"The Mad Baron"

     Throughout human history, there have always been interesting and colorful characters, especially during times of war.  America has had its share, as has just about every country in the world.  Naturally, Russia is no exception, and it seems that some fascinating, "interesting" characters played some major roles in Russian history, particularly during its 20th Century Bolshevik Revolution and the civil war that followed.  One such character was Baron Roman Ungern Von Sternberg, nick-named the "Mad Baron."  His biography, particularly his final ten years or so during the Russian Civil War, reads like a wild, combination "Indiana Jones/James Bond/Attila the Hun" movie!  I am very surprised that Hollywood has not yet gotten hold of his story and made it into a movie.  There were probably some movies where part of his character was used, but never the whole story.  It is a bloody, yet a fascinating story!
     Roman Ungern-Von Sternberg was born in Austria of Austrian aristocrats in 1885.  When he was three, his parents moved to Latvia, which at the time was part of Baltic Russia.  That whole region, incidentally, was heavily populated with people of German extraction,  It was also a region that throughout history kept switching from Russian territory, to German, to independent, etc., today it is independent but as recently as the 1980s, it was Russian, part of the Soviet Union.
     Young Roman grew up completely in a Russian environment and received Russian education at various schools including military academy.  In 1905, while he was still a cadet, he volunteered for the front line duty when the Russo-Japanese War broke out.  He went to the Far East, Manchuria, but it is unclear as to whether he saw any combat.  One thing is for sure, his exposure to the Far East made him a lifetime lover of Eastern culture, philosophy, etc. He returned to school after the war ended and finished his studies and was commissioned in the Tsarist Army.  He immediately volunteered for duty in the Far East and was delighted when he was assigned to an Amur Cossack unit in Siberia.  The Amur Cossacks were about 50% Asian....Mongols, Manchus, Koreans, etc.  Roman loved especially the Mongol culture and studied various Asian languages and Buddhism.  He became fluent in several tongues, including Mongolian, Chinese, and Japanese!  During World War One he was transferred to the Western Front where he distinguished himself in combat, but returned to the Far East as soon as he could.  When the revolution took place, he naturally sided with the "Whites" or the Tsarists.  As an aristocrat he would have been unceremoniously shot by the Bolsheviks even if he decided to switch sides!
     During the civil war that followed he rose rapidly in rank and was promoted to Major General in the "White" Tsarist Army.  But despite his fervent anti Bolshevik sentiment, he sort of drifted away from fighting the Bolsheviks to trying to create a new Mongol Empire!  He commanded an "Asian Division" which was made up of multi-national collection of soldiers.  There were Russians, Chinese, Koreans, Mongols, Manchus, even Japanese!  They were a feared fighting force both by the Bolsheviks and the Chinese, the Asian Division fought with anyone who got in their way.  For a short period they occupied Manchuria when it was still predominantly run by bandits, the Japanese were unable to gain complete control yet.  He befriended the Chinese War Lord of Manchuria, Chiang Su Lin, and married a Manchurian Princess Jin.  Ironically, Princess Jin did not speak Russian so the two communicated in English!  They were married in a Russian Orthodox ceremony in Harbin and the Princess was baptized Elena Pavlovona.
     After his marriage, he moved his division (against the orders of his superior, General Semyonov) to Outer Mongolia.  At the time, Outer Mongolia was fast falling under Chinese control.  The Chinese already had control of Inner Mongolia and they were trying to gain control of Outer Mongolia.  The Mad Baron's plan was to chase out the Chinese and establish a new Mongol Empire under one of the remaining descendants of Chinghis Khan, Bogd Khan, who was secretly communicating with the Mad Baron from his exile in Peking.  The Baron first moved his troops to the only area still remaining under Mongolian control, an area known as Setsen-Khan Aimag.  The area was ruled by a Mongolian Princess called Setsen-Khan.   The Princess welcomed the Baron, who trained and organized her Mongol army and attacked the Chinese.  He was able to defeat the Chinese easily and took control of Outer Mongolia.  He called for Bogd Khan to return to Mongolia, and briefly, established a new Mongol Empire for about a six month period.
     The Mad Baron was extremely cruel to anyone who got in his way.  He got his reputation from the way he treated the enemy, but also his own troops if they did not perform to his liking!  The Baron's dream of reestablishing the Mongol Empire lasted less than a year.  In 1921 the Bolshevik troops struck across the border and defeated the Mad Baron and his Asian Division with an overwhelming force.  He was captured, tried and shot, all in six hours!
     One thing that he did was to prevent China from gaining complete control over Mongolia!  Had he not attacked the Chinese forces from Manchuria as he did, and defeat them, there would be no Mongolia today.  For all practical purposes, there is no Inner Mongolia to speak of today, it is just a Chinese province.  The Chinese have heavily settled the area with Han Chinese to lessen Mongolian influence.  They would have done the same thing with Outer Mongolia, had the Mad Baron not disrupted their plans!
     Baron Roman Ungern-Von Sternberg was not a mercenary soldier who took over Mongolia and killed, plundered, and pillaged his way.  He may have been cruel, but he was not some blood thirsty ruffian interested only in money and power.  He was a refined, educated, intelligent person who genuinely had the best interest of Mongols in his heart, misguided though it may have been!  A fascinating person, one of those that you can say, "there will never be another one like him!"