A Warrior's Tale

[Prakat]

If the goal of war is to conquer land, then Bagatur - the Brave - Subutai is the single most successful general in history. It all started on a boring summer afternoon... One summer afternoon, having nothing better to do and getting bored of pestering the neighbour's chickens, Subutai and his brother decided to sign up with Genghis Khan. As it turns out, this chance decision would change the fates of 32 countries. By the time he was done, his army would win 65 major battles and overrun more territory than any other commander in history. He is also the only person to conquer Russia. Subutai in Russia It was during Genghis Khan's war in 1219-1222 that Subutai was brought to the attention of the world at large. In the aftermath of this war he was head of a reconnaissance force numbering 20 000 men. The Russian prince heard about the Mongol incursion and their mysterious horsemen. The prince rallied troops from Kiev, Smolensk, Kursk, Chernigov and other principalities, a force numbering 80 000 men or more. Subedei had no intention to wage war against Russia with such a small force but that changed after ten of his envoys were summarily executed. Subedei answered calmly with the portentous message: "You have killed our envoys. As you wish for war, so be it. But we have not attacked you. May the spirits be judge of all men." The rest is history. At the River Khalka, near the Azov Sea, Subedei had cleverly lured the overconfident Russians into overextending their lines. Even if the Russians outnumbered the Mongols with at least four to one, the battle ended with the Russian army reduced to 16,000 men. Technology, Intelligence and Intent Armed with Chinese technology, a vast spy network (stretching as far as England), and the best army any nation would see until WWII, Subutai led the invasion of Persia before marching west and coming this close to making all of Europe part-Mongol. Once Genghis died, his successor Ogedei Khan immediately dispatched Subutai to ride west until he hit the Atlantic Ocean. At that point Subutai's cavalry could cross 270 miles of Eastern European snow, sleet, and ice. In the dead of winter. In only three days. Multitasking For A Good Week's Work Once, in 1241, Subutai destroyed the entire armies of Poland and Hungary. In two separate battles, in two different countries more than 500 Kilometers apart, on enemy territory... on consecutive days. During the Hungarian battle, Subutai devised a strategy that would lead to the slaughter 40,000 enemy soldiers, while losing less than 1,000 of his own. Meritocracy Rules Subutai was proof that the Mongol Empire, more than any that had preceded it, was a meritocracy. He was the son of Qaban, who was supposedly a blacksmith, which was a not considered a nobility. Qaban brought his son to serve Genghis Khan when Subutai was about 17 years old, and he rose to the very highest command available to one who was not directly related to the Khan. Genghis Khan called him one of his four "dogs of war," namely Jelme, Kubilai Khan, Jebe, and Subutai. His title, "Bagatur" (The Valiant), was awarded when he became a member of the imperial guard; Subutai was known by this title until his death. Mongol histories say that Subutai said to Genghis Khan, "I will ward off your enemies as felt cloth protects one from the wind." Subatai played a major role in helping to establish the largest contiguous empire in human history, which his master believed Heaven had commanded him to conquer. That empire would leave an indelible mark on world history. Several centuries of Mongol rule across the Eurasian landmass—a period that some refer to as Pax Mongolica—radically altered the demography and geopolitics of these areas. As a result of Subatai's conquests, a huge territory was unified under a stable and peaceful rule and by the Yasa legal code. Across the empire, merit could earn promotion regardless of ethnicity, religious liberty was in the main upheld, trade flourished and contact along the Silk Road reminded Europeans that the East was home to a great civilization and that Europe was not at the center of all human progress and development. By late 1241, Subutai was discussing plans to invade the Holy Roman Empire, when the news came of the death of Ögedei Khan. The Mongols withdrew, as the Princes of the blood were required to do, as well as Subutai, to Mongolia. Only the death of the Great Khan prevented the attack on the remainder of Europe. If he had not died and Subutai had pressed on towards the Atlantic, no army could have stood in his way. Subutai Lives While the life of Subutai is little known in modern times, much of the theory and practice of modern military operations was first used by Subutai and his Mongol armies so that his legacy is living history.

[Temujin Khaghan]

as a big fan of temujin, i cant express how happy this thread makes me... great thread well done. :) what inspired you to write this... reading books eh?

[Mariyam]

Is the word 'Bagatur' a corruption of 'Bahadur'? I never heard of this guy before. Was Subatai's empire bigger than that of the British? Also, you mentioned that he is the only one to invade Russia. Didn't Hitler invade Russia?

[Temujin Khaghan]

Is the word 'Bagatur' a corruption of 'Bahadur'? I never heard of this guy before. Was Subatai's empire bigger than that of the British? Also, you mentioned that he is the only one to invade Russia. Didn't Hitler invade Russia?

bahadur is a corruption of bagutai - its the other way round Sabutai was a warlord under the khaghans (khan of khans), started his career under ghenghis (older temujin) he is the only one to own russians... in their land hitler and napolean (respect!) also invaded russia and got owned... the wrong season for being in russia - winter and the scorched earth policy by russians meant that their invasion was a disaster. apparently hitler didnt learn anything from napolean and made the same mistakes

[Prakat]

@Temujin, glad you liked it. :) @Mariyam I didn't know about him until recently myself. Came across his name in a book and read up a bit more about his life. Temujin's post answers most of your queries. Technically it was the Mongol empire, Subutai was a general. This was the realm roughly around the time when Genghis died and Subutai had undertaken most of the acquisitions and mergers in this period.