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Sunday, May 31, 2015

Battle of Liegnitz 9 april 1241



Battle of Liegnitz

9 april 1241
Also known as the battle of Legnica or battle of Wahlstatt, was a collision with the aim to stop the relentless advance of the Mongol Horde. Despite the victory, this was the most advanced point reached in Europe by the Tartars, later, the political destabilization of the Mongol Empire led to the retreat of the Horde.
LIEGNITZ

Opponents

Henry II the pious (1196/1207 ca. - April 9, 1241)

Henry II the pious
He was the son of Henry I the bearded and Hedwig of Andechs; in 1216 he married Anna, daughter of Otto I of Bohèmia. He became Duke of Krakow, Silesia and Poland in 1238.
In 1222, he supported his father in an attempt to unify Poland to fight against one of its historic enemies: Conrad I of Masovia. In the winter of 1233 until 1234, he participated in a crusade against the Prussians in the hope that his father will give him the control of Great Poland. But in June 1235, ended his campaign in a bubble so Pope Gregory IX took Henry II the pious under his protection officially appointing him successor to his father.
After the death of his father on March 19, 1238, according to papal claims, becomes, as he hoped, Duke of Krakow, Silesia and Great Poland, inheriting a vast territory which became concerned soon to maintain solid unification under its own command. To do this, tried by all means to always have on his side the land aristocracy; without them the unifying policy initiated by his father could not take place.
Against neighbouring powers, began an expansionist policy that, as early as 1239, brought its fruits with the reconquest of Lubusz and Santok lost just the previous year in favour of Brandenburg. In the same year did not miss its support to the Pope engaged in the conflict against Frederick II, but without forgetting to further expand his lands.
But here stopped the dreams of glory of Henry II.
At the end of 1239 he lost Santok again after being defeated in Lubusz, and in 1241 was killed at the battle of Liegnitz from Mongol invaders. With his death began a series of local uprisings and his dream of unification of Poland came to a screeching halt.
Despite the very short reign, in Polish iconography Henry II the pious is still recognized as an example of the Christian Knight untainted, whose brilliant feats were interrupted only by an untimely death.
 

Orda Khan (1204 - 1280)

Orda Khan
Orda Ichen Khan was a Khan of the Mongol Empire, great General, military leader and military strategist; he was the founder of the White Horde.
Orda was the eldest son of Jochi Khan who in turn was the eldest son of Genghis Khan. He had served as a General under his large ascending and after the death of his father and grandfather before he inherited vast territories and armies to the East of the Volga. Starting from Lake Balkash, his forces formed the nascent White Horde Khanate together with his younger brother Batu Khan that inheriting the Territories West of the Volga River formed the Blue Horde Khanate during raids in Europe.
In the invasion that was planned by the Grand Khan Ögedei, Orda Khan, in 1235, led what would become the White Horde and, under him, served Baidar Khan and Kaidu Khan. His raids started in 1241 in Cracow and Lithuania, razing towns from the Baltic area to Bohemia. After the victory at Liegnitz conquests were increasingly risky and demanding a very high human cost, especially at the entrance of Hungary and Moravia for Bela IV's opposition. Then headed south into Croatia hunting to King Bela that had taken refuge in a secret fortress in Dalmatia. After plundering some cities of Croatia, arrived on the coast of present-day Albania, decided to withdraw for the deaths of Ögedei and the upcoming Kurultai that, in few years, would have been called for the succession of Batu to the great Khanate.
LIEGNITZ

The Mongol expansion after the death of Genghis Khan

When Genghis Khan died in 1227, the Mongol Empire stretched from the Caspian Sea from the West, to the sea of Japan, in the East, while Kabul was the southernmost point and Siberia the further north. Only twenty years earlier, when he was elected khan of the khan, steppe nomads had coined for him the name of Chinggis, meaning "Ocean", to indicate the breadth of his domain: all kindreds between Lake Baikal and the Gobi desert were under his authority, and it was the first time that the nomadic people of Mongolia found United themselves, moreover, under a dominant nation, the Mongols one, which until then had been a less important component among many held northeastern Asia.
Asia after the death of Genghis Khan
Asia after the death of Genghis Khan (1227)
And it was just the beginning. In the two following decades, Genghis Khan would have incorporated in rapid succession the khirghisi, Uyghurs, tanguts and Tibetans, then the Golden Realm of Chin in northern China, Persian Khwarezm and Muslim kingdoms of the Iranian plateau. During his reign, his generals Subutai and Gebe went even beyond the borders of the countries included in the West: in northwestern Iran came up to Hamadan, the ancient Achaemenid capital Ecbatana, forcing the tribute to the Caliph of Baghdad; in southern Russia, seized a resounding victory over cuman Turks and Russian principles in 1223, at Kalka, and the following year on the Dnieper.
For once in history, there was no decline in the Mongol expansion after the death of its creator. Genghis Khan had plenty of time to regulate the succession and, despite the many children and grandchildren, there were no civil wars to steal strength and resources to new achievements. To inherit supreme power was the third son, Ögedei khan, while others undertook a ulus, a part of the Empire, which was then a large Confederation of States and subject to the authority of the great khan: Tolui took Mongolia, Chagatay transoxania and Kashgaria, Batu, son of Jochi, the eldest son of King died just before the father, most Western lands- the West of modern Kazakhstan. Far from unravelling, the Mongol rule, at least at this early stage, becoming consolidated, from mere aggregate of lands by raiding, to a veritable universal empire with an administration and centralization capillaries that avoided the formation of satrapies and separatism by encouraging cohesion: both in the civil and military aspects, in fact, officials and commanders serving in places very far from their countries of origin.
LIEGNITZ

