Tell me about Genghis Khan.
Most accomplished man in human history? Or the eternal scourge of humanity?
Also, how original and well thought out were his military strategies?
>>28394898
>get on horse
>ride
>kill
>victory
Not sure it was the most original or well planned, but by fuck it worked.
>>28394915
Cool. Let's do that for Guderian's tactics
>get in tank
>ride
>kill
>victory
>>28394898
All of human greatness is defined by those around him.
He was good at what he did, even great at it. Could he have done it in any other context or time period? Most likely not. The stars aligned and the rape train came to fruition
Nomads are traditionally extremely difficult for sedentary societies to deal with. A group of cavalry with their own cattle herds can move 50 miles a day, and not suffer from any sort of supply issues. They can appear anywhere, and if you develop a military advantage in any one area, they'll start attacking somewhere else. Mongols advances were the fastest military maneuvers to occur at any point in history before the internal combustion engine.
What Genghis did was take nomads that were already the world's greatest cavalry, and combine that with a superlative general staff and a well run intelligence service.
The traditional methods that settled people do to protect themselves against nomadic horse people are walls and hiring other horse people to defend you.
Genghis unified the horse people and stole siege engineers from China.
>>28394898
Most of his strategies seemed to focus around dealing with poorly-organized forces and getting other people to do the job when his guys couldn't cut it. He lost in India, Poland, and his boys never could invade Japan.
He did a good job and fucked more bitches than most people will ever see, but he wasn't some massively innovative genius.
>>28394898
Chinggis gets all the fame.
But Tsubodai and Kublai are the ones to read up on.
>>28395023
na but he employed tsubotai who was an innovative genius tbqh family
>>28395056
beat me to it m8
>>28395023
Genghis Khan was never in Poland, and the Mongols who were there won military victories in poland.
>>28394898
i read 'Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World', it only covers him personally for half the book, the rest covers how his kids expanded and then fucked up his entire empire and legacy. interesting read.
>>28395082
Pretty sure their invasion of Europe stalled so hard in Poland that they quit and never tried again. He died before he got that far, yes, but he wad the only reason they got far enough to try.
>>28395061
Still looks like he was fighting retards most of the time.
>>28394898
The Mongols fought most of their battles horribly outnumbered and prevailed.They were disciplined and organized troops led by competent men promoted from a meritocratic system. There's no doubt he and his generals were the finest military minds for centuries after their deaths.
>>28395115
>Pretty sure their invasion of Europe stalled so hard in Poland that they quit and never tried again.
Actually when Ögedei Khan died the princes who were generals in the golden horde turned back so they could swear an oath to the new Khan (Güyük). They were not turned back by European forces.
>>28395056
What do I read ?
>>28395129
finest military minds to be put in charge of a significant military force*
>>28395194
>couldn't make much headway against half-assed defenses
>left and never came back
Sure...
>>28395215
These are my two favourite primary / secondary sources:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29049.The_Secret_History_of_the_Mongols
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/679547.The_Mongols
And this is a very well written series of historical fiction that makes it very accessible. I would recommend starting with this to plant the seeds and then move onto the non fiction.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conqueror_(novel_series)
Conn Iggulden - the author - also has an excellent series on Julius Caesar which I also highly recommend.
>>28395222
You realise how long it takes to travel those distances with an army ?
when you have beaten everyone you have faced so far why would you care about another province when you have a reason to go home?
Please also provide what you consider proof of "not making much headway".
Of the Chinese dynasties, Persians and Russians the Europeans were the easiest major opposition that the Mongols faced.
>>28395222
That other dude is right. The Mongols were ready to pork Europe in the ass, no lube, but because of the way their political system worked the death of a Khan can really fuck your plans up. After Ogodei died there was a shitload of infighting and bullshit those generals had to handle, then when it was done Europe just wasn't on the radar.
>>28395004
He was also a master of spotting talent and rewarding loyalty, as well as maintaining discipline among his subordinates. He was, is many ways, the perfect man.
Ya know, except for all the rape-y parts.
>>28395056
Subodai(sp) was a great general and commander, but he was still Ghengis's (and later Ogadai's) subordinate. And a faithful one to be sure.
>>28395504
Yeah, judging Genghis Khan based on 21st century values is going to cast him as an asshole. Most historical figures are susceptible to this.
>>28395504
>>28395539
He gets mad bonus points for making it a point to always keep his word though.
>>28395222
Your pretty dumb.
>>28395539
I grade on a curve. But he is one of the men I try to model myself after (along with Lucius Cornellius Sulla).
>>28395504
>Ya know, except for all the rape-y parts.
But that's the best part.
>>28395115
>implying poles wouldnt have also left 13cent poland if they had the chance
>>28395115
>Pretty sure their invasion of Europe stalled so hard in Poland
Where did you learn this because that's wrong?
The Mongols invaded Poland like three times and ransacked it twice. They went as far as central Europe into Hungary and defeated actual European knight armies that outnumbered them 2 to 1.
The reason that the Mongols had to do several invasions was because they were glorified raiding parties and not actual conquests. They took slaves, riches, and resources, but left cities behind.
Then in each subsequent "invasion" the Europeans built better and better walls, with more stockpiles of food to withstand the Mongol raids. The Mongols, due to logistical and political issues, stopped having skilled Chinese siege engineers at their frontlines with each further invasion.
I'm sure he's the reason Finns did so well in Winter War
>>28395248
How accurate is the Secret History? Do they talk shit about themselves? Because that generally means they're kind of honest.
>>28397779
The Secret History is a sort of propagandised and idealised history of the Mongol Empire's origins, and certainly paints Genghis and his successors in an almost mythical light. You must be aware of the lionising nature of the source, but it is very detailed about Genghis' origins nonetheless.
>>28395504
Especially the rape parts.
It's what keeps the race strong and vital.
>>28394915
>get on horse
>ride
>kill
>victory
>drink fermented milk
Life is good.
>>28395389
The Saxons would have torn Mongol rectal tissues so fast it would have been extremely funny
>>28395023
Dude, Poland was destroyed in several pitched battles. The countryside was barren and depopulated for about a century after the Mongol campaigns to the the looting and destruction.
Poland is famous for its unusual lack of the Bubonic Plague because it was already depopulated and trade was low (because it was already devastated). By the mid 1300's, Poland's countryside was very Feudal and isolated as they were reeling back from the Mongol devastation.
...And you're saying that the Mongols lost in Poland?
>>28402145
In addition, in the 1400-1500's, the kingdom actually had active "repopulate the countryside" campaigns to rebuild centuries after the destruction. I'd say that the Mongols had some success in the Polish plains.
>>28395222
>>28395115
i-i-i was just p-p-pretending
