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Bayonets to Lhasa; the First Full Account of the British Invasion of Tibet in 1904
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We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.
We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
About the author
Peter Fleming
33 books49 followersAdventurer and travel writer. A brother of James Bond author Ian Fleming, he married actress Celia Johnson in 1935 and worked on military deception operations in World War II. He was a grandson of the Scottish financier Robert Fleming, who founded the Scottish American Investment Trust and the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 22, 2022
Peter Fleming's Bayonets to Lhasa, published in 1962 takes a careful look back to the British invasion of Tibet in 1903 & 1904. The invasion was largely to counter the perceived Russian move into Tibet (later disproved), to protect India from the feared Russian invasion (another move in the The Great Game), but officially to resolve border disputes between Tibet and Sikkim.
Fleming shows himself to be a more than capable historian (prior to this I had previously read only his books chronicling his own adventures), and while he writes a book supportive of Younghusband, he always provides all the background and evidence to allow the reader to make their own decision.
Famously, the two main men of the invasion - Francis Younghusband, head of the political mission and military commander James Macdonald - were rather at odds with each other. To make matters more complex high level politics in Britain were constantly in play with the Secretary of State for India, St. John Brodrick having a personal agenda against Younghusband, while supporting the (clearly limited) Macdonald. Nevertheless the invasion party made its way towards Lhasa, encountering Tibetan resistance along the way, and while the British numbers (British in this case including many Indian troops, Sikhs and Gurkha) were not high, they had adequate weaponry and were more tactically adept.
Tibet at this time was ruled by the Dalai Lama under the Ganden Phodrang government and was a Himalayan state under the suzerainty of the Chinese. The Chinese Amban (the Imperial resident appointed by the Qing emperor) however was the political force, who proved able to cleverly manipulate the situation to China's advantage, with the 13th Dalai Lama fleeing prior to the British arrival at Lhasa, taking up refuge in Mongolia. Somewhat ironically, was later to solicit assistance from Russia against the British and Chinese (ironic because perceived Russian involvement was the reason for the British invasion in the first place).
Upon reaching Lhasa, Younghusband negotiated a treaty with Tibet (although the Chinese Amban played a strong part in imposing this on the Tibetan officials) which achieved more than the British Government expected - they previously expected that the mission would fail to achieve any treaty terms. Again politics took over and Younghusband was accused of overstepping his authority, and really hung out to dry by parliament (largely through the machinations of Brodrick in trying to undermine Younghusband and strike at his enemy Lord Curzon, who supported Younghusband into his role.)
Fleming carefully steps through all those machinations and the aftermath, and wraps up with an Epilogue that sets out the more recent history of Tibet (up to 1960), including history repeating with the fleeing of the Dalai Lama from Lhasa during the 1959 Tibetan Uprising (against Chinese occupation), this time fleeing to Dharamsala in India.
Fleming has written a detailed book, in an easy style to understand the many moving parts.
4 stars.
Fleming shows himself to be a more than capable historian (prior to this I had previously read only his books chronicling his own adventures), and while he writes a book supportive of Younghusband, he always provides all the background and evidence to allow the reader to make their own decision.
Famously, the two main men of the invasion - Francis Younghusband, head of the political mission and military commander James Macdonald - were rather at odds with each other. To make matters more complex high level politics in Britain were constantly in play with the Secretary of State for India, St. John Brodrick having a personal agenda against Younghusband, while supporting the (clearly limited) Macdonald. Nevertheless the invasion party made its way towards Lhasa, encountering Tibetan resistance along the way, and while the British numbers (British in this case including many Indian troops, Sikhs and Gurkha) were not high, they had adequate weaponry and were more tactically adept.
Tibet at this time was ruled by the Dalai Lama under the Ganden Phodrang government and was a Himalayan state under the suzerainty of the Chinese. The Chinese Amban (the Imperial resident appointed by the Qing emperor) however was the political force, who proved able to cleverly manipulate the situation to China's advantage, with the 13th Dalai Lama fleeing prior to the British arrival at Lhasa, taking up refuge in Mongolia. Somewhat ironically, was later to solicit assistance from Russia against the British and Chinese (ironic because perceived Russian involvement was the reason for the British invasion in the first place).