Decisions of the Kurultai

Immediately after the final conquest of the Kingdom of Chin, left unfinished by Genghis, in 1235 there was the second most important of Kurultai Mongolian history, after the most famous, in 1206, which had elected Genghis Khan of Khan. The new gathering of chiefs was the beginning of a new, massive expansionary phase, with the offensive planning along four major lines: towards Korea, Southern Sung China, the Middle East and Eastern Europe Mamluk, piecemeal in various potentates.
In Korea, the Mongols settled in 1241, after five years of war, while in the Middle East took over within the Caucasian zone in 1239, subtracting the Georgia and Armenia to the increasingly decaying Seljuk Turks. Against Sung, however, would take more than 40 years of struggle to won. For the western offensive was encharged Batu, to whom was given the largest Mongol army ever assembled, 140,000 men divided into fourteen tumen, Mongol divisions from actual 10,000 warriors each; more than half of the forces consisted of Turks to Mongols, still under the command of Mongol officers. The three other khan collaborated to the expedition by sending each one fifth of their strength and their children as commanders of Army Corps, while the overall operational command was entrusted to the most experienced generals of Genghis Khan, Subutai, a veteran from Kalka campaign.
LIEGNITZ

The Mongol advance

The operations started in 1236, with the conquest of Turkish-Muslim Kingdom of Great Bulgaria and Ukrainian territories of qipciaq and Cumans, to ward off any threat of exposing flank of the army and secure lines of communication with the East. The main body, led by Batu with Subutai, pushed it toward the goal of the campaign, Northern Russia, whose rich principalities were the most desirable prey of the area. The grandson of Gengis, moreover, found the Russian principalities weaker than the 1223 's campaign, frayed in constant internecine wars. Batu operated mainly in winter, to make quicker the advance of his cavalry by harnessing the rivers frozen, "a decision that only a Mongol could have taken," says Turnbull.
The strategic and defensive center of gravity of the area consisted of Vladimir, seat of the Grand Duke Yuri II. The Mongols there plunged after besieged and destroyed in December, Riazan, where "no eye remained open to mourn the dead," and Moscow - at that time little more than a village - while their opponent stood with the army on Sit, trusting in the strong fortifications of its capital. Vladimir ended up falling in February, 1237 after a week of siege, during which "the stones fell like water from the sky", and in the ensuing massacre found the death Grand Duke family members. At that point, Yuri thought he had nothing left to lose, "forgot fear and advanced to meet them," writes the Voskresensk Chronicle: it was pitched confrontation of Kolomna on Sit, where the Mongols were better and the Duke himslef fell in battle.
Among the most important cities, lasted only Novgorod, which the Mongols, at less than 100 kilometres from it, did not have time to reach before the spring thaw made impracticable the ground for their cavalry. The only significant event during the withdrawal to the South was the siege of seven weeks of Kozelsk in Kaluga. As was pointed out, however, the winter campaign of Batu in Russia remains the only, throughout the course of history to be turned out winning in a difficult figure for those boards.
The offensive, however, had just begun. Batu withdrew on the Don basin, where they reunited with the section headed by the son of Tolui, Mangu, which had operated between the Volga and the Don. The operations were blocked for a while, mainly due to internal dissensions related to the uncertain authority of Batu, challenged in particular by one of the sons of the great khan, Kuiuk, invoked in Mongolia.
The new attack for 1240, conducted by Mangu, had for objective the southern sector, and brought the Mongols conquest of Chernigov North of Kiev. Then it was the turn of Kiev, which fell on December 6, 1240, in front of Batu, after a siege of ten narrow tumen; the massacre was such that a chronicler, John Pian del Carpine, finding himself six years later in the ruins of what had been one of the most beautiful cities of Russia, claimed to have seen "the skulls and bones of the dead in the streets." His downfall, however, was the end to the long and prosperous Principality established three centuries earlier by Swedish Vikings, the so-called Varangians. After Batu wintered just north-east of the Carpathians, in Galicia, clearly understanding the next leaving goal of the offensive.
Fall of Kiev and Mongol invasion
Fall of Kiev and Mongol invasion (1169 - 1242)
The Hungary, in fact, was very close. And Hungary had always been, in the past, the limit of the Western conquests of nomadic Empires, from the Huns to the Magyars, but also the advanced base from which launch into further conquests in Central Europe. It seemed so natural the road along which the Mongols would continue to act, especially since their invasion caused a wave of refugees in Poland but above all in Hungary itself: it was rumored that the cuman khan Kotyan had brought 200,000 souls behind, which the Mongols believed their subjects. The King Bela IV had welcomed not only the Russian Princes who had not accepted Mongol suzerainty, but also the nomadic people on the run, behind the effort to convert to Christianity. In addition, the country was then weakened by a dispute with the Papacy, and did not seem able to deal with the invaders.
Europe was panicked. The Mongols seemed invincible, with their extraordinary speed, which made them appear suddenly and unexpectedly on a area, siege skills, inedited in all nomadic peoples, learned from the Chinese and that exploited to conquer all who submitted to siege, efficient military structure, which equalled to rout any enemy dared to face them in a pitched battle. As if that weren't enough, Westerners were unaware of what was the true strength of the Mongols: the careful planning of the campaigns and strategic vision, inherited from Genghis Khan, the unequaled in the world.
The hospitality granted to Kotyan offered to Batu the pretext to invade the country. The passage of the Carpathians from the main army, led by Batu was expected, of course, for the winter, from european point of view, and had as its objective the capture of Pest; the second section of the army, entrusted to Kaidu Ögedei's son and the son of Baidar Chagatay, had the task of protecting the right flank, with rampaging in Poland just as surprising for opponents, who were not expecting to see appear an army on the frozen Vistula. Another detachment had to act further north, in Lithuania and East Prussia. The Mongols quickly came on Sandomierz, and even the surrounding monasteries escaped with their loot. The invaders get so many prisoners that, in order not to jeopardize their proverbial quickly, felt compelled to return to the border to get rid of them and then shipped again in their advance.
The withdrawal gave to the voivode of Kraków, who was acting on behalf of Prince Boleslaw V the chaste, a chance to gather a small army, led by heavy cavalry, surprising enemies Czarda River; once rallied by this surprise, the Mongols realized to be in front of a contingent of little relevance, and counterattacked, taking advantage also of the fact that the enemies Knights had scattered in search of loot. At the end of the day the victory was for the Tatars, so they could continue undisturbed to the Vistula River.
They had suffered casualties in the clash, or deem necessary to thickening ranks, however the Mongols returned to Poland with a larger army. While the invaders reached back Sandomierz, the Poles stopped at Chmielnick on the road to Kraków, where it continued to reside the Prince. The Mongols attacked the post at dawn on March 18, 1241, ushering in a fierce battle that lasted for several hours, until the actual number did not weigh the balance in favor of the Tartars. Not being able to throw into the fray fresh forces that had to replaced the first line exhausted from the long fighting, the Poles ended up fleeing: "Some reached the coverage offered by the forests and, knowing the terrain, escaped; but the majority found a glorious death defending their country and their faith, "writes Dlugosz.
The way to Krakow was open to the Mongols, who entered on Palm Sunday, March 24, without found not only strength, but no living soul. The Prince and his family had left it to Hungary, while the inhabitants were hidden in the swamps and forests; Anyway, as to don't lose their reputation, the Tatars the reduced it to ashes. Not found anything that might oppose a further advance in the West, where he headed a section of the army, Mongols did not loot and preside over the Polish lands. The next barrier was represented by the Oder, beyond which is entered in a straight line by Archduke Henry II the pious. The Mongols crossed the river en masse at the height of Ratibor, on rafts and swimming, "as the Tartars are more experienced in the art of swimming of any other nation", focusing on Wroclaw.
The vanguard was surprised by a contingent of Duke Mieczyslaw, but then the arrival of the bulk of the Mongol forces forced Christians to fold and reach Henry. The latter, for its part, had abandoned its capital Wroclaw in order to set up a coalition of most important political entities of the area who had reason to fear the Mongol invasion. He not only joined the Silesian troops but also those of Poland and Moravia, as well as the Teutonic Knights. To give numerical consistency to his army, Duke recruited peasants miners came from the gold mines of the region. Then to Legnica, Liegnitz, waited for the junction with the forces led by Wenceslaus of Bohemia, which was carrying other 50,000 men.
As in Krakow, the Mongols found Breslau not only without inhabitants, but also without whatever could supply them; the residents, in fact, had burned the entire city and who had not escaped was being defended in the Citadel. The chance to attack the latter was discarded once learned of the dam operated by Henry just West. He hoped to see appear Wenceslaus, or reach him, before the arrival of the Mongols, however could not do anything but stay on the field when the Mongol army commanders assembled their pieces.
LIEGNITZ

