Post by Otagiri Tatsuzou on Sept 14, 2007 14:29:40 GMT -5
I'm only going to post a few paragraphs here, follow the link for the full article. An excellent article, I encourage you to read it.
The Mongol Siege of Xiangyang and Fan-ch’eng and the Song military
By Chris Hanson
The Siege of Xiangyang and Fan-ch’eng was one of the longest sieges of the medieval world lasting almost 5 years, from 1268 until early 1273, and was the longest campaign in the war against the Song Dynasty (pronounced sung).
Over the course of the campaign chroniclers record many heroic deeds were recorded, yet there is limited information about the siege itself. Unlike the siege of Acre during the third crusade, between 1189 and 1191, where many separate events are recorded. Examples are the fraternization amongst Latin and Arab troops playing chess, and children wrestling where the parents of the losing child had to pay a “ransom”. Oriental sources quite often do not to cover individual battles/sieges in detail like the west. However, oriental sources tend to give a broader perspective of the strategic war. Finding detailed information about the siege of Xiangyang and Fan-ch’eng is difficult, however, there is some information in English sources regarding the siege of the two cities.
....
Infantry
There are surviving descriptions documenting the formations and training of Song infantry. Some of these descriptions depict spearmen and swordsmen standing (perhaps they are kneeling) while the archers and crossbowmen fired their shots. Drums were used to give the commands for marching, firing, sitting/kneeling, and other commands. It seems in later Song military manuals that archers and crossbowmen were not mixed with other infantry. Whether this was adhered to by those in command is undetermined. It would seem the generals would see the value of mixing missile troops with spearmen and swordsmen.
www.deremilitari.org/resources/articles/hanson.htm
The Mongol Siege of Xiangyang and Fan-ch’eng and the Song military
By Chris Hanson
The Siege of Xiangyang and Fan-ch’eng was one of the longest sieges of the medieval world lasting almost 5 years, from 1268 until early 1273, and was the longest campaign in the war against the Song Dynasty (pronounced sung).
Over the course of the campaign chroniclers record many heroic deeds were recorded, yet there is limited information about the siege itself. Unlike the siege of Acre during the third crusade, between 1189 and 1191, where many separate events are recorded. Examples are the fraternization amongst Latin and Arab troops playing chess, and children wrestling where the parents of the losing child had to pay a “ransom”. Oriental sources quite often do not to cover individual battles/sieges in detail like the west. However, oriental sources tend to give a broader perspective of the strategic war. Finding detailed information about the siege of Xiangyang and Fan-ch’eng is difficult, however, there is some information in English sources regarding the siege of the two cities.
....
Infantry
There are surviving descriptions documenting the formations and training of Song infantry. Some of these descriptions depict spearmen and swordsmen standing (perhaps they are kneeling) while the archers and crossbowmen fired their shots. Drums were used to give the commands for marching, firing, sitting/kneeling, and other commands. It seems in later Song military manuals that archers and crossbowmen were not mixed with other infantry. Whether this was adhered to by those in command is undetermined. It would seem the generals would see the value of mixing missile troops with spearmen and swordsmen.
www.deremilitari.org/resources/articles/hanson.htm
