British expedition to Tibet information

British expedition to Tibet
	Part of the Great Game
	; British officers with Qing amban and Tibetans
Date	December 1903 – September 1904
Location	Tibet, Qing Empire26°05′20″N 89°16′37″E / 26.08889°N 89.27694°E
Result	British victory Convention of Lhasa; Return to status quo ante bellum; British Occupation of Chumbi Valley until 1908 for Chinese payment of indemnities;
Belligerents
United Kingdom British India;	Qing dynasty Tibet;
Commanders and leaders
James Macdonald; Francis Younghusband	13th Dalai Lama; Dapon Tailing
Strength
3,000 soldiers; 7,000 support troops	Unknown, several thousand peasant conscripts
Casualties and losses
202 killed in action; 411 non-combat deaths	2,000–3,000 killed

The British expedition to Tibet, also known as the Younghusband expedition,^[2] began in December 1903 and lasted until September 1904. The expedition was effectively a temporary invasion by British Indian Armed Forces under the auspices of the Tibet Frontier Commission, whose purported mission was to establish diplomatic relations and resolve the dispute over the border between Tibet and Sikkim.^[3] In the nineteenth century, the British had conquered Burma and Sikkim, with the whole southern flank of Tibet coming under the control of the British Indian Empire. Tibet ruled by the Dalai Lama under the Ganden Phodrang government was a Himalayan state under the protectorate (or suzerainty) of the Chinese Qing dynasty until the 1911 Revolution, after which a period of de facto Tibetan independence (1912–1951) followed.^{[citation needed]}

The invasion was intended to counter the Russian Empire's perceived ambitions in the East and was initiated largely by Lord Curzon, the head of the British Indian government. Curzon had long held deep concerns over Russia's advances in central Asia and now feared a Russian invasion of British India.^[4] In April 1903, the British government received clear assurances from Russia that it had no interest in Tibet. "In spite, however, of the Russian assurances, Lord Curzon continued to press for the dispatch of a mission to Tibet", a high level British political officer noted.^[5]

The expeditionary force fought its way to Gyantse and eventually reached Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, in August 1904. The Dalai Lama had fled to safety, first to Mongolia and then to China proper. The poorly-trained and equipped Tibetans proved no match for the modern equipment and training of the British Indian forces. At Lhasa, the Commission forced remaining Tibetan officials to sign the Convention of Lhasa, before withdrawing to Sikkim in September, with the understanding the Chinese government would not permit any other country to interfere with the administration of Tibet.^[6]

The mission was recognized as a military expedition by the British Indian government, which issued a campaign medal, the Tibet Medal, to all those who took part.^[7]^[8]

^ Allen, Duel in the Snows (2015), p. 299.
^ Lamb, Tibet, China & India (1989), p. 403: "The critical factor which ultimately produced a major change, however, was political, a consequence of the rise of Chinese influence in Lhasa following the departure of the Younghusband Expedition which culminated in the Chinese military occupation of 1910 and the flight of the Dalai Lama to India."
^ Landon, P. (1905). The Opening of Tibet Doubleday, Page & Co, New York.
^ Allen, Duel in the Snows (2015), p. 1.
^ Bell, Tibet Past and Present (1924), p. 66.
^ "Convention Between Great Britain and Tibet (1904)". Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
^ Bell, Tibet Past and Present (1924), p. 68.
^ Joslin, Litherland and Simpkin. British Battles and Medals. pp. 217–8. Published Spink, London. 1988.

[FOOTNOTEAllen,_Duel_in_the_Snows2015299-1] Allen, Duel in the Snows (2015), p. 299.

[2] Lamb, Tibet, China & India (1989), p. 403: "The critical factor which ultimately produced a major change, however, was political, a consequence of the rise of Chinese influence in Lhasa following the departure of the Younghusband Expedition which culminated in the Chinese military occupation of 1910 and the flight of the Dalai Lama to India."

[Landon-3] Landon, P. (1905). The Opening of Tibet Doubleday, Page & Co, New York.

[FOOTNOTEAllen,_Duel_in_the_Snows20151-4] Allen, Duel in the Snows (2015), p. 1.

[FOOTNOTEBell,_Tibet_Past_and_Present192466-5] Bell, Tibet Past and Present (1924), p. 66.

[treaty_1904-6] "Convention Between Great Britain and Tibet (1904)". Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.

[FOOTNOTEBell,_Tibet_Past_and_Present192468-7] Bell, Tibet Past and Present (1924), p. 68.

[Joslin-8] Joslin, Litherland and Simpkin. British Battles and Medals. pp. 217–8. Published Spink, London. 1988.

British expedition to Tibet information

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