Magazine devoted to military history, uniformology and war equipment since the Ancient Era until the 20th century Publishing Director: Bruno Mugnai Redational Staff: Anthony J. Jones; Andrew Tzavaras; Luca S. Cristini Collaborators: András K. Molnár; Ciro Paoletti; Riccardo Caimmi; Paolo Coturri; Adriana Vannini; Chun L. Wang; Mario Venturi; Chris Flaherty; Oleg Airapetov; Massimo Predonzani Cover: Sonia Zanat; Silvia Orso. * * * Scientific Committee: John Gooch; Peter H. Wilson; Bruce Vandervort; Frederick C. Schneid; Tóth Ferenc; Chris Stockings; Guilherme d'Andrea Frota; Krisztof Kubiak; Jean Nicolas Corvisier; Erwin A. Schmidl; Franco Cardini. #8–2016 PUBLISHER’S NOTE None of images or text of our book may be reproduced in any format without the expressed written permission of publisher. The publisher remains to disposition of the possible having right for all the doubtful sources images or not identifies. Each issue Euro 3,90; Subscription to 11 issues Euro 40,00 . Subscriptions through the Magazine website: www.historyanduniforms.com or through Soldiershop ,by Luca S. Cristini, via Padre Davide 8, Zanica (BG). Original illustrations are on sale. Please contact: [email protected] © 2016 Bruno Mugnai HaU_008 - Web Magazine - ISSN not required. Contents: Warriors and Warfare of the Han Dynasty (part two) Chun L. Wang Four Centuries of Italian Armours (12 th -15 th century) (part two) Mario Venturi The Venetian Army and Navy in the Ottoman War of 1684-99 (part nine) Bruno Mugnai The Austrian Light Infantry, 1792-1800 (part one) Paolo Coturri and Bruno Mugnai Origins of the French Zouaves Uniforms Chris Flaherty Forgotten Fronts of WWI: the Balkans, 1916 (part one) Oleg Airapetov Book Reviews The Best on the Net Dear Reader, Dear Friend: A pause due to a sudden change of program resulted in a new index for Issue 7, while now a hacker attack caused a new delay for completing issue 8. No problems, because History & Uniforms is able to resolve any menace... In this issue we introduce a new work by Chris Flaherty on the French-Ottoman connections concverning the Zouaves uniforms, and a new entry represented by Oleg Aiarpetov, who relates about a very less known front of WWI based on unpublished sources. Another impressive article, is the formidable analysis about the Italian Medieval armour by Mario Venturi containing the unpublished, gorgeous, Coelho’s artworks. In this article the author approaches the transitional age between 13 th and 14 th century: a matter still to investigate. Bruno Mugnai #H ISTORY &UNIFORMS Warriors and Warfare of the Han Dynasty (part two) By Chun L. Wang - The Eternal Scourge from the Northern Steppe The policy that dominated the relations between Xiongnu (or Hsiung-nu) and Han in the early Former Han period was one of appeasement and accommodation in which China became a virtual tributary of the Xiongnu. This policy eventually had to be abandoned and why the Han dynasty needed to turn to more aggressive strategies. Two factors emerge: first, the ripening of conditions that on the political, military, and economic levels enabled China to invest more of its people and resources in an all-out war effort; and second and most important, the ideological shift that accompanied the realization that the ho-ch’in policy of appeasement did not guarantee peace. Several explanations have been 4 #H ISTORY &UNIFORMS offered to account for the Han endorsement of a military stance, and this chapter will explore why the ho-ch’in policy did not work, by looking more closely at the Xiongnu side. From an Inner Asian perspective, it appears that the ‘appeasement’ policy failed owing to a structural incompatibility between Xiongnu and Han understandings of their mutual international obligations. The Chinese Han dynasty’s establishment of peaceful conditions in the second century BC, had to face the always problematical steppe horsemen. These fierce warriors might intervene suddenly, harassing the defences and plundering the villages. The Han promoted the development of military structure along the eastern stepping stones of the Silk Road in order to defend the empire, supported by civilian settlements 1. Soon established himself on the throne as emperor, Gaodi (247-195 BC) faced a major challenge from the Xiongnu. In 209 BC, a new and dynamic leader, or shanyu, named Maodun (209–174 BC) had emerged. He won over rival tribal groups and expanded his territory to include the strategic Gansu Corridor that leads to the heart of China. His presence and his establishment of a capital at Lung Cheng in Outer Mongolia had the effect of attracting Chinese dissidents, particularly those who had suffered under the establishment of the Qin and Han empires. The list even included the king of the former state of Han. This Gaodi chose not to ignore, and in 200 BC he mounted a massive punitive expedition, which he led in person. At Pingcheng, his army was surrounded for a week by the