Welcome to the March edition. Here we introduce lots of the new future announcements. We visit the Fur Trade and the Mongol Empire new series. We hope you enjoy!

The images shown are Prototype images of the sculpted work, prior to master painting.

We hope you enjoy!

THE MONGOL INVASIONS OF JAPAN 1274 AND 1281

Major military efforts were taken by Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty in 1274 and 1281 to conquer Japan after the submission of Korea. Ultimately a failiure, the invasion attempts are of historical importance because they set a limit on Mongol expansion and rank as nation defining events in the history of Japan. The invasions are referred to in many works of fiction and are the earliest events for which the word "Kamikaze" (Divine Wind) is widely used, originating in reference to the typhoons faced by the Yuan fleets. The invasions were one of the earliest cases of gunpowder warfare outside of China. One of the most notable technological innovations during the invasions was the use of explosive, hand thrown bombs.

The main invasion of Japan started at Hakata Bay. All available accounts describe the style of the Invasion forces fighting, leaving the Japanese defenders confused. The unfamiliar tactics in which the Mongol soldiers advanced on foot in large and comparatively dense groups protected by shields, controlled by drums and the accompaniment of much noise, required a major reconsideration of traditional Japanese fighting techniques. The tradition of selecting a worthy opponent for one's arrow, needed a major re-think. In a Japanese battle it was the practice to seek out a worthy opponent and fight to the death, but in this battle the Mongols "attacked all together with great vigour."

The fighting of the first 24 hours of the invasion was fierce, and within little more than a day the Mongols had established a bridgehead. The Mongols advanced as far as Mizuki, (water castle), an earthwork moat fort dating back to 664, and it was here that the fighting reached its climax. The Samurai defenders were under the command of Shoni Kagesuke. He was with two companions when they noticed Liu Fuxiang, a senior Mongol commander, who had come within bow range. Kagesuke took aim and shot the Mongol commander in the face. It is believed because of the loss of this important leader the Mongol advance was stalled, and a withdrawal began back to the ships. With this tactical withdrawal the first invasion concluded, because the armies never again left their ships for Japanese soil. Instead, they set sail back to Korea.

A passage in a Japanese text describes the following

"The Mongols disembarked from their ships, mounted their horses, raised their banners and began the attack. The grandson of the Japanese commander in chief Shoni Nyudo Sukeyoshi, who was barely 12 or 13 years old, loosed a signalling arrow with a small head (to start the battle) but all the Mongols just burst out laughing. They beat large drums and banged gongs and sometimes fired bombs made from paper and iron. The Japanese horses were so frightened by these stupendous sounds that they could not be controlled. Because they could not handle their horses, none could face the enemy. The short Mongol arrows had their tips smeared with poison. Some were overcome by the effects of the poison. Ten thousand men in all were prepared with their arrows and fired them so that they fell like rain. Halberds and long shafted weapons were carried with no empty space between them...."

"The commander in chief of their army took up a position on high ground, and when they had to pull back he beat the drum of retreat. When they were to advance, he struck the attack gong."

Details of the second invasion of Japan in 1281 will be discussed in a future news update.

MONGOLIAN "THUNDER CRASH BOMB" TREBUCHET

The Mongol invasions are an early example of gunpowder warfare outside of China. One of the most notable technological innovations during the war was the use of explosive bombs. The bombs are known in Chinese as "thunder crash bombs". An illustration of a bomb is depicted in the Japanese Mongol Invasion Scrolls, but it has been shown that the illustration of the projectiles was added to the scrolls in the eighteenth century and should not be considered to be an eyewitness representation of their use. However, archaeological discoveries recently have confirmed the existence of bombs in the Yuan invasion's arsenal. Multiple bomb shells were discovered in an underwater shipwreck off the shore of Japan. X-rays by Japanese scientists of the excavated shells show that they contained gunpowder and were also packed with scrap iron.

These trebuchets had a shooting range of around 100 metres, and could use projectiles of around 50kg. During Mongol campaigns against the Jin dynasty, the Mongols used over 5,000 trebuchets, which were very successful in destroying the Jin fortresses.

The first of the Mongol Invasion sets will be available this summer.

MOUNTAIN MEN - THE RENDEZVOUS

Rendezvous - A French term denoting a gathering to conduct commerce.

The Rocky Mountain Rendezvous was an annual rendezvous, held between 1825 to 1840 at various locations, organized usually by a fur trading company at which trappers and mountain men sold their furs and hides, and replenished their supplies. The fur companies would assemble teamster-driven mule trains which carried whiskey and supplies as well as money to a pre-announced location each spring/summer and set up a trading fair, the Rendezvous. At the end of the fair, the teamsters packed the furs, and took them out, either to Fort Vancouver in the pacific Northwest for the British companies, or to one of the northern Missouri river ports, such as St. Joseph, Missouri for the American companies.

The enterprise that eventually came to be known as the Rocky Mountain Fur Company was established in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1822 by William Henry Ashley and Andrew Henry. Among the original employees, known as "Ashley's Hundred", were Jedediah Smith , who went on to take a leading role in the company's operations, and Jim Bridger, who was among those who bought out Smith and his partners in 1830. It was Bridger and his partners who gave the enterprise the name "Rocky Mountain Fur Company".

The company became a pioneer in western exploration, most notably in the Green River Valley. The operations of other aspiring organizations like the American Fur Company would often overlap, causing a fierce rivalry. Growing competition motivated the trappers to explore and head deeper into the wilderness. This led to greater knowledge of the topography and to great reductions in the beaver populations.

Eventually the intense competition for fewer and fewer beavers and the transient style of fur hats brought the Rocky Mountain Fur Company down. Nearly a decade after its founding, the stock holders sold all their shares, leaving behind a legacy in terms of both western settlement and folklore. The US government, seeking geographic knowledge or travel advice regarding the West, would seek out former members of the company as consultants. Ashley himself later became a congressman whose expertise was Western affairs

William Henry Ashley (c. 1778 - March 26th 1838) was an American miner, land speculator, manufacturer, territorial militia general, politician, frontiersman, fur trader , entrepreneur, hunter, and slave owner. He was best known for being the co-owner with Andrew Henry of the highly successful Rocky Mountain Fur Company, otherwise known as "Ashley's Hundred" for the famous mountain men working for the firm from 1822 to 1834.

Major Andrew Henry (c. 1775 - January 10th 1832) was an American miner, army officer, frontiersman, trapper and entrepreneur. Alongside William H. Ashley, Henry was the co-owner of the successful Rocky Mountain Fur Company. Henry appears in the narrative poem the Song of Hugh Glass, which is part of the Neihardt's Cycle of The West. He is portrayed by John Huston in the 1971 film "Man In The Wilderness", and by Domhnall Gleeson in the 2015 film The Revenant, both of which depict Glass's bear attack and journey.

Rendezvous were known to be lively, joyous places where all were allowed, fur trappers, Indians, native trapper wives and children, harlots, travelers, and later tourists ( who would venture from as far as Europe to observe the festivities. James Beckworth describes, " Mirth, songs, dancing, shouting, trading, running, jumping, singing, racing, target shooting, yarns, frolics, with all sorts of extravagances that white men or Indians could invent."