This military-administrative system was later used by Chinggis Khaan when he founded the unified Mongol Empire. The military establishment of the Mongols under Chinggis Khaan and their military tactics in combat operations have left a noticeable trace in the history of the development of military science in many countries. The young army of the Modern Mongolia was first baptized on 18 March 1921 in the battle to liberate the frontier town of Maimaachin / now Altanbulag/ from occupation by Chinese troops. Since that time, 18 March has been celebrated annually as the of the Mongolian People's Army. By the early 1930, the People's Revolutionary troops were reorganized into a regular army, consisting of cavalry, artillery, aviation and armoured brigades.
The joint victory of the Mongolian and Soviet troops in the four-months battle against the Japanese in the Khalkhyn Gol region in 1939 was a serious lesson for the aggressors on the eve of World War II. During World War II the Mongolian army, together with Soviet army groups, fulfilled the role of a covering force in the east. Four divisions and other formations of the MPA took part in liberating north-east China and number of regions of Inner Mongolia from the Japanese invaders. At present Mongolia's armed forces have become more compact and professional since obligatory military service was replaced with the alternative between military and other service.
As stipulated in the Constitution the President of Mongolia is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Mongolia. The armed forces of Mongolia also include Frontier Troops affiliated to the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs. They now participate in peacekeeping and other international activities, combat international terrorism and render humanitarian assistance in the face of disaster and other threats to human life. Two Mongolian military teams have been sent to aid restoration work in post-war Iraq, and three Mongolian officers have joined UN peacekeeping activities in West Sahara and two are working in the Congo.
A group of 13 Mongolian servicemen had been conducting artillery training in Kabul, Afghanistan since October 2003. These events not only opened a new chapter in the history of Mongolian armed forces but also showed Mongolia's growing international reputation and its successful building of democracy since it stepped irreversibly on to the road of the democratic transition in 1990, gaining considerable success in a short span of time, and thus becoming a model example for other countries.
