By: Kshitiz Sharma A small boy walks behind his father and older brother as they walk over

a hill. The two ahead stop as they reached the top of the hill while the little one runs to catch up. As soon as he too reached the top, he stopped as well. There was a reason to stop, for they had just seen the most savage army of all time, the Mongol army. In sixteen years that little boy will have become the leader of this army; he will become the greatest general who lived, Subotai the Valiant. Though Subotai may be viewed as a savage and brutal general, he should be praised, for he improved war engineering and conquered 37 nations and won 65 battles using his superior maneuverings and pure skill. A blacksmith worked in the intense heat of summer, in the forest near the Onan River. The mans name was Jarchigudai and he was of the Uriangkhai tribe. One day he traveled, after his first child was born, to his idol, Yesugei, Jarchigudai then offered his son as a gift to Yesugei. The great general accepted but wanted Jarchigudai to come back when the boy, Jelme, was grown. Jarchigudai returns after years but finds Yesugei dead so he gives the son to Yesugeis son Temujin, who later becomes the great Genghis Khan. While this happens, Jarchigudais younger son watches Temujin and strives to be like him, soon he not only becomes Genghis Khans right hand man, the boy surpasses the Khan in military skill. Th boy was Subotai Bahadhur, born in 1175, was on of history's gratst gnrals, evidently an qual of Hannibal and Scipio in tactical brillianc and prhaps of Alxandr and Casar in tactics. H commandd armis whos siz, scal and range of oprations bstd most of thos of th primval world.1 With his subjugation of Hungary, Subotai dstroyd vry uropan military forc standing btwn th Mongols and

SUBOTAI Bahadhur

Gabriel, Richard A. Genghis Khan's greatest general: Subotai the valiant. N.p.: University of Oklahoma Press, 2006.

Wstrn urop. After conquering most of Asia and Europe he came home to the Onan River and died in peace at the age of 72. By the time he died he had conquered 32 nations and won 65 battles. Though Subotai may be compared with Alexander the Great and Gais Julius Caesar in military status, but he has been looked upon as nothing more than a murderer, marauder, and just a simple raider. Indeed wherever he went, there was only misery and death that followed. To some the real legacy of the Mongol was nothing more than death and destruction. The Mongols seldom left anything behind except misery.2 Nothing was really left of the Mongol culture in the territories they conquered beside stories of death and terror. Though the Mongol Empire was a large one, its provinces were never connected and they were often look at as raiders. Unlike Greece and Rome which had a profound impact on the world, Mongolia is barely heard of beside the savageness of its army. All this proves that the Mongolians were savage, but how about Subotai? It is sad to say but he too was a cruel man. Once he had conquered most of Russia he planned a banquet with his fellow generals. They ate on a stage which was laid upon six Russian princes. There were about15-20 generals eating on that stage, which crushed the princes to death. By the time Subotai was finished with Russia he had killed 90% of the Russian army. Subotai Bahadhur may seem cruel but dont all great general and leader have to be cruel? His cruelness is defiantly attenuated by his feats in military engineering and his great conquests. Over time Subotai realized the value of engineers in siege warfare and in field battles, and he was able to incorporate it into the cavalry based Mongol army, and for that he should be given some admiration. Th Mongols still lackd any dtaild knowldg of nginring and its rol in sig oprations and wr compltly unawar of th xistnc of th sophisticatd sig ngins rquird to rduc th walls of vn mdium-sizd citis. Th bridg, that stapl of Chins, Muslim, and Wstrn land communication, was unknown in Mongolia. No Mongol had vr sn
2

Mallonee, Greg. "Military geniuses or murderers?" Military History, September 2008, 6.