The Polish cavalry

It is known as the base of the European Knight weapons were sword and spear. But in addition to these, the arsenal included a series of small weapons such as daggers, axes, hammers, spades and many others. The Polish cavalry did not differ too much in this equipment from those of the rest of Europe, and the sword that was commonly used was not different from the swords used in the West: it was straight, with a blade of 80-120 cm long and 1.0-1,8 kg in weight. Even the spear, was 3.5-4.5 meter long, with angular shaped tip, and counterweight close to the terminal part.
The defensive armament - the armour - included, at first the gambeson, then became brigandine and scale armour, followed by hauberk, and then mail with some metal elements to the end of the 16th century, when it gained its "perfect" shape, protecting the entire body of a Knight, and sometimes his horse.
On the eve of the battle with the Mongols, the process of evolution of the cavalry in Poland, does not undergo significant changes and developments. In order to recreate the image of the army of those times, it is essential to know the functions of particular classes of society, military service, works specific to the needs of the army and in-kind services for the aforementioned military service. The first type of service rested primarily in the hands of soldiers (nobles as in the rest of Europe) while the other two were the responsibility of burghers and (most) of the peasants. This period is little studied by historical research, but the battle of Liegnitz is so rich in iconography that we can try to make some estimates. The armor of a soldier had changed very little, but eminent Knights (as well as Henry II the pious), had their hauberk enriched with elements made of sheet iron, large and well decorated helmets. Leszek Czarny, just to take another example, died in 1288, is depicted on his gravestone in Kraków in full plate armour.
Polish tactics on the battlefield were not so complicated. The Knights (along with their Squires) stayed in closed formation with infantry on the flanks, and, after the initial shot by archers and Crossbowmen, began charging. In the moment when the Commander - that fought at the head of the main detachment - was losing control over his cavalry unit and battle fell in a Scrum and in disorder, the possibility of panic was the crucial element of the fight, and the battle, apparently won after the first charge, could be lost.
The defeat of Liegnitz enriched the Polish cavalry's strategic horizon, which, however, had gone with managed to understand the importance of mobility in their battle formations on horseback, tried not to deviate too much from the ever chivalrous tendencies of Western Europe, attempting a tactical mix, still not entirely investigated properly by historians.
LIEGNITZ

