Eastern vs Western Siegecraft: When the Chinese Besieged a Russian Star Fortress in 1686

Don’t sleep on solving your internet problems while travelling and go to saily.com/sandrhoman and use the code sandrhoman to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase.

Prob to Langtan though the dude adapted to his mistake rather quickly, rather than sticking with traditional method that went nowhere.

fun fact, some Chinese walls are so thick that it still been used against the Japanese in WWII

It's sometimes easy to forget that Russia and China are both massive nations, that actually have a very long border together.

Fun extra fact: after the first siege concluded, a few dozen cossacks were captured and brought to the Chinese emperor's court. They were offered lucrative bonuses to join the Chinese army ranks (for propaganda reasons mostly). Some declined the offer and returned home, but most of them agreed, giving the birth to the "Albazinians", one of the first Orthodox Christian communities in China. They assimilated a few generations later, but preserved their faith, and a lot of them martyred during the Boxer Rebellion. I believe that to this day, there are people in China who claim to be the descendants of the defenders of Albazin!

Interesting to think how asymmetrical development can lead to both sides struggling with the other's fortifications.

3:30 In case you didn't know. The word "town" in english stems from the germanic language tree and has the same root as the german word "Zaun" meaning fence. By definition a town is a fenced/walled off village. What I am saying here is that it isn't just the chinese using walls to denominate cities.

That's how you do comparative history well! None of the nonsense like "Who would win in 20,000 ninjas vs 50,000 vikings?" that pollutes so much of the web. Just grounded comparisons highlighting the differences, where the differences likely come from, and the impact they had.

Apparently earthquakes are more common in China, so thin wall construction and European castle design was never a real option.

Actually the signee of the 1689 agreement was not Tzar Peter, he was still too young. The actual ruler of Russia was his sister Sofia and her lover/Prime Minister of Russia Golitsin who was the actual master mind of all the Siberian politics

How neat! I didn't know that Chinese siege warfare wasn't as well studied. I would love to know how Japanese, Korean, and Chinese siege tactics developed separately.

The idea of the defenders in a siege actually coming outside the walls to counterattack when an assault failed is novel to me. Just never thought about it.

I love the helmets that the Qing Musketeers were wearing. Very practical but still stylish.

The song of the Volga boatmen tune playing in the background :D I almost couldn't hear it.

This campaign is also quite important in Korean history since it was the first time for Koreans to experience the western tactics. About 200 of muskeeters participated in this campaign in response to the request for assistance from Qing, and there are some records of Joseon (Korean) officiers about the battles against Russians. Through this campaign, Joseon, who had been using only matchlock musket, experienced flint lock musket of russians, for the first time. Furthermore, it is known that there are some records about how Joseon officiers were interested in volley fire tactics of Russians, which was significantly different from that of Joseon. After this campaign, Joseon tried self-production of flint-lock musket, but failed due to several reasons (cost, lack of industry and technology etc). Tragically, Joseon used matchlock musket until 20th century.

China underestimated what Russian penetration of Siberia meant. The first treaty China ever signed on equal terms , instead of one with an acknowledged vassal, was with Russia. Many of the early leaders in Russian employ in Siberia were not Russians but were Poles, Germans, or Scandinavians. Russia knew that it could hire a foreign exploration and administration talent pool to lay a foundation for later Russian inertial rule. China could not.

China built thicker walls than Europe because of tectonic plates. Walls are useless if they get destroyed by your run of the mill earthquake, and Japan and China had more Earthquakes than Europe because of their geological position. The Forbidden Palace was specifically designed to be earthquake resistant, and it makes sense to transfer that logic to the defensive walls of the region, where it caught on elsewhere as the norm.

