Subutai was the primary military strategist and general of Genghis Khan and Ögedei Khan. He directed more than 20 campaigns in which he conquered 32 nations and won sixty five pitched battles, during which he conquered or overran more territory than any other commander in history. He gained victory by means of imaginative and sophisticated strategies and routinely coordinated movements of armies that were more than 500 km away from each other. He is most remembered for devising the battle plan that destroyed the armies of Hungary and Poland within two days of each other, by forces almost a thousand miles apart.

Subutai is regarded in history as one of Genghis Khan's and the Mongol Empire's most prominent generals in terms of ability and tactics helping with the military campaigns in Asia and Eastern Europe. He commanded many successful attacks and invasions during his time and was rarely defeated.