrival. In peacetime the algincin acted as the eyes and
ears of the occupying Mongol armies which were too large to leave the pasturage of the
steppe for long. Thus it was that these scouts helped them keep tabs on their new
domains and signal back to the army when a larger deployment of forces might be needed.
If, say for instance, a vengeful foe thought it was safe to emerge from their fortresses
and challenge the Khan’s grip on these lands. The next step up in the decimal system would be
a grouping of 10 Jaghut known as the Mingghan. It consisted of 1,000 riders, 600 of which
were archers and 400 of which were lancers. These were in turn commanded by the Mingghan-u
Noyad. In days past, this might be the warhost of an important chieftain, but now it represented
but a fraction of the unified steppe army. Once more we can use our prior assumptions
to calculate their associated elements. Each Mingghan brought with it a herd of 6,000 horses
in addition to 300 sheep, 100 camels, 100 dogs, and 100 carts. In camp these men would have been
housed in around 100 standard Gers. Now we will add an additional Wagon Ger to house the important
figure and his retinue which helmed this force. The Mingghan was the smallest operational
group of the Mongol army whose size allowed it to act independently. In fact they were
regarded as social-military units which functioned essentially as nomadic tribes,
complete with women, children, and elders. Such Mingghat typically resided on the borders
of the steppe and might be clustered in groups of two or three. From here they served as
home bases for the roving Algincin. As such they could pool important supplies and stand
ready to act as a first response to any threat. In the early days of Mongol conquest they
also served as a collection point for tribute. Later this duty would be transferred
to government officials as the Mongols accustomed themselves to the
sedentary practice of taxation. When the call to war was sounded, these Mingghat
could easily break down their bases on the steppe and push forward into enemy territory. In this
capacity they typically acted as a vanguard force for the main horde. As such they helped support
the leading units of Algincin and secured advance bases of supply. It was this line of march that
gave the Mongolians their reputation for speed. Next, 10 mingat would be grouped
into a single Tumen of 10,000 men, 6,000 of which were archers and
4,000 of which were lancers. These men were commanded by the Tumen-u
Noyad, which was an immensely prestigious position. The original Lords of the Tumet
were appointed by Chinggis Khan himself. In addition to its 10,000 men a single
tumen brought with it a herd of 60,000 horses in addition to 3,000 sheep, 1,000
camels, 1,000 dogs, and 1,000 carts. In camp these men would have been housed in
around 100 standard Gers and 10 Wagon Gers. Such a force would have been expected to carry
out more significant military operations and thus likely had a force of some 500 engineers
and skilled laborers. These men would have been conscripted into Mongolian service from defeated
foes such as Jin China and the Kingdom of Xi-Xia. At this point we should once more
mention the idea that each of these terms for Mongolian units, doubled
as both military and social labels. For instance, the Arban represented 10 households,
the Jaghun 100, the Mingan 1,000 and the Tumen 10,000 households. This highest level was
often taken to represent an entire nation of people and thus to be appointed commander
of such a Tumen was incredibly prestigious. The first commanders of the Mongolian Tumet
were all close companions of Chingis Khan whom the Secret History refers to as follows: “They are the Four Dogs of Temujin. They have
foreheads of brass, their jaws are like scissors, their tongues like piercing awls, their heads
are iron, their whipping tails swords . . . In the day of battle, they devour enemy
flesh. Behold, they are now unleashed, and they slobber at the mouth with glee. These
four dogs are Subutai, Jebe, Kublai, and Jelme.” It would be these men who led their
Tumet to conquer the vast Mongol Empire, often acting as the vanguard for the main
horde which followed in their destructive wake. A prime example would be in 1220 when
Subutai and Jebe led their Tumet on an audacious reconnaissance in force through eastern Europe,
devastating army after army over 3 bloody years. The operational independence of these Tumet is
quite impressive and it’s amazing to read about what these mere 10,000 men managed to achieve
on their own. However we should remember that while on paper their fighting strength seems quite
low, they were accompanied by an estimated 60,000 horses and many thousands of additional support
staff and animals which rarely get counted. The supply needs of the entire
force was thus quite large, requiring vast quantities of water and pasturage
wherever they went. As a quick calculation, an average sized mature horse requires
around 1 to 3 acres of pasturage per month. Thus a Tumen with 70,000 horses
requires around 70 to 210 thousand acres a month. Thats 110 to 330
square miles or 280 to 850 square kilometers. Truly mind boggling numbers to imagine, especially
when you consider what this looked like on the ground level as the Tumen descended upon
an area like a horde of locusts. However, as in nature a large swarm may risk exhausting its
own food supply if consumed too quickly. Mongols therefore had to balance the strength of their
forces with their supply needs. In this regard it seems that the Tumen represented the most
practical deployment of Mongol military strength. But the truly monstrous size of the Mongol
Army comes into focus when at least three Tumet combined into an army, which is referred
to as the Cherik or the Chun by our sources. For this video we shall use the latter. A single
Chun of 30,000 men boasted 18,000 horse archers and 12,000 lancers. These fell under the command
of an Orlug, which has been loosely translated as, ‘Paladin’. Such men were incredibly powerful
figures, appointed directly by the Khan himself. Generally speaking it would be the duty
of the Orlug to then appoint the Tumet commanders who in turn would appoint the
Mingat commanders and so on down the line. This 3-Tumen strong Chun brought with
it an estimated herd of 180,000 horses in addition to 9,000 sheep, 3,000
camels, 3,000 dogs, and 3,000 carts. In camp these men would have been housed in
