Attila the Hun- Biography

Attila the Hun

Born probably in 406 AD, Attila the Hun was a fifth century military man who is best remembered for his role in spearheading the unification of Hun Kingdom, at an area which is now Hungary. He was the king of Hunnic Empire and he devastated lands ranging from Black Sea all the way to Mediterranean and inspired great fear throughout the Roman Empire. 

 

Attila was dubbed the ‘Flagellum Dei’, translated to mean ‘Scourge of God’. The warrior consolidated power after he murdered his brother and became the sole recognized king of Huns. During his reign, he expanded the Huns’ rule and included many Germanic tribes in it. He engaged in extraction wars and mainly focused his attacks on Eastern Roman Empire. During his time in power, he didn’t at any time invade Rome or Constantinople and he died in 453 leaving behind a divided family. 

Taking control of Hunnic Empire

Attila’s actual birth place is believed to be in Pannonia, a small province of Roman Empire, which is Transdanubia, Hungary in present day. The historical records cite that the Huns people were initially found in East of Rome. Their ancestors in fact are probably believed to be probably nomadic peoples of Mongolian steppe that were referred to as the Xiongnu by the Chinese. Historical data says that Xiongnu launched highly devastating raids among the Chinese and in fact motivated construction of initial sections of Great Wall of China. By around 85 AD, resurgent Han Chinese failed to inflict realistic/ heavy defeats on their attackers, Xiongnu. 

 

By C. 406, the time that Attila was born, the Huns had such a loose organization coalition of the nomadic herder clans and each had a separate king. Rua, Attila’s uncle seized power and became the rule of all the Huns after he killed all other kings. The political change majorly resulted from the increasing reliance of Huns on mercenary payments and tribute from Romans and their reduced dependence on pastoralism. In return Rome paid Rua to fight on their behalf and he also received 350 Ibs worth of gold as an annual tribute from Eastern Roman Empire that was based in Constantinople. As the gold based economy was soon crippling in, people really didn’t find it necessary to follow herds and it was easy to centralize power. 

In 434, Rua died and this paved way for Attila to come to power. Together with Bleda, his brother, they were named as co- rulers of Huns in 434. Attila and Bleda were both nephews of Rua. It is not very clear why Bleda, being older than Attila couldn’t take power solely and succeed his uncle. History speculates that Attila was probably more popular and stronger than his brother. When he murdered his brother about a decade late, Attila declared himself to be the undisputed king of 5^th Century Hunnic and the only ruler of Huns. As a king, Attila made significant efforts in uniting different tribes of Hun kingdom. History notes that he was a very just king to his people. However, it is also said that Attila was a very ruthless and aggressive leader.

The wrath of Attila

According to many historians like Edward Gibbon, Attila was quite notorious for the fierce gaze he had and he rolled his eyes frequently as if he was enjoying the terror inspired by him. Attila also scared other people by making a claim that he owned the real sword of Mars, Roman god of war. 

Being the sole king of Huns, Attila started to exercise his power by invading Eastern Ronan Empire and sieved the Balkans and in 447 threatened an earthquake ravaged Constantinople. Later, the emperor of Romans sued for peace and handed more than 6, 000 pounds of gold as tribute and agreed to be paying an annual tribute of 2100 pounds annually. Fugitive Huns that had earlier on fled to Constantinople also returned back home. These refugees are probably believed to be the nephews or sons of kinds that Rua had killed and Attila impaled them. 

Due to the many attacks that Attila was revenging on the Romans, they at one time tried to assassinate him. This happened in 449 when Constantinople sent Maximunus, an imperial ambassador probably to hold negotiations with Attila about the possibility of creating a buffer zone for separating Roman lands and Hunnic lands and also to have more refugees return back home. The preparations were done for a month and Priscus, a historian by then went along with them and recorded the events of the journey.

After the trains of Romans that was gift laden finally reached the lands of Attila, they were rebuffed rudely. Priscus and the ambassador never realized that their interpreter, Vigilas had been sent actually by the Romans to assassinate Attila after they colluded with Edeco, Attila’s counselor. Edeco soon revealed all the details to Attila who then disgraced the Romans and sent then back home.

