SPOTLIGHT ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HEAVY MONGOL CAVALRY IN BATTLEFIELD STRATEGY.
PIC INFO: Spotlight on a Mongol heavy cavalryman, Liegnitz (present day Legnica, Poland), c. 1241, the Mongol Empire. Artwork by the late, great Angus McBride.
OVERVIEW: "While a standard Mongol army did field a large number of horse archers, entire battles couldn’t be won by just one tactical arm of the force. In fact, almost equally (if not more) crucial was the Heavy Cavalry that was tailored to counter-attacking maneuvers. These heavy horsemen were mostly armored in Asiatic lamellar style where scales of metal (or hardened leather) were sewn together through tiny holes.
PART II: Sometimes entire coats were reinforced with metallic pieces – and they were possibly worn beneath dedicated armor systems for added protection, thus alluding to super-heavy cavalry units. Similarly, helmets were crafted from larger iron pieces, but they characteristically featured extended neck guards made of metallic bits. And as for arms, most of these heavy horsemen used lances, possibly both in couched and overhead positions."
-- REALM OF HISTORY (Dattatreya Mandal, February, 10, 2016)
Source: http://miniaturasmilitaresalfonscanovas.blogspot.com/2012/02/angus-mcbride-los-mongoles.html.