Upon reaching Lhasa, Younghusband negotiated a treaty with Tibet (although the Chinese Amban played a strong part in imposing this on the Tibetan officials) which achieved more than the British Government expected - they previously expected that the mission would fail to achieve any treaty terms. Again politics took over and Younghusband was accused of overstepping his authority, and really hung out to dry by parliament (largely through the machinations of Brodrick in trying to undermine Younghusband and strike at his enemy Lord Curzon, who supported Younghusband into his role.)
Fleming carefully steps through all those machinations and the aftermath, and wraps up with an Epilogue that sets out the more recent history of Tibet (up to 1960), including history repeating with the fleeing of the Dalai Lama from Lhasa during the 1959 Tibetan Uprising (against Chinese occupation), this time fleeing to Dharamsala in India.
Fleming has written a detailed book, in an easy style to understand the many moving parts.
4 stars.
May 30, 2025
I’ve only ever been vaguely aware of the British Expedition to Tibet in 1903-04. The impression I had was that, even by the standards of colonial wars, it seemed to be particularly sad and pointless. When I came across Peter Fleming’s 1960 book, I decided it was an opportunity to find out more. I listened to the audio version.
It’s almost impossible for the modern reader to grasp just how little was known about Tibet at the beginning of the 20th century. The country was completely closed to Europeans and what little information about it to reach the outside world came via China, which claimed suzerainty over Tibet, (nominal at the time).
The expedition was largely the work of Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India from 1899-1905, and was prompted by entirely imaginary fears of growing Russian influence in Lhasa, and how this might affect “The Great Game”. These fears centred mainly around the shadowy figure of Agvan Dorzhiev, an ethnic Buryat and Buddhist Lama, born within the Russian Empire and therefore a subject of the Tsar. Dorzhiev acted as tutor to the 13th Dalai Lama.
Various border disputes and other issues, and the total refusal of the Tibetans to engage in negotiations, led to the eventual despatch of an expedition under the overall command of Colonel Francis Younghusband, a noted explorer and adventurer, who was also something of a mystic. He had a military escort commanded by one Brigadier-General James MacDonald.
A big part of this book is taken up with personality clashes between the leading British figures, not least between Younghusband and MacDonald, and at higher level, between Curzon and St. John Brodrick, Secretary of State for India. Broadly speaking, Fleming is sympathetic to Curzon and Younghusband and highly critical of MacDonald and Brodrick. I daresay other historians will have their own views.
The military clashes that occurred were all very one-sided. The Tibetan soldiers were untrained, unused to war and were furnished with antiquated weapons. They were no match for the well-trained and experienced British and Indian troops they faced. The book is though strong on the difficulties the expedition faced from the environment, from the cold and altitude.
Politically, Younghusband’s expedition suffered from the fact it coincided with a relatively sudden diplomatic rapprochement between Britain and Russia, brought about by the growing power of Germany. During the time the expedition was in Tibet, the British government pivoted from being suspicious of Russia, to wishing to avoid any antagonism. The upshot was that the expedition ended up being exactly how I had understood it, all rather pointless.
A good narrative history of this somewhat obscure event.
It’s almost impossible for the modern reader to grasp just how little was known about Tibet at the beginning of the 20th century. The country was completely closed to Europeans and what little information about it to reach the outside world came via China, which claimed suzerainty over Tibet, (nominal at the time).
The expedition was largely the work of Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India from 1899-1905, and was prompted by entirely imaginary fears of growing Russian influence in Lhasa, and how this might affect “The Great Game”. These fears centred mainly around the shadowy figure of Agvan Dorzhiev, an ethnic Buryat and Buddhist Lama, born within the Russian Empire and therefore a subject of the Tsar. Dorzhiev acted as tutor to the 13th Dalai Lama.