In 450, a year after Attila had gotten too close to brushing with death; she was sent a ring and a note by Honoria, a Roman Princess. Honoria was the sister of the reigning emperor Valentinian III who had been promised to be married off to a man that she never liked. The princess wrote to Attila requesting him to rescue her. However, Attila interpreted this to mean a proposal for marriage and accepted happy and promised to pay a dowry of a nice prize that included half the provinces in Western Roman Empire. The Roman emperor never accepted the arrangement and as expected of Attila he put his army together and sent his men out to get his new wife. Quickly, the Huns overran most of the modern day Germany and France. 

Theodosius II, the Roman Emperor paid a tribute to Attila for money protection in 434. However, Attila never honored the peace treaty and broke it a few years later when he destroyed towns that were located along Danube River and later moved into the interior of the Roman Empire where he obliterated Serdica/ Sofia and Naissus/ Nis. Later, he extended his wrath towards Constantinople, Istanbul in modern day and defeated Roman forces on the Eastern front in several battles.

When Attila reached the sea, both south and north of Constantinople, he however realized that it was impossible for his army to launch an attack on great wall of the capital. His army largely consisted of horsemen. To shield himself from the threat posed by Attila, Theodosius II built these great walls specifically to defend his empire from him. Subsequently, Attila then retargeted and changed his plans only to destroy what remained of Eastern forces of Roman Empire. 

Attila later invaded Balkans in 441. Theodosius begged Attila for terms and he had his tribute tripled by the emperor. He however struck the Roman Empire again in 447 and negotiated with the emperor for a new treaty. After Marcian, the new emperor for Eastern Roman and his counterpart Valentinian III failed to pay tribute to him, Attila put together an army of about half a million warriors and launched an invasion on Gaul, present day France. However, Attila defeated him in 451 at Chalons after he banded together with Visigoths.

Legacy and final years 

 Attila died mysteriously after fighting the battle of Catalonian Fields and invading Italy. After returning from Italy, he married a teenage girl by the name Ildiko and the 453 marriage was greatly celebrated with plenty of alcohol and a great feast. After dinner was served, the new couple as usual retired for the night at the wedding chamber. The following month, Attila never showed up and his servants became nervous and opened the door to the chamber. The king lay on the floor dead and some accounts state that he was covered by blood and his new wife was huddling at the corner in great shock. Even though it is unlikely, some accounts say that Attila was murdered by Ildiko.

 

Attila’s empire fell soon after his death. His three sons quickly divided the empire and they were constantly fighting on who was going to become the high king and this led to a streak of losses in battles that followed. History portrays Attila to be a blood thirsty, barbaric and cruel ruler but it is good to keep in mind that most of the accounts of his life come from Eastern Romans who were his enemies. Priscus, the historian who went to the court of Attila during the fateful embassy notes that Attila also was humble, merciful and wise.

He was amazed of the fact that despite being the king of Huns, Attila used some simple wooden table implements and his guests and coutiers drank and ate from gold and silver dishes. Amazingly, Attila never killed the Romans who had come to assassinate him and instead sent them back home in disgrace. In this regard, it is in order to point out that Attila was a more complex king unlike what is revealed by his modern reputation.

Information sources:

www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/attila-the-hun.html‎

www.infoplease.com/biography/var/attilathehun.html‎

Marshal Georgy Zhukov

Marshal Georgy Zhukov

Born in Strelkovka, Russia on December 1, 1896 to peasants, Georgy Zhukov was one of the most famous life long military men in the country. Being a professional soldier, he received many top honorary titles in Russia and was on three occasions bestowed on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. As a child, Zhukov worked in the fields and at age 12 he travelled to Moscow for apprenticeship to a furrier. Four years later, he had completed his apprenticeship and entered the business in 1912. His business career was a short lived one as he was soon conscripted into Russian army in July 1915 for service during World War 1. 

