Mogaung ( my, မိုးကောင်း ; ( Shan: မိူင်းၵွင်း) is a town in

Kachin State Kachin State ( my, ကချင်ပြည်နယ်; Jingpho language, Kachin: ), also known by the endonym Kachinland, is the northernmost administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east ...

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 Wells explai ...

. 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 fou ...

Myitkyina Myitkyina (, ; (Eng; ''mitchinar'') Jinghpaw: ''Myitkyina'', ) is the capital city of Kachin State in Myanmar (Burma), located from Yangon, and from Mandalay. In Burmese it means "near the big river", and Myitkyina is on the west bank of t ...

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

History

Mogaung or Möngkawng was the name and capital (royal seat) of a relatively major one of the petty Shan (ethnic Tai) principalities. It was ruled by a ''

saopha Chao-Pha (; 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 Tai peoples of ...

'' (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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the then heavily-defended town was the site of a three-week battle when the 77th

Chindit 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 form ...

Brigade under Brigadier

Michael Calvert Brigadier James Michael Calvert, (6 March 1913 – 26 November 1998) was a British Army officer who was involved in special operations in Burma during the Second World War. He participated in both Chindit operations and was instrumental in popul ...

, 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 The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

. 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 previousl ...

, 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 fo ...

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

History

See also

Sources

External links