Various border disputes and other issues, and the total refusal of the Tibetans to engage in negotiations, led to the eventual despatch of an expedition under the overall command of Colonel Francis Younghusband, a noted explorer and adventurer, who was also something of a mystic. He had a military escort commanded by one Brigadier-General James MacDonald.
A big part of this book is taken up with personality clashes between the leading British figures, not least between Younghusband and MacDonald, and at higher level, between Curzon and St. John Brodrick, Secretary of State for India. Broadly speaking, Fleming is sympathetic to Curzon and Younghusband and highly critical of MacDonald and Brodrick. I daresay other historians will have their own views.
The military clashes that occurred were all very one-sided. The Tibetan soldiers were untrained, unused to war and were furnished with antiquated weapons. They were no match for the well-trained and experienced British and Indian troops they faced. The book is though strong on the difficulties the expedition faced from the environment, from the cold and altitude.
Politically, Younghusband’s expedition suffered from the fact it coincided with a relatively sudden diplomatic rapprochement between Britain and Russia, brought about by the growing power of Germany. During the time the expedition was in Tibet, the British government pivoted from being suspicious of Russia, to wishing to avoid any antagonism. The upshot was that the expedition ended up being exactly how I had understood it, all rather pointless.
A good narrative history of this somewhat obscure event.
October 20, 2024
This history of the British Expedition to Tibet in 1903-04 includes detailed accounts of the British Indian column's defeat of Tibetan forces arrayed to stop them from getting to Lhasa and forcing a peace treaty on the Dalai Lama. But the battles getting the most space are those between the head of the political mission, Francis Younghusband, and the military escort commander, James Macdonald. Even that struggle pales, however, in comparison between the larger one which had Younghusband used as a target by the Secretary of State for India, St. John Brodrick, to get at his erstwhile friend turned bitter enemy, Lord Curzon, who sponsored Younghusband's appointment to the mission.
Peter Fleming's history of these events is sympathetic to Younghusband, although it essentially is fair towards Macdonald and Curzon, despite their machinations. The villain of the piece is Brodrick, who appears as a man possessed to ruin others and protect his reputation beyond death. The overall result is that I think Fleming produces a fair account of things. His story is arcane, especially for those who lack a background in the history of the Great Game and British India policy at the turn of the last century. But if you bring enough of that background to the study, you will see that Fleming mostly avoids interjecting his own prejudices into a reading of events. That is much more than can be said for the agenda setting of the current popular historian of British India, William Dalrymple. In fact, reading Fleming is a tonic for too much exposure to Dalrymple's tendentious account of India. (Despite his storytelling gifts, Dalrymple's objectivity clearly compromises itself in his desperation to see himself as a wannabe modern day "British Moghul" integrated into Indian society.) Fleming's is a traditional political history, with military events made an inclusion, not a focus. I also think that Fleming, himself an explorer of some note, is able to write with a personal insight into the challenges and hardships that faced the British moving into a remote and unknown region that no Westerner had set foot in for almost one hundred years.
Peter Fleming's history of these events is sympathetic to Younghusband, although it essentially is fair towards Macdonald and Curzon, despite their machinations. The villain of the piece is Brodrick, who appears as a man possessed to ruin others and protect his reputation beyond death. The overall result is that I think Fleming produces a fair account of things. His story is arcane, especially for those who lack a background in the history of the Great Game and British India policy at the turn of the last century. But if you bring enough of that background to the study, you will see that Fleming mostly avoids interjecting his own prejudices into a reading of events. That is much more than can be said for the agenda setting of the current popular historian of British India, William Dalrymple. In fact, reading Fleming is a tonic for too much exposure to Dalrymple's tendentious account of India. (Despite his storytelling gifts, Dalrymple's objectivity clearly compromises itself in his desperation to see himself as a wannabe modern day "British Moghul" integrated into Indian society.) Fleming's is a traditional political history, with military events made an inclusion, not a focus. I also think that Fleming, himself an explorer of some note, is able to write with a personal insight into the challenges and hardships that faced the British moving into a remote and unknown region that no Westerner had set foot in for almost one hundred years.