a moat, nor did thy know how to cross on. All this changed when Subotai became general. At first his plan was to use shear force and tactics, but he knew that was not going to cut it. As he took over parts of Muslim, Chinese, and European territories, he started integrating these engineering marvels into his tactics. Not only did he utilize siege engines and catapults, he also improved the design for the contraption so could become easier for the Mongol army3. The Mongol army was almost entirely cavalry, Subotai modified the catapults to be more mobile and not slow down his army. Subotai then used the European siege engine to break European walls later on. Despite what most people think, Subotai was smart, thus he must be commended. He was smart because he would at first see the specialties of a city before conquering it, which contradicts conventional wisdom which is that he goes around killing people randomly. If there was a city/state with a high concentration of engineers and he needed engineers, he would conquer that city/state. Although his contribution to pre-battle planning may be awe inspiring, his military skills will baffle you. The fact that he conquered 37 nations might not be enough to put him in a place of admiration, but his quick thinking, wits, planning, and strategic maneuvers will. The Mongol army had three main skill, speed, maneuver, and surprise. Subotai indeed use these skills but took them to such a great extent that he created the greatest army that roamed this Earth. Th Mongol army, organizd in units of 10, 100, 1,000 and 10,000 calld a touman, was almost ntirly cavalry, 40 prcnt havy, 60 light. A touman might covr hundrds of mils in a fw days. Th army advancd in widly sparatd columns, communicating though courirs. Whn an nmy was locatd, columns mrgd and struck simultanously from svral dirctions, vn from th rar.4 Typically, Subotai ordrd light mountd archrs chargd first, followd by th shock of havy
3 4

Gabriel McNab, Chris, Rob S. Rice, Eric Niderost, Amber Books, and Christer Joregensen. Fighting Techniques of the Oriental World: Equiptment, Combat Skills, and Tactics. N.p.: Thomas Dunne Books, 2008.

cavalry. Mongol army units workd to concal thir numbrs, locations and intntions, ncircling nmis and faking rtrats to st up ambushs.5 The reason Subotai had lived to such an old age was because he would not be engaged in the battle. Subotai would be on an elevated area watching the battle and commanding using flags. Some people would now say that he was a wimp, but this proves that he used his brain more than his weapons. For being a general and thoughtful one should applaud Subotai. Subotai had many great feats, such as conquering Korea, most of Russia, China, and parts of Europe. At one point he conquered three nations on three consecutive days and another was when he fought two battles simultaneously. If he had not been stopped by the death of the ruling Khan then he would have conquered the Holy Roman Empire which would have caused the decline and eventually diminishment of the Dark Ages. Subotai had seemed so powerful that today we tend to question if he existed or if he is just a legend. An old man of 72 lies in his bed. He had come home from 56 years of constant war he relaxes. Days later he dies, but at least peacefully, for his life was full of killing and conquering. The greatest conquer who lived, died in 1248 in his home. His legacy is still not clear to today but he should be praised. For he improved war engineering and conquered 37 nations and won 65 battles though he may have been harsh and cruel. He remembered when he conquered the Kin Empire of China and when he captured his opposing general, the general called him: Thou hast but a moment to live", remarked Subotai, "why wish to see me?" Heaven does not give us heroes a chance. Now that I have seen thee (you), I close my eyes without sorrow", replied the Kin general.6 If someone is worthy of praise from their own adversary, they should be praised by all.

Scott, Robert B. Oath of Fealty: Feudal Europe at War. N.p.: Osprey Publishing, 2009. Curtin, Jeremeiah. The Mongols; A History. N.p.: General Books LLC, Date Unknown.

Bibliography
-Mallonee, Greg. "Military geniuses or murdererers?" Military History, September 2008, 6. -Gabriel, Richard A. Genghis Khan's greatest general: Subotai the valiant. N.p.: University of Oklahoma Press, 2006. -Saunders, J. J. The History of the Mongol Conquests. N.p.: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001. -Curtin, Jeremeiah. The Mongols; A History. N.p.: General Books LLC, Unknown. -McNab, Chris, Rob S. Rice, Eric Niderost, Amber Books, and Christer Joregensen. Fighting Techniques of the Oriental World: Equiptment, Combat Skills, and Tactics. N.p.: Thomas Dunne Books, 2008. -Scott, Robert B. Oath of Fealty: Feudal Europe at War. N.p.: Osprey Publishing, 2009. -The World and Its People. N.p.: Cavendish, Marshall Corporation, 2009.