The opposing forces

Contemporary chroniclers claim that "there were many Tatar units, each of which, by itself, was superior in number of the entire Polish Army". But in reality, the Mongols were outnumbered, and it was probable that if Wenceslas arrived they would have had no chance. The same Dlugosz, moreover, writes that Orda deployed his army on four lines. Although it has arrived to give to Henry even 40,000 men, it is believed that his army was up to 10,000, a number that did not give any guarantee in front of tumen enemy, especially on one plaain, such as the area unexpectedly chosen by Prince, who favored so glaring Mongol Cavalry dynamics.
battle of Liegnitz
The battle of Liegnitz in a 15th century miniature
That the poles were more numerous, prove the fact that they were to inaugurate the battle, with a charge of the first line that would not have dared to do, if you were found in inferiority. According to a chronicle of a Franciscan friar, found in the sixties of the twentieth century, the army under Orda orders not exceeded a tumen - just 10,000 men.
LIEGNITZ

Deployment

On 9 April the Archduke came to Liegnitz accompanied by a bleak omen, as a stone was moved from a church almost strike him. He moved towards the city and sided Wahlstatt ragtag army, by deploying it, according to Dluglosz, on five consecutive lines along flat ground near the River Nysa. In the front row poses the fighters from Germany and other parts of Europe, supported by some departments of farmers-miners. The two subsequent lines were formed by Polish Knights, respectively of Krakow and Opole, followed by the Teutonic Knights, while Henry reserve placed himself and his Silesian Knights, besides a modest contingent of mercenaries. But as the presence of the Teutonic order is uncertain, we must consider the possibility that the lines were only four.
battle of Liegnitz 1
The battle of Liegnitz - Deployment
The Mongols, for their part, chosen a "T" formation in which the distances between the various departments of mixed light cavalry and archers cavalries were large in such a way as to allow the surrounding manoeuvres, typical of their fighting style.
LIEGNITZ

The battle

The first Mongol left line charge first against Polish chivalries, as mentioned above, by pulling until non-Christians found themselves surrounded by enemy archers and isolated from the rest of the deployment. As for the vast majority of combatants without armor, all fell under a hail of arrows, "as the delicate ears of corn broken by hailstones", except for some who had had time to break away.
battle of Liegnitz 2
The battle of Liegnitz - First charge
Henry hastened to send forward two other lines, as did Orda, but still had the warriors of the first line. However, the Crossbowmen under cover from the army of Henry proved more effective than Mongol archers and Christians seem to hold. In the long run, though, began to lose ground, and Henry felt compelled to let his forces into battle best, whether it was Teutonic or Polish reserve, we do not know. Once the Mongol Commander imitated him dragging behind his fourth formation, and a brawl start again.
battle of Liegnitz 3
The battle of Liegnitz - Other forces come into battle
Spent more time, were the Mongols to withdraw and, when they were at some distance from the enemy, their signifer waved the banner, marked by crossed bones of sheep and yak tails. It was the signal agreed to enable men to set fire to the reeds, from which rose a dense smoke and a smell unbearable for Christians. This was a surprie for poles: "we knew that in their wars the Tartars have always resorted to the arts of divination and witchcraft, and is precisely what they were doing at that time," writes dismay Dlugosz.
battle of Liegnitz 4
The battle of Liegnitz - Mongols shelter behind a dense smoke
Christians, confused, lost any remaining boldness and moved outflanked in that cloud of smoke. When they not even realized what happened, the Mongols returned on their steps and suddenly began to come out from the thick artificial fog, herald only from their war cry. The light cavalry attacked the poles on the sides with many of arrows, while the center pushed them again: "a huge massacre ensued". Fell, among others, the Margrave of Moravia and the Regional Commander of the Teutonic Knights, all opposition was gone and Henry, which could have been fleeing with his host, chose to wait until he had been invested.
battle of Liegnitz 5
The battle of Liegnitz - Mongols Attacks through smoke
In short he was attacked from all sides. At that point, the Archduke tried to open a way to escape from the fighting, along with a handful of followers. He stuck in enemy lines, but as advancing, his own warriors fell, and the gap remained with only four men, too few to prevent his horse, already wounded, was finished by enemy blows. One of his knights rushed to give him another horse, but now the Mongols had recognized the Prince from his signs, and closed all gates.
battle of Liegnitz 6
The battle of Liegnitz - The end of Henry
A tartare spear penetrated Henry in the armpit, not protected by armor, while Archduke rose his arm to drop a blow on the nearest opponent. The Prince fell to the ground, and immediately the Mongols took him around, right through him with two arrows; then dragged him away from his warriors and cut off her head, stripping the body of its insignia and leaving him naked on the ground.
His head was stuck on a pole and displayed in front of the walls of Legnica to induce the defenders to open the doors, but they refused to do. They chose instead of reestablishing themselves in the stronghold after burned the city, preventing the Mongols, who feared to reach Wenceslas's army, threaten over them. It seems instead that the Knight who had offered to Archduke the horse, saved his own life, and later gone in a Dominican monastery, "grateful the Lord saved him from many dangers".
LIEGNITZ