August 9, 2015
I’m probably going to give Bayonets to Lhasa 4 Stars for two reasons: one, it is an operation I had never heard of and Fleming does a decent job in explaining the background for a British invasion of Tibet and, two, Fleming moves the story along while simultaneously showing the trouble Colonel Francis Younghusband, leader of the “Mission”, is encountering in getting the Tibetans to come to the bargaining table and also explaining the pressures being imposed on the Mission by the Government of India and the Balfour government back in the UK. The Tibetan foray was one of the very last chapters in the “Great Game” between the British Empire, Imperial Russia and all the various states and tribal areas in Central Asia, surrounding the crown jewel of India. In a nutshell:
The ultimate motive of the Younghusband Mission was the fear that Russian intrigue would, from a base at Lhasa, disaffect Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim, which like a barbed-wire entanglement insulated India’s manned defences from no man’s land of Tibet. This fear, which though misplaced not was not unreasonably entertained, assumed on Russia’s part no motive more compelling than the desire to make mischief than score points in the Great Game.
Curzon, the Viceroy of India, was the motivating force behind the mission. The security of India was always ‘threatened’ by the Russian bear, even when it wasn’t. Francis Younghusband comes across as a very driven man, selected by Curzon to lead the Tibetan adventure. As a young man, Younghusband had already distinguished himself in the area:
The casus belli of the entire effort was the Tibetan indifference to a 1890 Convention between Britain and China (de facto ruler of Tibet), where borders and trade agreements were established. Curzon sent a couple of letters to the Dalai Lama protesting some violations and demanding negotiations. The letters were ignored (and probably never delivered). The conflict between western and eastern minds is a major theme in the book. Each finds the other alien and misunderstandings will cost lives. Eventually, Curzon gets approval to send the Mission to Tibet. Two leaders are appointed, the aforementioned Younghusband is the political leader charged with getting a treaty and indemnity from the Tibetans. BG Macdonald is the military leader in charge of the Escort force protecting the political element. Fleming assigns much blame to a timid Macdonald for troubles and delays during the mission. Fleming treats Younghusband as an ambitious “thruster” but perhaps too zealous in completing the mission. It is clear Fleming is trying to shine a more favorable light on Younghusband’s actions because history has not been very kind to the actions undertaken.
There are several battles on the way to Lhasa and the results are pretty terrible for the Tibetans. Modern western military weapons and tactics extract quite a toll on enemies not similarly equipped. Hundreds of Tibetans are killed for the loss of a couple of mission soldiers (or even none).
There are some amusing stories along the way. The telegraph line from India was mainly unguarded between the British outposts but was hardly ever severed by the Tibetans. Legend has it that one of the engineers constructing the line extension told some Tibetan lamas that the sole purpose of the line was to guide the British out of Tibet as quickly as possible when their mission was completed.
Another one involves two soldiers marching to Lhasa:
A story often quoted in the unofficial annals of the expedition is of two British soldiers toiling up a particularly savage gradient on the route to Phari.
First Soldier. I thought they told us Tibet was a —ing table-land?
Second Soldier. So it —ing well is, you silly —. This is one of the —ing table-legs.
Well, the second soldier does have a point. Here is the change in elevation from Siliguri to Lhasa, a distance of about 400 miles. Much of the living and fighting occurred at very high altitudes:
Eventually the mission reaches Lhasa, mysterious holy city in the greater mystery of Tibet. Except the fantasies of the west come crashing down, the Tibetan cities are filthy, boring, and not at all what was expected. The Dalai Lama flees to Mongolia but a treaty is finally agreed with the remaining Tibetan governing bodies. And what about the original motivation to invade, the chess move in the Great Game?
The (Lhasa) armoury was a fable, the arsenal a false alarm. No trace was discovered of the ‘skilled mechanicians’ or the military advisers from Asiatic Russia who had been so often postulated in the Mission’s reports. The British, having found a mare’s nest, conveniently forgot what it was that they had been looking for. Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note, as the Russian bogey was interred.