Your depiction of Chinese Ming Dynasty soldiers is very accurate and typical, and is an image that the Chinese are very familiar with. Thank you. But judging from what you said, Chinese soldiers should probably wear Qing Dynasty-style armor instead of Ming Dynasty style. The style of the Qing Dynasty was similar to that of the Ming Dynasty. It inherited the development of the upper and lower parts of the cotton armor in the late Ming Dynasty, and canceled the steel arm armor and changed it to a ring-arm cotton armor. 編輯：首先我要說，影片中選擇的中國軍隊形象有問題，應該選用清軍形象，而非影片中的典型明軍造型。第二，我想說的是我真不清楚明清這種甲在英文該如何翻譯，如果使用了你們不習慣的名稱，希望不要介意，大概能知道我說的是什麼就好了。 我是中國人，同時也是中國的一名古代軍備愛好者，還是個明清時代遊戲的MODDer。清代最常見的甲胄被稱為“布面甲”，民間習慣稱為“棉（綿）甲”。這種甲在中國最早是由蒙古人使用，明代大量裝備。明末是氣象史上著名的小冰河期，尤其是在遼東地區更是極其寒冷，因此外續棉花、內鉚鋼片的棉甲在防衛的同時，還能保暖，深得邊軍士兵以及軍官的喜愛。 清朝起源於建州女真，在起兵反明之前，長期作為明朝的內藩，文化、技術上都受到明朝巨大影響，盔甲也不例外。因此後金時期直到清早期的清軍棉甲，除花紋以外，幾乎和明代一模一樣。大家可以搜索努爾哈赤和皇太極兩代清朝（後金）皇帝的甲胄，凡熟悉明代甲胄者，一眼就能看出幾乎是一模一樣。二者最大的差別是頭盔，因為漢人束髮，因此頭盔外凸，滿人剃髮，因此頭盔內凹。 明代軍備除棉甲外，也會因應不同地理區域，裝備不同的甲胄。有一個非常典型的裝備叫“環臂甲”，主要是精銳士兵以及軍官使用。是獨立的，可以搭配各種盔甲。因此影片中的軍官形象對於明代來說是合宜的。但是從時代來看，又是不合適的。 明代棉甲在末期發展出了上襖、下裙的分體形式，這種形式配合相對於環臂甲來說更新潮的環臂棉甲，在後來成為了清代甲胄的最主要形式，在中國也被稱為“八旗甲”。 在清代中後期，人們拆掉了棉甲內部的鋼片，保留了鉚釘作為裝飾，又加上了襠部的裝飾，成為清代後期高級軍官的禮儀性服裝。 另外，“剃頭易服”並不涉及甲胄，這種東西是防護用品，保命用的，而且明末邊軍甲連滿洲人自己用的都是這個玩意兒，如果棉甲不允許穿，他們是要自己殺自己嗎？ 但是視頻中的士兵甲胄依然是不准確的，首先清代的棉甲繼承的是明代末期發展出的是上襖下裙的分體形式，其次不會使用環臂鋼甲，第三不會使用勇字盔，第四，正如評論區一般人都能意識到的，髮型問題。 最後，影片中的士兵形象是明代非常底階的士兵，只有一件棉甲衣（內部鉚了鋼片），沒有環臂甲，也沒有正式的頭盔，而是廉價的“勇”字盔，這種在歷史上都是非常低級的“衛所兵”的裝備。將領的私兵被稱為“家丁”，會在這身裝備基礎上，配上護心鏡、臂甲、脛甲、護喉以及能夠完整保護頸部的頭盔。 （Computer translation: Editor: First of all, I want to say that there is a problem with the image of the Chinese army chosen in the film. The image of the Qing army should be chosen instead of the typical Ming army in the film. Second, what I want to say is that I really don’t know how to translate the most common armor in the Ming and Qing Dynasties in English. If I use a name that you are not used to, I hope you don’t mind. You will probably know what I am talking about. I am Chinese, and I am also a fan of ancient Chinese armaments, and a MODDer of games from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The most common armor in the Qing Dynasty was called "cloth armor", and folk custom called it "cotton (cotton) armor". This kind of armor was first used by the Mongols in China and was heavily equipped in the Ming Dynasty. The late Ming Dynasty was the famous Little Ice Age in meteorological history, especially in the Liaodong area, which was extremely cold. Therefore, the cotton armor with cotton on the outside and riveted steel sheets on the inside could not only protect but also keep warm. It was deeply loved by the soldiers and officers of the border army. favorite. The Qing Dynasty originated from the Jurchens in Jianzhou. Before they rebelled against the Ming Dynasty, they had been a vassal of the Ming Dynasty for a long time. Their culture and technology were greatly influenced by the Ming Dynasty, and armor was no exception. Therefore, the cotton armor of the Qing army from the Late Jin period to the early Qing Dynasty was almost identical to that of the Ming Dynasty except for the pattern. You can search for the armor of Nurhaci and Huang Taiji, the two emperors of the Qing Dynasty (Later Jin Dynasty). Anyone who is familiar with the armor of the Ming Dynasty can tell at a glance that they are almost identical. The biggest difference between the two is the helmet. Because the Han people tie their hair, their helmets are convex, while the Manchus shave their hair, so their helmets are concave. In addition to cotton-padded armor, the Ming Dynasty's military equipment would also be equipped with different armors according to different geographical areas. There is a very typical piece of equipment called "arm armor", which is mainly used by elite soldiers and officers. It is independent and can be matched with various armors. Therefore, the image of military officers in the film is appropriate for the Ming Dynasty. But from the perspective of the times, it is inappropriate. In the late Ming Dynasty, the cotton armor developed into a separate form with an upper coat and a lower skirt. This form, combined with the more fashionable ring-arm cotton armor compared to the ring-arm armor, later became the main form of armor in the Qing Dynasty. China is also known as the "Eight Banners armor". In the middle and late Qing Dynasty, people removed the steel sheets inside the cotton armor, retained the rivets as decoration, and added crotch decoration, which became the ceremonial clothing of senior officers in the late Qing Dynasty. In addition, "shaving one's head and changing clothes" does not involve armor. This kind of thing is protective equipment and is used to save lives. In addition, in the late Ming Dynasty, even the Manchus themselves used this thing. If cotton armor is not allowed to be worn, they are Do you want to kill yourself? However, the soldiers' armor in the video is still inaccurate. First of all, the cotton armor of the Qing Dynasty inherited the split form of the upper coat and lower skirt developed in the late Ming Dynasty. Secondly, they did not use ring-arm steel armor. Thirdly, they did not Will use a helmet with the word "Yong". Fourth, as most people in the comment area can realize, there is a hair issue. Finally, the image of the soldier in the film is that of a very low-level soldier in the Ming Dynasty. He only has a cotton-padded armor (with steel sheets riveted inside), no arm armor, and no formal helmet, but a cheap helmet with the word "Yong" in it. This kind of equipment has historically been very low-level "guard soldier" equipment. The general's private soldiers are called "housekeepers". Based on this equipment, they will be equipped with goggles, arm armor, greaves, gorget and a helmet that can completely protect the neck.）

8:01 "I am fortifying this position"

"In Chinese, the word for city and the word for wall is the same" - as is in most other languages. The Greek polis and the Slavic grad are all words for some type of wall, as is the Germanic *burg*.