The losses

On the field, with Henry, lay much of the Polish nobility. It was said that the Mongols, wanting to know the exact number of fallen foes, have cut one ear to each of the corpses "by filling to the brim nine huge sacks".
head of Henry
The Mongols exhibit the head of Henry II in front of the walls of Legnica to induce the defenders to open the doors
The Poles found it hard to find the headless body of the Archduke, at least until the widow reported that her husband had six fingers in the left foot.
LIEGNITZ

The consequences

In the area, the Mongols not pushed further, deviating towards Moravia to rejoin Batu. The main objective of the advance westward remained the Hungary, and at the time the latter had meanwhile moved the main army, on the Vistula river near Halicz. In his march toward Pest, Batu had divided his army into four parts, two extreme wings to the North and South, and two other central sections, respectively through Galicia, Moldavia and Transylvania. Gathered near the capital, the Tatars were approached by the relief army staged by Bela, but it captured to the collision by a retreat to the East. Nine days later, and, according to tradition, two days after the battle of Liegnitz, near the village of Mohi Hungarians were surprised in his sleep by a pincer movement. Was a massacre, from which he barely escaped the King himself. Pest, of course, made a bad end, and for the rest of the year the Hungarians came to feed the Mongol armies, before they would resume their advance westward, with Vienna as the next goal.
During the break that took the Mongols, Bela was unable, despite his efforts, to bring Christianity to enact a crusade to block the danger represented by the invaders. The Pope was too busy in his quarrels with the emperor to take into cosideration to hold a crusade in an area that wasn't the italic one, where he saw the real enemy of the faith in the emperor Frederick II. The appeal said only the Teutonic Knights, but preferred to choose an enemy theoretically more malleable and more compatible with their interests in the Baltic region-Novgorod, Russia; eventually they fixed a memorable defeat at the battle of Lake Peipus at the hands of Prince Nevsky.
After being joined by Kaidu, Batu only expectations that winter was the freezes of the Danube in order to resume the campaign. Khan arrived in Zagreb and destroy almost anything on the shores of the Adriatic Sea, near Split, in an effort to reach the Hungarian King, while his right wing is pushing in the direction of Vienna. But in February 1242 news came of the death of the great khan Ögedei died in previous December, a fact that opened the question of succession. Batu was required to attend the Kurultai, and had no choice but to abandon any ambitions back on Europe.
His ambitions, however, were frustrated by the election of Guyuk, to whom Batu never gave homage, preferring to return to administer autonomous domain Western Territories, which now included the Russian principalities, whose capital was at Sarai on the Volga. Mongolian State was, as it was called by Europeans, the Golden Horde, as was defined for the golden curtain of Batu. Besides Russian territories, it embraced a large area corresponding to the present-day Kazakhstan, becoming progressively in Turkish and Islamic State. Well again administrated for a century, it had suffer only a return of Muscovy and, especially, the aggression of Tamerlane; in the progress of time, ended up split into various Hordes, often at war with each other, and lost his control over the Russian territories, which ended up becoming independent. At the dawn of the modern age, Ivan IV the terrible gave the final blow to the great Horde and Crimean Tatars remained the only, from which the Mongols took a small revenge recapturing the capital Moscow temporarily in 1571, the Crimean Khanate survived until the 18th century, to be eventually incorporated into Ottoman Empire.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

хятадууд Монгол газрын зургаас хэрхэн алдагдсан тухай ингэж бичиж

http://sdjwljflike.lofter.com/post/302e7f_6811ddf


хятадууд Монгол газрын зургаас хэрхэн алдагдсан тухай ингэж бичиж

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙

来自:沉默的麻雀
图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  “外蒙古”蒙古高原北部,既包括今天的蒙古人民共和国全境,还涵盖了俄罗斯境内的唐努乌梁海地区、贝加尔湖与额尔古纳河附近地带,及哈萨克斯坦东北部的科布多地区。这片150多万平方公里的地域,曾经都是中国领土。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  外蒙独立问题始自清末。《大清会典》规定蒙古王公享有内部自治权;且严格禁限汉民移居蒙地。1901年,清廷启动新政,解除蒙地封禁,放垦蒙地,移民实边以及行省制改革。其中放垦蒙地和行省制改革对蒙古王公贵族利益损害最大。图为20世纪初期的外蒙古王公图片。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  清廷治蒙传统,以羁縻抚绥为方针,因俗而治。具体手段包括封王联姻笼络蒙古王公贵族。图为20世纪初期的外蒙公主图片。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
 外蒙古人多信仰佛教,蒙古佛教是以西藏佛教为典范,大部分的蒙古佛典皆系译自西藏佛典,仅有少数为蒙人自己的著作和注释书。图为20世纪初期的外蒙古僧侣。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
   佛教是人们日常生活的一部分,图为20世纪30年代,聚在曼祖什尔寺门前的人们。这座寺庙建于公元1733年,是一座佛教寺庙,位于首都乌兰巴托市东南方39公路通往祖伦县公路旁边怪石林立的花岗岩山谷处。.

