In the 13th century, there was an invincible and invincible army that swept across Eurasia. Yes, it was the Mongolian Iron Horse led by Genghis Khan. This large army is famous in major battlefields because of its excellent mobility, and Genghis Khan's Western Expedition has made this army famous on the European continent and become a nightmare for many European soldiers.
In ancient times, wars were often won by the many. Because at this time, not only the number of soldiers, but also the morale is higher, the enemy often loses half of the first to see this position. But in history, wars in which less wins more are not uncommon, and each one has been recorded in history as a model. Today we will talk about the war that took place on the Eurasian continent, winning more with less.
First, the favorable terrain for the Mongolian Iron Horse
Mackinder, the father of geopolitics, once emphasized the importance of the Eastern European Great Plain, arguing that whoever occupies the Eastern European Great Plain has the basis for world domination. Although this sentence is a bit exaggerated, it is a good expression of the importance of the Great Plains of Eastern Europe. This great plain has always been a place of contention for European warriors, and has always been occupied by nomadic peoples.
History kept moving forward, and the owners of the Great Plains kept changing, originally Huns, and later Persians in Europe. But whoever stood in the way of the Mongol army's western expedition would be defeated. Eastern Europe Washira was originally an easy place to attack and difficult to defend, the elite Mongol army met the low-effective Persian army, and the end of the war seemed to be doomed.
In the Caucasus Mountains, the steepness of the terrain greatly restrained the strength of the Mongol army, and they could only fight guerrillas. Rolling over the Caucasus Mountains, the oncoming Great Plains of Eastern Europe is where they show their edge. Here, the Mongol iron horses rampaged, the enemy's defense line was vulnerable in front of them, and the Mongol army won consecutive battles. Cavalry, what is needed is a vast plain area, where their mobility can be fully exerted.
Second, the famous cavalry general Tetsubetsu
Zhebei was originally a general in Genghis Khan's enemy camp, but later when his side declined, Zhebei surrendered to Genghis Khan and became Genghis Khan's "arrow cluster". Genghis Khan trusted Tetsubetsu and took him to fight many times, and Tetsubetsu was one of the four pioneers in Genghis Khan's army, a title that was enough to show his ferocity. Today we are going to talk about a war in which less wins more is dominated by him.
Genghis Khan invaded the Jin Dynasty in the south, and Zhebei led the vanguard to attack the important town of Usha Fort, and then to the east to break through Juyong Pass, laying the foundation for Genghis Khan's large-scale gold cutting. Later, Genghis Khan went west to pacify the Western Liao, and Zhebei also played an important pioneering role. After the founding of the Yuan Dynasty, Genghis Khan launched a western expedition and still ordered Zhebei to be the vanguard.
Tebetsu led his troops across the Caucasus Mountains, and was greeted by a combined army of the Chincha tribes, but the tribal leaders had their own ideas. Tetsubetsu took advantage of this to stir up dissension and defeat them one by one. The deceived Chincha states, naturally unable to resist the Mongol Iron Horse, turned to the Western Rus' countries for help.
The Rus' kingdoms immediately assembled their armies to deal with the attack of the Tebetsu army. But the Rus' countries were equally unsatisfactory, and at this important juncture they started a civil war.
The cunning Tetsubetsu divided the Rus' army into two parts, the northern army pursuing Tetsubetsu, half of which was the northern army, which was surrounded by Tetsubetsu, but the southern army did not send troops to rescue, waiting for the allied army to be completely annihilated. Jebetsu had long expected that the leaders of the Rus' kingdoms had their own plans, and this was also expected by Zhebei.
Third, the war of winning more with less
In fact, the Northern Army of the Rus' Army that crossed the river to pursue Jebetsu had 80,000 people, while the entire Army of Jebetsu had only 30,000 men, and there were still 20,000 Rus' troops left after the two Rus' army. Tetsubetsu's military prowess was fully demonstrated at this time, and the elite cavalry unit was equipped with sharp bows and arrows, and the bows and arrows fell from the sky, and the cavalry came to the front. It's scary to think about.
Sure enough, the Northern Army fled in the wilderness under the leadership of the commander-in-chief, and after the commander crossed the river, he did not forget to "cross the river and demolish the bridge", cutting off the pursuit of the soldiers at the same time, but also cutting off the living road of the army behind. The Rus' army behind was slaughtered by the Pursuing Mongol cavalry. Tetsubetsu naturally did not abandon the Southern Route Army and surrounded the Southern Route Army. The Southern Route Army was unable to resist and was eventually completely annihilated.
Such a war in which less wins more can be said to be textbook-level. Historically, there are many examples of Mongolian iron horses winning more with less, such as in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, they also led 10,000 cavalry first, and even defeated the 100,000 Ming army.
It seemed natural that the Ming Dynasty at that time was corrupt and the soldiers had no intention of fighting, but they happened to encounter a well-prepared Mongol army, and their leader was still a generation of outstanding military geniuses. It can be seen from this that to win more with less requires an excellent general and the absolute strength of the army.
epilogue:
Mencius once said that in order to win a war, it is necessary to have three conditions at the same time: time, place, and people, of which people are the most important conditions. For the sake of their own interests, do not help the allies, even if they get the time and place, lose people, and eventually they will not win.