Mogaung ( my, မိုးကောင်း ; (
Shan: မိူင်းၵွင်း) is a town in
Kachin State
Kachin State ( my, ကချင်ပြည်နယ်; Kachin: ), also known by the endonym Kachinland, is the northernmost state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet and Yunnan, specifically and respectively); Sh ...
,
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
. It is situated on the
Mandalay
Mandalay ( or ; ) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631km (392 miles) (Road Distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census).
Mandalay was fo ...
-
Myitkyina railway line.
History
Mogaung or Möngkawng was the name and capital (royal seat) of a relatively major one of the petty
Shan (ethnic
Tai
Tai or TAI may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Tai (comics) a fictional Marvel Comics supervillain
*Tai Fraiser, a fictional character in the 1995 film ''Clueless''
*Tai Kamiya, a fictional character in ''Digimon''
Businesses and organisations ...
) principalities. It was ruled by a ''
saopha
Chao-Pha (; Ahom language, Tai Ahom: 𑜋𑜧𑜨 𑜇𑜡, th, เจ้าฟ้า}, shn, ၸဝ်ႈၾႃႉ, translit=Jao3 Fa5 Jao3 Fa5, my, စော်ဘွား ''Sawbwa,'' ) was a royal title used by the hereditary rulers of the T ...
'' (Burmese: ''sawbwa''; Shan-prince of the highest rank), since that state was founded (according to legend in 58BC, under the ritual name Udiri Pale), interrupted by Chinese imperial occupations in 1479–1483 and 1495 and Burmese occupations in 1651–1742 and 1771–1775 until its annexation in 1796 by the
Ava-based
kingdom of Burma
The Konbaung dynasty ( my, ကုန်းဘောင်ခေတ်, ), also known as Third Burmese Empire (တတိယမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်) and formerly known as the Alompra dynasty (အလောင်းဘ ...
.
In June 1944 during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the then heavily-defended town was the site of a
three-week battle when the 77th
Chindit Brigade under Brigadier
Michael Calvert, later assisted by Chinese forces of Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
, fought-for and captured Mogaung from the occupying forces of
Imperial Japan. For their behaviour during the fighting two members of the
3rd/6th Gurkha Rifles, Captain
Michael Allmand
Michael Allmand VC (22 August 1923 – 24 June 1944) was an English Second World War recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth ...
, and Rifleman
Tul Bahadur Pun
Tul Bahadur Pun VC ( Nepali: तुल बहादुर पुन; 23 March 192320 April 2011) was a Nepalese Gurkha recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and ...
, were each subsequently awarded the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
, in Allmand's case, posthumously. At the time of the battle Calvert's Chindit force had been behind enemy lines for three months as part of
Operation Thursday
The Chindits, officially as Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British and Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II.
The British Army Brigadier Orde Wingate forme ...
.
See also
*
List of rulers of Shan states
The Shan State, a state of Myanmar (also known as Burma), was once made up of a large number of traditional monarchies or fiefdoms. These are collectively known as Shan States. Ranks of rulers
Three ranks of chiefs were recognized by the King of B ...
Sources
WorldStatesMen – Burma/Myanmar – Shan&Karen states(which lists the last rulers)
External links
Falling Rain Genomics, Inc.
"Mogaung Map — Satellite Images of Mogaung"Maplandia.com
Township capitals of Myanmar
Populated places in Kachin State
{{Kachin-geo-stub