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  外蒙古佛教的最高领袖称为哲布尊丹巴。辛亥革命爆发后,1911年12月28日,哲布尊丹巴八世宣布外蒙古从清朝独立。他出生在西藏东部康区地方,4岁时被选定后和父母一起去了蒙古。图为年轻时的哲布尊丹巴八世。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
   哲布尊丹巴八世宣布外蒙独立后,任日光皇帝“额真汗”,改元“共戴”。1912—1913年,在库伦(今乌兰巴托)甘丹寺建了一座名为Megzid Janraiseg的两层建筑,以开阔哲布尊丹巴八世的视野。甘丹寺是一座西藏风格的喇嘛教寺庙。图为1913年左右的甘丹寺。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  宣布独立之前,为抗衡清廷,1911年7月29日,外蒙王公杭达多尔济率领由车林齐密特、海山等人组成的外蒙古使团由库伦出发,秘密出访沙俄,请求俄国承认外蒙独立。图为杭达多尔济(中)率人在圣彼得堡。杭达多尔济是外蒙古独立的首倡者,独立后出任首任外务大臣。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  沙俄以俄方在蒙古有利益为由,向清廷提议由其居间调停中蒙问题,承诺让蒙古放弃独立,改为地方自治,承认中国的宗主权;条件是中国必须承诺在外蒙不驻军、不殖民、不设行政机构,并允许俄国在外蒙修筑铁路等。图为1911年,外蒙古首相塞恩努瓦永汗那木南撒仁(中)访问俄国。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  1912年1月15日,清廷拒绝了沙俄的调停要求。2月12日,清帝退位。孙中山曾致力于将外蒙古的独立归入辛亥革命各省独立的范畴。袁世凯态度为:“库伦独立,前清并未允行,中华民国亦断无允准之理”。图为1914年,外蒙古首相赛音诺颜汗那木囊苏伦到圣彼得堡寻求保护。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
 1915年,袁世凯执政期间,《中俄蒙条约》在恰克图签订,《协约》规定外蒙古承认中国的宗主权,承认外蒙古系中国领土的一部分;中俄两国承认外蒙官府的自治权,不干涉其内政。图为签完协议后,各方代表合影。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  1917年,俄国发生十月革命,苏俄声明:“外蒙古是一个自由的国家。”当时的民国总统徐世昌下令取消外蒙“自治”,派徐树铮率兵驻防外蒙。1919年11月, “中华民国西北筹边使公署”在库伦成立。图为徐树铮。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
 好景不长,过了没几个月,段祺瑞政府下台,徐树铮被通缉,中国军队撤出库伦,外蒙局势再陷动荡。图为外蒙王公与北洋政府军人合影。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  军阀们打口水仗的同时,1921年3月19日,牧民出身的苏和巴托尔和乔巴山领导蒙古人民党,组建了“蒙古临时人民政府”,宣布独立,并同蒙古上层王公势力展开激战。图为辛亥革命前后,察哈尔都统欢迎外蒙诸活佛汗、王公、贝勒、贝子、喇嘛之摄影。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  为了取胜,临时政府向苏联求助,5月,苏联红军入蒙参战,7月占领库伦,迫使蒙古王公与蒙古人民党共同成立“蒙古人民革命政府”。该政府公开表示“不打算同中国发生冲突,但它声明,不再承认中国的宗主权”。图为1920年8月,中国蒙藏院招待外蒙王公全体。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  1921年11月5日,苏联政府正式承认蒙古为完全的独立国家。蒙古人民革命政府是苏赫·巴托尔成立的。1919年底苏赫·巴托尔逃过徐树铮军队的追捕进入苏俄境内,积极寻求莫斯科的支持和援助。图为苏赫·巴托尔。.

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  依据苏赫·巴托尔的设想,蒙古必须寻求民族独立,脱离中国,同时取消封建农奴制和贵族世袭特权,并大力争取苏俄的支援。苏赫·巴托尔被选为实际的最高领袖和军事战争部长,乔巴山为其副手。图为乔巴山(左)。
这个大胡子貌似布琼尼。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
 蒙古人民军的前身是苏赫·巴托尔和乔巴山领导的牧民游击队。1921年3月1日召开的蒙党一大决定合并全部游击队,并建立武装力量的领导机构——蒙古人民军司令部。苏赫巴托尔为总司令,乔巴山为政治委员。图为苏赫·巴托尔和乔巴山领导的早期的人民军。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  1924—1934年间,在苏联的帮助下,外蒙政权建立了空军、炮兵、坦克和通讯等军兵种。图为20世纪20年代,蒙古人民军在训练。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  1935年起,日本关东军驻海拉尔的部队以及兴安骑兵部队,不断在中蒙边界地带进行挑衅。人民军在苏联红军帮助下先后击退日军。图为人民军在室内学习。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  1939年5月至9月,日本关东军、伪满洲国军与苏、蒙军几十万人,在中蒙边境的诺门坎进行了一场激烈的战争。以苏联朱可夫上将和蒙古人民共和国乔巴山元帅为领导的苏蒙联军联合抗日。图为朱可夫在战场。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  诺门坎之战,历时135天。双方投入战场兵员20余万人,大炮500余门,飞机900架,坦克、装甲车上千辆,死亡数万人。最后以日本的失败而告终。.