around 300 standard Gers and 30 Wagon Gers. In addition they brought with them a support staff
of about 1,500 engineers and some imprecise number of other herd animals, people, and materials which
we will not seek to approximate in this model. In summary, let’s provide an accounting of their
numbers according to our idealized model. Together they number 253,500. Of all the beings within this
area 12% are humans and 88% are animals. Among the people, about 47% are horse archers, 38% are horse
lancers, 10% are officers, 5% are specialists. Using these figures we can roughly calculate
that such a Chun would require around 210 to 630 thousand acres of pasturage a month. That's 330 to 990 square miles or 840
to 2,520 square kilometers. Given all this, it is no exaggeration to
say that the passage of a single chun left the countryside desolate and destroyed
for miles in every direction. But this sort of concentrated parade-rest deployment
we are currently showing is quite a-historic. More commonly you would find a Mongol Army
in their camp, on the march, or in battle. Let’s take a look at the
True Size of each of these. The most important point to make is that a full
Chun would not usually stay united. Rather it would more often break up into its component
Tumet to ease its logistical burdens and to better outmaneuver its foes. As these advanced,
they would usually set up a nightly camp. At the center would be the commander’s tent which
was said to have had an offset of two bowshots, or about 400 to 600 meters, within which no one
but the guard and approved personnel could enter. Beyond this would radiate out the rest of
the Tumet, likely in accordance to their decimal structure. In this way the macro level
organization of the army could be preserved while at the micro level, foot traffic was made
easy as each Ger oriented its entrance to the south. Based on our model, we approximate
a circular Tumet camp footprint of around 0.8 square miles or 2 square kilometers. For
context, such a camp with an outer diameter of 1.6 km would take about 20 minutes to walk
across and 2.5 minutes to gallop across. Though it should be pointed out that the
effective footprint of the camp would have been significantly extended on account of its
vast herds which grazed the surrounding areas. When it came time to move, the order to strike
camp was given by pounding the Naccara Drum, which was also the symbol
of the Orlug’s authority. The first beating of the drum signaled
preparation of the horses, the second was to strike tents and gather into marching
formation, the third was the order to move In an idealized depiction, the Mongol army
would have marched out in a radial formation. At the center was the Commander. The major
elements would have been the left and right wings as well as the vanguard and rear guard.
Additional units of scouts and patrols were extended beyond these. How loose or tight this
arrangement set would be up to the commander’s discretion and was likely a factor of both
the terrain and the threat level of the enemy. Such a force, with all its elements present,
would have actually moved quite slowly to allow its animals to graze sufficiently
and its supply elements to keep up. For instance during Hulegu’s
march to the Middle East, the Mongols moved as slowly as 14 miles a
day, a pace comparable to a foot-based army. Their reputation for lightning speed
is therefore better attributed to their flying columns which could advance rapidly in
smaller numbers, unhindered by baggage trains. In such cases, an impressive 60 miles
or more could be covered in a single day. Now let us see what this force would
have looked like when riding into battle. Typically this was achieved by deploying the
army’s Tumet into 3 wings.These were as follows: the Je’un Ghar on the left, the Qol in the
center, and the Baraghun Ghar on the right. Depending on the situation, these could be
stretched out or compressed. In this way a Mongol force could fluidly adjust its frontage
in a manner that would be difficult for more rigid foot troops which required a minimal depth
to maintain cohesion and repel cavalry charges. The Mongol army, unshackled by such constraints, could thus easily contort itself to outmaneuver
a foe. Let us now see how this might be achieved. A common tactic would be an encirclement. Here the
Mongols would repeat the tactics of a steppe hunt, or nerge, whereby riders would
surround and corral their prey. From here they could begin to pick off stragglers
or harass strong positions. The ultimate aim was to tease apart enemy formations so
they could more readily be destroyed. One way to achieve this would
be through wave attacks. Our sources report that the Mongols
tended to deploy in ranks of 5, the first three lines composed of horse
archers and the last two composed of lancers. The attack would begin with the first line
of horse archers riding towards the enemy. These could begin to loose arrows at a range
of about 300 meters which was made possible by the Mongolian composite bow. However its true
killing power would be achieved when the riders advanced up to within 50 meters of the enemy.
At this point they would wheel about and return to their main line, firing backwards as they
rode. As they did so the next wave of archers would have been unleashed. In this way, a near
continuous barrage of fire could be delivered. By the third wave, thousands of arrows would
have left the enemy in a state of shock. At this point the final two waves of
lancers could crash upon the foe before it had regained cohesion. If anyone were left
standing, the cycle could simply be repeated. More obstinate foes could be induced
to break ranks through feigned flight. Here the Mongols would pretend to retreat,
sometimes over the course of days, before turning back to obliterate
their disorganized pursuers. If an enemy did not take the bait then the Mongols
might employ a final psychological trick they had learned from the hunt. Here they would encircle
the enemy army but leave an intentional path of escape. This ray of hope would often induce
soldiers to flee rather than stand their ground. But this was a trap. Once a panicked, animalistic
flight began it would be nearly impossible to reverse. Now the Mongols could easily swoop
in to destroy their prey with minimal effort. Shown at its True Size, I hope you can appreciate
the incredible nature of the Mongol Army. Stay tuned for more episodes on the Mongols and
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