Mongol “Hordes” Were Often Greatly Outnumbered
The word “horde” often conjures up a misleading image when applied to the Mongols. It brings to mind mindless swarms of disorganized barbarians, attacking their enemies in a wild hell-for-leather charge, and overwhelming their foes with numbers and reckless savagery, heedless of cost. The Mongols certainly were savage in their conduct of war. And considering their barbaric treatment of others, it is difficult to contest that they were barbarians, in all meanings of the word.
However, the Mongols were also the most strictly disciplined, organized, and hierarchical military machine the world had seen until then. Their discipline and professionalism rivaled even that of the Roman legions, and would not be matched or exceeded until the rise of professional armies in our modern era. It was that strict discipline and professionalism, more than anything else, that won the Mongols their victories.
The Mongols seldom had numerical superiority over their enemies. Indeed, they swept across Eurasia and conquered history’s largest contiguous empire despite being severely outnumbered by their foes. In their rise to empire, the Mongols routinely annihilated opposing armies that outnumbered them by two to one, three to one, and four to one or more.
Relying on superior strategy, tactics, training, discipline, and speed, the Mongols won despite being numerical underdogs because they were professionals, and extremely good at the business of war. They consistently beat bigger opponents by leveraging their own strengths, while ruthlessly exploiting the weaknesses of their enemies. Adding up all the preceding, the result was the most effective, efficient, and terrifying military machine that the world had ever known.