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  日、俄双方此后在二战中一直维持和平状态。1941年4月13日,斯大林和莫洛托夫在莫斯科同日本签署《苏日中立条约》。苏联承认“满洲国”,日本承认 “蒙古国”,两块中国领土成为苏日友好的交换条件。蒋介石授意王世杰发布声明:“《苏日中立条约》对于中国绝对无效。”

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  在二战中,外蒙尽最大努力帮助苏联红军。据统计,1942年2月,蒙古人民共和国向苏联捐赠了250万图格里克、300公斤黄金和10万美元,并用这笔资金在苏联生产了T34、T70等型号的坦克53辆,组建以“革命蒙古”命名的坦克旅。图为蒙古国领袖乔巴山在坦克上。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
 图为蒙古人民军向苏联红军赠送武器。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  中国政府不承认外蒙古“独立”,但国内军阀混战,谁都顾不上管边界问题。等到抗战爆发,大半个中国陷入水深火热,举国抗击的头号侵略者是日本,外蒙古更成了被“遗忘”的土地。从上世纪20年代一直到40年代,外蒙古成为事实上的苏联卫星国。图为蒙古人民军援助苏联红军的照片。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  直到1945年雅尔塔协定之前,中苏就外蒙问题没有进行过任何实质性的交涉。1945年2月8日,美、英、苏三国首脑召开雅尔塔会议,为了换取苏联参加对日作战,条件之一是“外蒙现状即‘蒙古人民共和国’应予维持”。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  1945年6月12日,苏联彼得罗夫大使会见蒋介石。6月15日,蒋介石正式收到《在雅尔塔会议中之秘密协议书》。他在日记中写道:“悲愤不知所止,甚恐此备忘录尚非其雅尔塔卖华之全文,然仅此者亦己足置我中华民族于万劫不复之境……”图为苏联大使彼得罗夫向蒋介石递交国书。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  1945年6月27日,行政院长宋子文率团前往莫斯科谈判,蒋经国陪同。此前一天,蒋介石提出对苏交涉要点九项。其中关于外蒙问题,蒋介石指示:“外蒙地方中国愿准其为自治领,在中国宗主权之下,成立自治政府。”图为宋子文到达莫斯科机场。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
 在谈判中,斯大林非常强横和傲慢,“非要把外蒙古拿过来不可。”1945年8月14日,《中苏友好同盟条约》签署。宋子文拒绝签字并提出辞职,王世杰代表中国签署了这份条约。同意“如外蒙古之公民投票证实此项愿望,中国政府当承认外蒙古之独立,即以其现在之边界为边界。”
《中苏友好同盟条约》是1945年8月14日中华民国政府与苏联政府就对日作战后期及战争结束后解决双方争议问题的一个丧权辱国的条约。
1952年10月13日,蒋介石在中国国民党第七届全国代表大会四中全会的讲话中说,与苏联签约放弃外蒙古,“实在是一个幼稚的幻想,绝非谋国之道”,是“我个人的决策”,“是我的责任,亦是我的罪愆”。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
 1945年10月20日,外蒙古举行公民投票,蒋介石派内政部常务次长雷法章前往“观察”。投票结果显示,共计49万选民,98%参加投票,一致赞成外蒙古独立。1946年1月5日,国民政府宣布,承认外蒙古独立。图为20世纪40年代的外蒙牧民。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
 上世纪50年代,败退到台湾的蒋介石宣布不承认外蒙古独立,并就此作出沉痛检讨。1955年12月,蒙古申请加入联合国,蒋介石坚决投出了反对票。图为20世纪40年代外蒙古的文艺表演,乔巴山成为这个国家的核心。

图集:国民政府如何失去外蒙 - 沉默的麻雀 - 沉默的麻雀的博客
  1950年,毛泽东出访苏联,与斯大林签订《中苏友好互助同盟条约》,这份条约也承认了蒙古人民共和国的独立地位。蒙古“入联”是在1961年。这一年,迫于国际压力,台湾当局没有参加大会投票。图为上世纪50年代,蒙古人民共和国领导人访华时,北京站的欢迎人群。

Tuesday, May 12, 2015


China and Kazakhstan open new second rail link - renaissance of ancient Silk Road and opening to Eurasian economic boom 


China and Kazakhstan have established new second cross-border rail link -
important implication for business, commerce, economic development, tourism and business travel between China, Kazakhstan, Central Asia and Europe


New rail link at Korgas Pass

China and Kazakhstan opened a new second cross-border rail link at Korgas Pass, Khorgos 霍爾果斯 a few days ago on 22.12.2012.  The rail link includes a 292km section in China and a 293km section in Kazakhstan (Zhetygen - Altynkol).  The Chinese section is reported to cost RMB 6 billion (US$962 million) to build.  It is estimated that the new rail link will turn Korgas Pass in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region into a key logistics hub for bustling regional trade, which has been growing at 30% per annum to reach US$17 billion last year and reportedly US$25 billion this year.  It is expected that Korgas will handle 20-23 million tonnes of cargo a year by 2020 and 35-38 million tonnes a year by 2030, compared with 15 million tonnes handled by  the previous only rail link at Alataw trade pass - Dostyk (Kazakhstan) and Alashankow 阿拉山口(China).  The new rail link is part of a strategic plan to enhance the China-Kazakhstan interconnection by rail, to link with a trans-continental highway transport route that connects China with Europe, and as part of the New Eurasia Land Bridge, a new rail link between the Asian and European continents.  China and Europe use standard gauge for their rail systems, while Kazakhstan previously used the wider gauge based on Russian rail system.  A new Trans-Kazakhstan Trunk Railways project was proposed in 2004 to eliminate the gauge difference problem.  The rail connection between Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Khorgos (China) completes the New Eurasia Land Bridge linking China to Europe.  Goods from Central Asia can now be transported all the way east to China's eastern seaport of Liangyunguang 连云港in Jiangsu Province 江苏省for shipping export and vice versa.