Xiongnu cavalry, and only by good fortune did the emperor extricate himself. Clearly, the Xiongnu were not going to be easily defeated, and a diplomatic solution was sought. This involved a treaty, in which it was agreed to send a Chinese royal princess as a wife to the Xiongnu leader, provide gifts of silk and food, recognize the equality of the Han and the Xiongnu states, and agree on the frontier line of the Great Wall. This treaty was renewed with each new emperor, at which point a further princess would be sent to the Xiongnu, with increasingly expensive gifts that included pieces of gold. The increasing quantity of gifts is a measure of the regard of the Han for the disruptive power of the Xiongnu. Indeed, before his death in 174 BC, Maodun’s demands steadily increased. He was succeeded by his son, Ji-zhu (174–160 BC), who is named in the official histories as Lao-shang and then Jun-chen 2. Until 134 BC, there was an uneasy relationship in which 1 When the archaeologist-explorers Sven Hedin and Sir Aurel Stein reached the deserts of far western China a century ago, they encountered the remains of walled cities, roads, even ancient vineyards. Letters and royal orders on wood and leather have survived, in an Indian script dating to the third century AD. These illuminate the kingdoms of Shan-shan, Sogdiana, and Hotan and their oasis cities at Niya, Endere, Panjikent, and Lou-lan. 2 Other important written documents, such as the Han shu , have not been considered as a main source. Nonetheless, I do not wish to give the impression that the Han shu is not an important source (Author’s note). 5 #H ISTORY &UNIFORMS the Chinese adopted a policy of bribery and appeasement, while the Xiongnu mounted incursions beyond the frontier at will, even reaching close to the Han court. Han Emperor Wu-ti (156 – 85 BC) A new great campaign against the Xiongnu was carried out by Han Wu-ti and his generals. Its duration, territorial expansion, forces employed, and expenses required are nothing short of exceptional even considering the intense military activity that had marked the history of China until then. As the Han armies marched through the deserts of Kansu and showed their insignia at the gates of the oasis-cities of the Western Regions, a new world opened to China’s imagination. By reaching as far as the T’ien-shan and the Tarim Basin, Han Wuti’s expansion dwarfed even the feats of two of the most blatantly expansionistic pre-Han rulers, Duke Huan of Ch’i and the First Emperor of Ch’in. The motivation for such an accomplishment cannot be ascribed solely to megalomania. The Han political and 6 #H ISTORY &UNIFORMS strategic choices and the decision to fight a protracted war occurred in a climate of changing policies aimed at consolidating imperial unity and strengthening China’s economy. These measures were arguably essential in allowing the Han to sustain the war effort. Internal political events within the court, after the death of the empress dowager in 135 BC, and the waning of her influence also were factors. Han strategy in the war with the Xiongnu has been ascribed to these climactic changes which took place during the first twenty years of Wu-ti’s role. Concurrently, however, it is essential that we take account of Inner Asian political and economic realities, which exposed the Xiongnu to weaknesses that the Han were able to exploit, especially in the early phases of the confrontation, with considerable success. Finally, this chapter outlines the restructuring of the northern frontier as it began to take shape in Wu-ti’s period, including the new administrative organization of the frontier areas. Under the emperor Wu-ti, however, there was a major change in policy. In 127 BC, his general Wei Qing led a successful campaign against the Xiongnu, who were forced to retreat from the frontier. Six years later, the Han forces again defeated them. Despite almost insurmountable problems of food supply in these remote regions, a further campaign in 119 BC again scattered the Xiongnu, and the Han were able to establish themselves in new commanderies across the western regions. The Han dominance thereafter had much to do with the fragmentation of the Xiongnu confederacy into factional kingdoms, whose rulers ceased to acknowledge the supremacy in the area . There was also the problem so often faced by the Han themselves, that the Xiongnu succession was formally passed from father to son. This opened the possibility of succession of a very young ruler; the shanyu Hu Hanye (58–31 BC) decree that the leader should be succeeded by his younger brother protected the succession. However, between the victories under Wu-ti and the end of the Western Han dynasty, repeated efforts by the fragmented Xiongnu to negotiate a renewal of the treaty on the basis of equality foundered, because the Han insisted on the formalization of a client relationship in which the Xiongnu acknowledged a vassal status.