The enemy taking it for a signal would immediately react by attacking the Tatars. It never failed. They never learned. Maybe it never failed because no enemy had ever survived to fight the Tatars again and told the tale. There were no lessons to learn because no one survived to learn it. The Tatars, in turn, would change the direction and run away leading the enemy into a trap set by the heavier cavalry of the regular troops. They could be in the trees or beyond the hill and not seen. We made sure that they got in the position while it was dark, maybe even a day before, so the enemy would not see them and uncover the trap. Also, they did not use fires for food and to warm themselves. They were that well trained and so patient. That was an ancient technique that never failed before and was still serving us now. We mastered it well. The cocky enemy meeting us for the first time always took us for the low barbarians and never seriously. Well, that helped us so well, better than them. They always paid for that the hefty fine but never understood the message. We permanently took them for what they really were — the poorly educated and very greedy people. Even the educated and the trained ones were not educated and trained enough by our standards. We used it all to our advantage of winning the battles and the wars time and time again.
Our entire army, every unit, was cavalry. We were always on the go, on the move. Infantry, in general, was useless but we used it when needed, like storming the walls of the fortified places. Infantry was too slow and could not carry enough of weapons and supplies to support itself for any prolonged time. The cavalry was too expensive but could double as infantry when needed. Thus, we preferred the cavalry but used it as the situation required. When I needed the infantry, I would take the cavalry and temporarily dismount them. The soldiers were trained to fight that way as well. That was how we scaled the walls and garrisoned the towns. That was as important as anything in the war. Still, we were the horse people, and that was our way of life. That was our life.
I had thousands and thousands of horses following us as a replacement for my people that lost a horse. Even the lowest Tatar, during the war, had a horse and some weapons on me. That was our expense. We gave him a horse or more if he could not buy one by himself. And, where do you buy a horse during the war and in the occupied territory that was stripped of horses and many other things already? Exactly… Everything was in short supply and too expensive. Those conquered people had to feed themselves, their rulers, nobility, armies, and us. We could not survive without horses, so we had horses.
“As usual, the Tatars started the attack against the center of the Hungarian position, and that seemed to be poorly organized and totally lacking discipline. I was on the hill with Subutai observing the battle, and we were laughing. The Tatars were perfect. We used about twenty thousand Tatars for the initial engagement, but the enemy was about three, maybe four times, more. The Tatars got close enough to the Hungarian lines to use the arrows but far enough not be tangled by the heavy cavalry of the European knights. Their pikes could run you through as easy as a knife would go through the warm butter. The Tatars were shooting thousands of arrows riding their small and fast horses around the Hungarians ranks trying to present as a difficult target as was only possible. They knew how to do it. They’ve done that before and quite well. About a few hundred Hungarians were killed and wounded well before they answered with a volley of arrows and the crossbow bolts on their own. A very few Tatars were dead. They were a fast-moving target, and the Europeans were missing more than hitting. The Europeans were clearly annoyed and getting impatient. Good. That’s what we were waiting for. Lose your temper. Go after the Tatars. Now. Faster. That lasted for at least ten minutes, and the Tatars losing fewer than a hundred men and a few horses, creating an illusion of panic, started running away but in the same general direction. Again, it was so well orchestrated, so natural. I could not stop laughing. My hidden reserves were watching everything closely, waiting for the signal. The signal would come from Subutai, and he was getting ready. Just a minute more. Wait. Now.
The Hungarian cavalry began the pursuit of the running Tatars breaking the own ranks. At the same time, the entire center of the enemy line moved up against our center shortening the distance between the dominant forces and the Hungarian cavalry pursuing the Tatars thus, starting the general attack. It happened so fast and with such confidence on the part of the Hungarian King that the flanks and the reserves were not informed of the movement. And, probably no orders were given. The enemy front was broken in so many places and so wide open that we could march regiments through without being challenged. Their position became so bad that it was almost impossible to fix it and hold the lines. Did they see it? The Europeans were a threat to us only if they were all together — a solid wall. That was a wall of steel that would be too hard even for us. It would be like storming a well-fortified castle with tall and thick walls. We would take it eventually, but it would be costly. Sometimes losses were higher than the rewards. Does it worth it? In those cases, when we could not break through the wall fast enough, I ordered the siege. I preferred to starve the enemy to submission and save the lives of my people. My people were more important to me than their people. That was war, and we needed to win. We were too far from home and could not afford to lose. If we lose badly enough, we all could die.
Now, in Hungary, we faced no wall but so many smaller groups some distance from each other and us running circles around them and shooting the arrows with unwavering precision. Many of my people, if not all, were trained almost from childhood to shoot arrows while riding a horse. It was not easy, but when you trained enough, you could do it quite well. Some were so good that we had the contests and competitions for them. We offered great prizes to the winners. It was a popular contest, and we had it quite often and in every Horde. Our archers were the best in the world, and that was a fact. The European knights were dying in mass from our arrows, and we were tightening the circles without engaging them in one-on-one combat. That was my strict order. I did not want to lose too many people to a useless duel with a European knight. I could predict the results. Soon, many Europeans started to surrender. Some had broken through and ran away. We let them do that so, they would spread the word. Those stories of annihilation usually were exaggerated somewhat to make the story-teller look better, but it scared the listeners so much. Still, it was a bloody day.
Actually, there were a few bloody days. The Tatars and Kalmyks were hunting the runaway army for days and in all directions. It took some doing. We were looking for anyone dressed as a soldier and carrying weapons. They could change the clothes but would not drop the weapons. It was too expensive, and that was your status as well. If they gave up the arms without a fight, we let them go but, if they resisted, we killed them. Slaves… We took some slaves but not the soldiers. Soldiers could be a problem, and we did not need that. Soldiers were not good slaves and too proud. Now, we were building the new Horde in Central Europe. A few months rest, and we will move forward, to the last sea; to the end of Europe and the world. That should not be too far now. That was like in a dream.”