In just a few years, Genghis Khan first captured Dali, then occupied northern Sichuan, and then took advantage of the situation to fight in the Southern Song Dynasty, and quickly established the power of the Yuan Dynasty. The reason why Genghis Khan was able to quickly unify the land of China was because he had a magic weapon for victory, that is, his marching strategy. Of course, this strategy has to do with his ethnic background, Genghis Khan came from the Mongolian steppe.
Therefore, the soldiers he led were particularly good at driving livestock. In this way, it is much easier and more convenient for them to transport food. They would drive a herd of animals with them, which could be used as a tool for carrying heavy loads on the one hand, and as food on the other. Therefore, Genghis Khan never let his soldiers go hungry in the process of fighting.
On the Indian battlefield of World War II, there was a general in the Japanese army who was particularly fond of Chinese history named Mutaguchi Lian. He learned this method of Genghis Khan from the book and applied it to the battlefields of India. However, due to the development of the times and the fact that Japan is not a nomadic origin, the effect has been different. In the end, the number of Japanese soldiers who starved to death alone reached more than 50,000.
01 The magic weapon of nomads
There are more than 100 ethnic groups in the world, and each ethnic group has its own national characteristics. Whether it's in terms of food, culture, society. It's the same with China, there are 56 ethnic groups, each with its own style. For example, there are ethnic groups living in the south and living by growing rice.
And some ethnic groups live in the steppe, they are called nomads. Their main way of life is herding livestock, and such ethnic groups include the Mongols. In the history of China, there was a period in which the Mongols ruled the land of China, and that was the Yuan Dynasty. During that period, Genghis Khan, the Taizu of the Yuan Dynasty, unified the land of China.
Before Genghis Khan established the Yuan Dynasty, Genghis Khan's elder brother became the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, allowing Genghis Khan to lead the affairs of the Monan region. Genghis Khan was very fond of employing Han aides and Confucian scholars, and at that time he also advocated the implementation of Han law to his eldest brother. Later, Genghis Khan first hit the Yunnan region and destroyed the Dali Kingdom. It conquered the northern region of Sichuan, and slowly fought into the territory of the Southern Song Dynasty.
Genghis Khan had experienced many wars in his life, and he was a very commanding man. Genghis Khan invented a way of marching that was derived from their national characteristics. At that time, when the Song Dynasty in the Central Plains was fighting, there would be a special team to escort grain and grass, and it was mainly transported by horses and convoys.
In this case, certain problems will arise when fighting from a long distance. For example, the grain and grass could not keep up due to weather or accidents, resulting in the soldiers on the front line not being able to eat and affecting the outcome of the war. But in comparison, the Mongol army led by Genghis Khan would not have such a problem.
They do not separate their troops from their grain when they march, because their food and grass are their horses and livestock. The Mongols have long been nomadic peoples, and the Mongols often migrate with their own luggage and large herds of sheep, horses or cattle to places where there are grasslands and water sources to raise livestock. So they are used to driving their animals with them.
The Mongol army only needed to carry a small amount of starchy grain when marching. In this way, they greatly reduced the problem of grain and grass reserves. On the one hand, these livestock can transport some weapons and equipment, and on the other hand, they can be used as food. The reason why Genghis Khan was able to quickly occupy Dali and Sichuan and then attack the Southern Song Dynasty relied largely on this way of marching.
02 The Japanese army followed suit
Later, hundreds of years later, in modern times. There are many Japanese generals who are very fond of Chinese culture, and they also like to study Chinese history. There was once a Japanese general named Mutaguchi Lian, who liked to read some history books, especially Genghis Khan.
Therefore, Mutaguchi Lian learned this way of marching from Genghis Khan. At that time, at the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Japanese army, under the influence of arrogant militarism, had thought of taking China within three months. But I did not expect to be met with desperate resistance from the Chinese people. Especially after the whole Chinese people united, the Japanese army even retreated.
The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was fought in parallel with World War II, so Japan did not place all its forces in China. After China was confronted with an iron plate, Japan turned its guns around and switched its attention to India. However, Japan is farther away from India, so for this kind of long-distance warfare, materials and grain and grass reserves have become a problem.
At this time, Mutaguchi remembered Genghis Khan's way of marching and wanted to apply it to the battlefield in India. But I didn't expect Mu Taguchi's idea to be very good, but the effect was completely Dongshi's imitation. In the end, the Japanese army could not eat, and more than 50,000 people starved to death.
At that time, Genghis Khan was able to bring out the most value of this method, on the one hand, because the Mongols were originally nomadic people, and they were good at driving animals. On the other hand, in ancient times, both the enemy and the enemy used cold weapons.
However, Japan's Mutaguchi Lian completely copied this method to the modern battlefield, without considering the actual situation. First of all, the Japanese are not nomadic people, they are used to farming, so the drive of livestock and the march of the army at the same time became the first problem.
The second problem is that at that time, it was already modern times, and the weapons and equipment on the battlefield had been upgraded to guns, airplanes, and bombers. Therefore, under such a premise, the Japanese army was easily discovered when it was inspected by enemy aircraft. At that time, the British army launched a large-scale bombing of the Japanese army on the battlefield in India.
03 Heavy casualties
Mutaguchi thought that he had learned a great magic weapon to win, but as a result, the Japanese army went to India in a mighty way, and later starved to death, and was blown up to death. According to statistics, the number of Japanese soldiers on the battlefield in India alone reached 50,000.
Therefore, in the course of World War II, the Japanese army not only did not achieve the desired results in the Chinese battlefield. Even on the battlefield in India, it was beaten to the ground. Perhaps this is also the price of Japan's unjust war.
04 Summary
Genghis Khan was an amazing emperor of ancient China, he was born in Mongolia. He also combined the characteristics of his own people and came up with a good way to march in battle. But I didn't expect that hundreds of years later, a Japanese general would take this method to the modern Indian battlefield.
The result, of course, is to shoot yourself in the foot. In fact, learning is the same, no matter what, we must link theory to practice in order to have good results. It's like an old Chinese saying, but on paper, you will eventually feel shallow.