"Hi-Tech or Modern, not always the best"

     History books tell us that when Mongols invaded or attempted to invade Japan, they were defeated by a combination of typhoons and Japanese defenders.  That is certainly what had happened, but it doesn't tell the whole story, there is more to it.
     During both ill-fated Mongol invasions, the early and smaller one in 1274 and the much larger one in 1281, the Mongol army was predominantly  made up of non-Mongol forces.  At least three fourths of the invasion force was made up of Chinese and Korean soldiers.  Kublai Khan and his Mongol generals were very much into hi-tech of that period, namely, the use of gun powder.  The bulk of the invasion force was made up of musketeers armed with state of the art matchlocks.  Only the Mongolian forces were not carrying matchlocks.  The Mongols were armed with their traditional bow and arrows and they were transporting their horses as well, since the Mongols depended on the mounted army.  The Chinese soldiers, which made up at least half of the invasion force, were armed with matchlocks and were also charged with manning the cannons and rockets.  The smaller Korean forces were archers like Mongols, but not mounted.  This was the basic organization of Mongol invasion force.
     When the typhoon struck during the first invasion, some of the invasion force had landed on the beaches, but they were unable to get organized with their formations, for the storm was fierce and the rain poured down in sheets, as is normal in a typhoon.  The matchlocks became completely useless, since the gunpowder was soaked in rain.  The same thing happened to the cannons, the few that were landed.  The Mongol archers were unable to get on horseback (many of the horses perished in the storm) and utilize their classic tactics.  The Mongols needed room to maneuver with their horses and they found no room!  They were easy targets for the Japanese who were armed with swords and spears.  Closing in on the Mongol army, the Japanese cut them down without much problem.
     The second larger invasion met almost exactly the same fate.  Before the second invasion was launched, some Mongol generals discussed the fact that in the earlier invasion the gunpowder became wet and useless so the vast majority of the invasion force was for all practical purposes, unarmed!  Some suggested going back to the old Chingis Khan days and relying not just on bows and arrows and matchlocks, but spears and swords as well.  However, it was decided that what had happened during the first invasion was an anomaly and that they would continue to field a modern army with matchlocks, rockets, and cannons.  The second invasion, as we know now, was met with even a stronger typhoon and the Mongols were forced to pull back their forces off the beaches and call off the invasion, after getting chewed-up by sword bearing Japanese samurai warriors.
     So, it appears that "hi tech or modern equipment is not always the best."  At least it wasn't in Mongols' case.  The old gunpowder was highly susceptible to humidity and wetness, so when a downpour such as a typhoon took place, all of the gunpowder became useless.  Perhaps with today's waterproofing technology things would not have turned out that way, but back then, such technology did not exist and the Mongols paid for it.  Today, we are highly reliant on hi-tech stuff such as drones, smart bombs, and other equipment that didn't even exist during Vietnam or even the first Gulf War.  But there are times that it seems we rely too much on the hi-tech stuff and have forgotten that sometimes low-tech works best!