Damdin Sühbaatar
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- This article is about the mongolian revolutionary. For other uses, see Sühbaatar.
Damdin Sühbaatar (mongolian Дамдин Сүхбаатар, usually only Sühbaatar, also Sukhbaatar, Sukh) (February 2, 1893-February 22, 1923) was a Mongolian military leader known for his excellent horsemanship capabilities. Sukh (which means ax in the Mongolian language) was probably born in Urga and joined the nation's army in 1911. He was later forced to leave the army because of charges of insubordination. In 1917, he joined another army, fought against the Chinese, and earned the moniker of baatar (hero).
Mongolia formally was an ally of the Manchus, who established the Qing Empire until 1911, when collapse of Qing rule over China allowed the country to assert its independence. The Qing Empire primarily resulted from the conquest of Ming China by the Manchus. Then Manchus under treaty of formal alliance established dominance over Mongolia. The Manchus' official policy afterwards adapted the Qing Empire as one of China's dynasties and based on this it claims Mongolia being part of China. In fact Mongolia had never been part of China and but rather was a serious threat to China throughout history since the Xiongnu made China fix its northern borders with massive fortifications known as Great Wall. Even the Great Wall did not help the Chinese and the Mongolians defeated Song China and established the Yuan Empire over China in the 13th century.
The Chinese republic tried to reinstate their claim to Mongolia by an invasion in 1919, but this was unsuccessful, largely due to the effort of Sühbaatar. Today Suhbaatar is remembered as a hero in Mongolia for defeating both the Chinese and the Russian warlord Ungern von Sternberg's forces, as commander-in-chief of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army, with aid from the Russian SFSR, and thus confirming Mongolia's independence from China.
Sühbaatar's widow, Sühbaataryn Yanjmaa, went on to serve in a number of senior positions in the Mongolian government, including acting President.
A statue of Sühbaatar still graces Sühbaatar Square in front of the government building in Ulaanbaatar today.
Sühbaatar is also the name of the Mongolian border town at the Russia-Mongolia border on the Trans-Mongolian Railway.
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