Key parts of the treaty negotiated by Younghusband are repudiated by the typical slimy politicians back in London as being too drastic. A campaign to discredit Younghusband begins and was successful in denying him the recognition and honors he probably deserved. All in all, a fascinating chapter in British colonial history that I was completely unaware of. Recommended (but have a dictionary handy as you’ll need it, e.g., minatory, degringolade, ebullition, etc)
The ultimate motive of the Younghusband Mission was the fear that Russian intrigue would, from a base at Lhasa, disaffect Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim, which like a barbed-wire entanglement insulated India’s manned defences from no man’s land of Tibet. This fear, which though misplaced not was not unreasonably entertained, assumed on Russia’s part no motive more compelling than the desire to make mischief than score points in the Great Game.
Curzon, the Viceroy of India, was the motivating force behind the mission. The security of India was always ‘threatened’ by the Russian bear, even when it wasn’t. Francis Younghusband comes across as a very driven man, selected by Curzon to lead the Tibetan adventure. As a young man, Younghusband had already distinguished himself in the area:
The casus belli of the entire effort was the Tibetan indifference to a 1890 Convention between Britain and China (de facto ruler of Tibet), where borders and trade agreements were established. Curzon sent a couple of letters to the Dalai Lama protesting some violations and demanding negotiations. The letters were ignored (and probably never delivered). The conflict between western and eastern minds is a major theme in the book. Each finds the other alien and misunderstandings will cost lives. Eventually, Curzon gets approval to send the Mission to Tibet. Two leaders are appointed, the aforementioned Younghusband is the political leader charged with getting a treaty and indemnity from the Tibetans. BG Macdonald is the military leader in charge of the Escort force protecting the political element. Fleming assigns much blame to a timid Macdonald for troubles and delays during the mission. Fleming treats Younghusband as an ambitious “thruster” but perhaps too zealous in completing the mission. It is clear Fleming is trying to shine a more favorable light on Younghusband’s actions because history has not been very kind to the actions undertaken.
There are several battles on the way to Lhasa and the results are pretty terrible for the Tibetans. Modern western military weapons and tactics extract quite a toll on enemies not similarly equipped. Hundreds of Tibetans are killed for the loss of a couple of mission soldiers (or even none).
There are some amusing stories along the way. The telegraph line from India was mainly unguarded between the British outposts but was hardly ever severed by the Tibetans. Legend has it that one of the engineers constructing the line extension told some Tibetan lamas that the sole purpose of the line was to guide the British out of Tibet as quickly as possible when their mission was completed.
Another one involves two soldiers marching to Lhasa:
A story often quoted in the unofficial annals of the expedition is of two British soldiers toiling up a particularly savage gradient on the route to Phari.
First Soldier. I thought they told us Tibet was a —ing table-land?
Second Soldier. So it —ing well is, you silly —. This is one of the —ing table-legs.
Well, the second soldier does have a point. Here is the change in elevation from Siliguri to Lhasa, a distance of about 400 miles. Much of the living and fighting occurred at very high altitudes:
Eventually the mission reaches Lhasa, mysterious holy city in the greater mystery of Tibet. Except the fantasies of the west come crashing down, the Tibetan cities are filthy, boring, and not at all what was expected. The Dalai Lama flees to Mongolia but a treaty is finally agreed with the remaining Tibetan governing bodies. And what about the original motivation to invade, the chess move in the Great Game?
The (Lhasa) armoury was a fable, the arsenal a false alarm. No trace was discovered of the ‘skilled mechanicians’ or the military advisers from Asiatic Russia who had been so often postulated in the Mission’s reports. The British, having found a mare’s nest, conveniently forgot what it was that they had been looking for. Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note, as the Russian bogey was interred.
