How Genghis Khan's Fake Retreats Won Battles

In 1221, outside the walls of Nishapur, Genghis Khan’s cavalry turned and fled mid-battle, leaving dust clouds across the steppe. The defenders inside the city rushed out, convinced the Mongols had finally broken for good. But every time Genghis Khan’s riders seemed to scatter, their bows still fired arrows backward, never slowing down. This fake retreat pulled the enemy farther and farther from their stronghold-right into an ambush hidden behind the hills. That day, the city fell, won by a tactic the Mongols perfected: pretending to run, so they could surround and destroy.