Korgas Pass 
霍爾果斯 is 200 Km from the Kazakhstan capital Astana and 670 km from Urumqi 乌鲁木齐, the provincial capital of Xinjiang Province 新疆省会 of China.  A China-Kazakhstan free trade centre, named International Centre for Boundary Cooperation ICBC "Khorgos" and first of its kind in Eurasia, was opened at Korgas last year.  Trade promotional policies such as large tax concession for exports, permission to carry duty-free products, and long stay of 30 days at the centre for citizens of China, Kazakhstan and third party countries are applied at Korgas Pass.  The Free Trade Centre serves to reduce barriers and facilitate bilateral trade.  It taps into 60 million potential customers in the region.  With a network of new and existing highways, railways and oil pipelines, Korgas Pass has become an important logistics hub in Central Asia.

Link to video news about the new second 
cross-border rail link between China and Kazakhstan at Korgas Pass


China builds Second Eurasian Land Bridge


The following is extracted from an article by F. William Engdahl on www.globalresearch.ca dated 27.4.2012 titled "EURASIAN ECONOMIC BOOM AND GEOPOLITICS: China’s Land Bridge to Europe: The China-Turkey High Speed Railway“ which provides context information for the significance of the new second cross border rail link between China and Kazakhstan.

"By 2011 China had completed a Second Eurasian Land Bridge running from China’s port of Lianyungang on the East China Sea through to Kazakhstan’s Druzhba and on to Central Asia, West Asia and Europe to various European destinations and finally to Rotterdam Port of Holland on the Atlantic coast.

The Second Eurasian Land Bridge is a new railway connecting the Pacific and the Atlantic that was completed by China to Druzhba in Kazakhstan. This newest Eurasia land bridge extends west in China through six provinces–Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Xinjiang autonomous region, which neighbors respectively with Shandong Province, Shanxi Province, Hubei Province, Sichuan Province, Qinghai Province, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Inner Mongolia. That covers about 360,000 square kilometers, some 37% of the total land space of China. About 400 million people live in the areas, which accounts for 30% of the total population of the country. Outside of China, the land bridge covers over 40 countries and regions in both Asia and Europe, and is particularly important for the countries in Central and West Asia that don’t have sea outlets.

In 2011 China’s Vice Premier Wang Qishan announced plans to build a new high-speed railway link within Kazakhstan, linking the cities of Astana and Almaty, to be ready in 2015.  The Astana-Almaty line, with a total length of 1050 kilometers, employing China’s advanced rail-building technology, will allow high-speed trains to run at a speed of 350 kilometers per hour......

The Second Eurasian Land Bridge runs 10,900 kilometers in length, with some 4100 kilometers of that in China. Within China the line runs parallel to one of the ancient routes of the Silk Road. The rail line continues across China into Druzhba where it links with the broader gauge rail lines of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is the largest inland country in the world. As Chinese rail and highways have expanded west, trade between Kazakhstan and China has been booming. From January to October 2008, goods passing through the Khorgos port between the two nations reached 880,000 tons – over 250% growth compared with the same period a year before. Trade between China and Kazakhstan is expected to grow 3 to 5 fold by 2013. As of 2008, only about 1% of the goods shipped from Asia to Europe were delivered by overland routes, meaning the room for expansion is considerable.  From Kazakhstan the lines go on via Russia and Belarus over Poland to the markets of the European Union."

Link to the full article "EURASIAN ECONOMIC BOOM AND GEOPOLITICS: China’s Land Bridge to Europe"


trans-eurasia-rails
Rail Routes Map from Ansher Global


Implication for business

The opening of the second cross-border rail link between China and Kazakhstan means that the New Eurasian Land Bridge rail link passing through Kazakhstan connecting China and Europe over land is realized.  This should have a significant beneficial effect on business and investment along the route.  Investors, developers, architects, engineers, contractors, suppliers should see new business opportunities due to the opening of this route.  The bottleneck at the previous only rail link between China and Kazakhstan is lifted and trade (both bilateral & transit) volume between the two countries will be increased dramatically.  It has been predicted that the economic boom in Central Asia, which has just begun, will go on for a long time into the distant future.  The significance of this alternative shorter route for movement of goods between East Asia and Europe, and potentially extending to the East coast of North America over the Atlantic, cannot be underestimated.

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Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Liar, Liar





Liar, Liar


We were best friends, or so I had thought,
But why, I've seemed to forgot.
I gave you trust and friendship,
And in return you ruined our relationship.

I know I messed up and made my mistakes,
And one major one was not knowing my friends were such big fakes.
You think you've got it bad,
Well honey you don't know what you had.

You say everything's my fault,
Look in a mirror, son, and see your own ugliness,
And see how, without you, I am in pure happiness.
Take a look at your own happiness and see how it's declining.

You blame me for what people say,
But I can't keep the truth at bay.
You're hated, despised,
And about to meet your own demise.

That disgusting smile you wear,
Would make your own mother's heart tear.
You're hateful and disgusting and waiting to betray someone,
Now you're by yourself on that lonely run.

Even female dogs are more loyal than you,
And I hope your black ice cold heart breaks in two.
I always thought you beautiful, because I had thought you different,
But you proved me wrong.

Right or wrong,
You're going to go to where you truly belong.
I hope you think before you open your lying mouth.