Key parts of the treaty negotiated by Younghusband are repudiated by the typical slimy politicians back in London as being too drastic. A campaign to discredit Younghusband begins and was successful in denying him the recognition and honors he probably deserved. All in all, a fascinating chapter in British colonial history that I was completely unaware of. Recommended (but have a dictionary handy as you’ll need it, e.g., minatory, degringolade, ebullition, etc)
March 27, 2022
This book was my first introduction to Francis Younghusband, a fascinating character and one of the last larger-than-life players in the Great Game. I've since read a number of other books about or by Younghusband, but this was one of the best thanks to Fleming's excellent writing, (and Fleming - Ian's older brother - was himself quite an adventurer in his 20's, before he settled down as a reporter and writer of histories such as this one).
In his later years, Younghusband founded the World Council of Faiths, one of the earlier global interfaith organizations. He was also head of the Royal Geographic Society when it organized the ill-fated Mallory/Irvine attempt on Mt. Everest.
Unrelated to this specific book, but a long-time personal observation: I think the world would be a much better place if more people spent their time learning about names like Younghusband, Ernest Shackleton, Roald Amundsen, Alfred Rusell Wallace, Roy Chapman Andrews, etc. - and less time reading about names like Schwarzenegger, Kardashian and the Situation!
In his later years, Younghusband founded the World Council of Faiths, one of the earlier global interfaith organizations. He was also head of the Royal Geographic Society when it organized the ill-fated Mallory/Irvine attempt on Mt. Everest.
Unrelated to this specific book, but a long-time personal observation: I think the world would be a much better place if more people spent their time learning about names like Younghusband, Ernest Shackleton, Roald Amundsen, Alfred Rusell Wallace, Roy Chapman Andrews, etc. - and less time reading about names like Schwarzenegger, Kardashian and the Situation!
April 14, 2023
Peter Fleming's Bayonets to Lhasa is a narrative account of Britain's 1904 invasion of Tibet, surely one of the strangest, most pointless conflicts in history. Fleming (brother of Ian) frames this punitive expedition (nominally a border dispute) as an extension of the Anglo-Russian Great Game. A particularly stupid one, given that no Russians were within 500 miles of Tibet at the time. The British easily best the Tibetans in the field (machine guns versus gingals isn't exactly a fair fight) but nearly fall victim to the harsh Himalayan climate. Fleming ably shows the clash of personalities between Indian officials Curzon and Kitchener, but it's the strange figure of Francis Younghusband, a soldier-mystic in the mold of Gordon of Khartoum, who draws the most attention. Younghusband conducts a brilliant campaign but receives censure for exceeding orders, the British public shocked by the one-sided slaughter. The expedition's material effects prove minimal (save the nominal enforcement of an old trade treaty), save shielding Tibet from complete Chinese dominance for several decades. Fleming's account of this sorry affair is crisply written and informative.
June 23, 2020
The description of this book made me practically salivate (or whatever the literary analogue of salivation is) especially because of the current happenings in Ladakh. The writing however gets too digressional and the flow of the story keeps getting interrupted. A better storyteller could have done an excellent job of narrating what seems to be an incredulous (by today’s standards) mission that was pretty normal for the early 20th century. Tibet- a geopolitical issue for the ages- stars as the pawn in a game between the British Empire, Tsarist Russia and a seemingly dormant yet wily China. The way British yuppies walked into Tibet with a swagger and thousands of soldiers and animals in tow underlines how the British Empire made sure that the sun never set on it. Also, be warned, a lot of paper has been wasted on descriptions of ‘unclean savages’ -yet another British Empire classic.
October 24, 2019
An interesting account by Peter Fleming (elder brother of Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond) of what was probably the last colonial military expedition. Lead by Col Francis Younghusband, this expedition to the Tibetan capital in 1904, was to counter a supposed move by the Russians into Tibet, and was the last move in what was known in the 19th century as the ‘Great Game.’ The force of British regulars and sepoys, including Gurkhas and Sikhs, fought their way through a series of unequal battles and skirmishes against poorly trained Tibetans to finally reach Lhasa and force the signing of a treaty allowing trade access between India and Tibet. Peter Fleming documents in readable form the intrigues and jealousies that were part & parcel of the military & civilian leaders of the British Empire.
