Can two soldiers, with no other pieces, checkmate a bare general?
These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws and is regression-tested against the official 110-diagram repetition casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it against the engine before publishing.
Direct answer
Yes, with correct technique. Two crossed soldiers, working together, have enough combined reach to cover a bare general's escape squares while one of them delivers the final check. It requires care, since a single soldier's reach is small and a careless approach lets the general slip between them, but the material is genuinely sufficient on its own.
The basic idea
One soldier is used to restrict the general's escape squares, effectively herding it toward the edge of the palace, while the second closes in to deliver check on a square the general cannot leave. Because soldiers only move forward or sideways once crossed, coordinating the two takes some care, but the technique is a standard part of basic endgame study.
Where this actually comes up
It is rare for a game to end with literally nothing but two soldiers against a bare general, but the same herding technique is the basis for how soldiers finish off far more common endgames, where they arrive alongside other pieces that have already done most of the restricting work.
Related questions
Is one soldier alone ever enough against a bare general with no help at all?
No, a single soldier cannot restrict enough squares by itself; it needs either a second piece or a general already boxed in by its own defenders.
Does it matter if the soldiers are on different files?
Not fundamentally, though the exact technique depends on their relative positions and takes practice to execute cleanly.
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