February 3, 2017
Превосходный очерк причудливого эпизода Большой игры (и ее самой — до определенного хронопредела и в определенных географических рамках). Автор, понятно, представляет английскую точку зрения на события: англичан мотивировало не только (и не столько) имперское расползание России по Азии (Ухтомский: «В Азии для нас нет и не может быть границ», — довольно сильное и странное заявление, по нынешним-то меркам), но и — вполне, кстати, по-азиатски — поддержание престижа. Потому что трогательные котики-англичане, оказавшись в Азии, похоже, заразились боязнью «потерять лицо» (недаром в мемуарах и дневниках самого Флеминга это одно из самых часто встречающихся выражений). Так что в значительной степени (но не исключительно, само собой) Большая игра мотивировалась таким азиатским подходом.
Кроме того, забавно, насколько англичане (но не автор, к его историографической чести) не отдавали себе отчет в российской административной инертности и русской лени: основные усилия по натиску на Тибет с российской стороны осуществлялись индивидуальными подвижниками, авантюристами и буддистами-любителями, которым противостоял весь имперский военно-государственный аппарат Британии. От этого вся подоплека геополитической Большой игры становится до крайности нелепой: амбиции и идеалы увлеченных одиночек с одной стороны против страха потерять лицо с другой. Таинственные и грозные политические силы (или неумолимые тенденции исторического развития, как нас учат учебники) тут как бы не вполне причем.
В общем, довольно нелепое это было предприятие — отправлять дипломатическую миссию в Лхасу таким извилистым путем.
Кроме того, забавно, насколько англичане (но не автор, к его историографической чести) не отдавали себе отчет в российской административной инертности и русской лени: основные усилия по натиску на Тибет с российской стороны осуществлялись индивидуальными подвижниками, авантюристами и буддистами-любителями, которым противостоял весь имперский военно-государственный аппарат Британии. От этого вся подоплека геополитической Большой игры становится до крайности нелепой: амбиции и идеалы увлеченных одиночек с одной стороны против страха потерять лицо с другой. Таинственные и грозные политические силы (или неумолимые тенденции исторического развития, как нас учат учебники) тут как бы не вполне причем.
В общем, довольно нелепое это было предприятие — отправлять дипломатическую миссию в Лхасу таким извилистым путем.
September 5, 2020
Despite being written 60 years ago this is a solid and well written account of a peculiar series of events of Britain's last (?) and somewhat reluctant imperial expansion effort
July 17, 2019
Super boring, super dry. Not the type of historical non-fiction I like reading. At least I know more stuff now.
June 6, 2013
Who knew that, of all the places that Britain has invaded over the years, Tibet is on the list?
This account of the 1904 British invasion of Tibet by Peter Fleming describes clearly and lucidly the political machinations between the British Government, the Government of India and the key individuals in the story.
He illuminates the characters and their motivations including the fascination felt by many of the British officers and officials for this mysterious forbidden land, which at that time only a few Mongols and Russian Buryats had ever visited.
There were several 'battles' where the Tibetans came at the British with some ancient muskets and swords and the British responded with machine guns. With the inevitable results.
And the whole thing had been cooked up to counter the supposed Russian influence in the area despite there being only the flimsiest shreds of evidence that they were involved.
Both enlightening and entertaining, it's a easy read that romps along and sheds light on a little-known episode in British history, though there's less illumination of the Tibetan view of the events.
This account of the 1904 British invasion of Tibet by Peter Fleming describes clearly and lucidly the political machinations between the British Government, the Government of India and the key individuals in the story.
He illuminates the characters and their motivations including the fascination felt by many of the British officers and officials for this mysterious forbidden land, which at that time only a few Mongols and Russian Buryats had ever visited.
There were several 'battles' where the Tibetans came at the British with some ancient muskets and swords and the British responded with machine guns. With the inevitable results.
And the whole thing had been cooked up to counter the supposed Russian influence in the area despite there being only the flimsiest shreds of evidence that they were involved.
Both enlightening and entertaining, it's a easy read that romps along and sheds light on a little-known episode in British history, though there's less illumination of the Tibetan view of the events.
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