The Russian Civil War

Upon entry into the army, Zhukov was assigned to cavalry where he performed his duties with distinction and won the coveted Cross of St. Georgia twice. This earned him a promotion to become a non commissioned officer due to the bravery he had shown in battle. In 1918, he joined Red army. During the time of Russian Civil War between 1917 and 1921, the brave and decisive solder served as a troop commander first and later took charge of 1^st Cavalry Army.  In conflict, he served with 10^th Dragoon Novgorod Regiment and 106^th Reserve Cavalry and his time in military came to an end after sustaining a bad wound. 

 

When Zhukov was not being engaged in the battle, he was attending military school in Moscow. He was later to join the Communist Party. According to a fellow student at the military school, like no other, Zhukov studied very hard. He was seen crawling over maps on the floor each time he was in his room. By then, he had considered his duty and work to be of significant importance to him. Zhukov was in 1939 asked to lead the military in a battle against Japanese army in Mongolia. He explored the surroundings carefully for two days after which he contacted the Soviets in Moscow and asked them to have their aviation strengthened and send at least a tank brigade and at least three infantry divisions. 

In Mongolia, he planed his mission to be a counter attack and his requests were granted by the Soviet government. On 3 June at night, the Japanese moved their operations through Khalkhin Gol and they occupied Bain- Tsagan Mountain. However, before they settled completely, Zhukov started off his attacks using two tank brigades. With the support of infantry, he was able to encircle the Japanese army and defeated the Japanese troops within few days. For this operation, Zhukov was awarded the title of the Hero of Soviet Union for the first time. 

Zhukov and Stalin

In October 1941, Stalin assigned Zhukov in a battle to defend Moscow. His troop, being led by him was able to firmly hold their position in Moscow and defended the city successfully. He then launched an extreme and successful counter attach on German army. A year later, the best division of German army at the time was quickly approaching Stalingrad. He launched a knockdown army against the Germans at the city outskirts which lasted for over 3 months. Thanks to his command, Russia was able to give Germans the most catastrophic and shameful defeat Germany had suffered in history by then. 

Using his classic tactic of first defense, Zhukov in 1943 coordinated the well known Battle of Kursk. He carefully followed the battle and was able to know the exact time when German army was exhausted and out of breath. At that time, Zhukov launched his successful attack against the Germans. Russian troops in 1941 failed to keep the German army from closing in to Leningrad, present day St. Petersburg. The siege was later lifted in 1943. In all the operations that he led, Zhukov showed courage, great organization talent and his adamant will and desire to win the battle. 

Even though Zhukov’s troops did suffered heavy losses in battle, they were able to capture Berlin with his command in 1945. This historical battle led to him being awarded the title of the Hero of Soviet Union for the third time. On 8 May, Germans agreed to sign the act of capitulation and WWII was over. 

Zhukov played a great role during the World War II. As Soviet forces continued to suffer reverses on nearly all the fronts, he was compelled that he signs Directive of People’s Commissariat Defense No. 3. This directive called for Zhukov to undertake a series of several counter attacks against the enemies. Zhukov argued about the plans which were included in the directive and the government proved him correct years later when Russian forces failed drastically with heavy losses. 

This led to Zhukov being sacked on July 29 as the chief of General Staff when he advised Stalin that they abandon Kiev. Stalin refused to agree to this recommendation proposed by Zhukov which led to the capture of more than 600, 000 men after the Germans encircled the city. Zhukov was that October made the commander of Soviet forces that was charged with the responsibility of defending Moscow, replacing General Semyon who was relieved of his duties. 

To help in providing the city with adequate defense, he recalled the Soviet forces that were stationed in Far East. Together, they planned a brilliant logistical feat and had them transferred across the country quickly. With this reinforcement, Zhukov was able to provide the city with the much needed defense and on December 5, he launched a counter attack that pushed German forces back to between 60 and 150 miles away from the city. Having saved the city successfully, Zhukov was later made the deputy commander in chief for the Russian army and was sent to southwestern from where he took charge of defending Stalingrad.

While General Vasiliy Chuikov led forces within the city to battle against the German forces, Zhukov together with General Aleksandr Vasilevsky were on the other hand planning for Operation Uranus. 

He designed a massive counter attack that aimed at surrounding and enveloping German 6^th Army based in Stalingrad. Operation Uranus was launched on November 19 and the plan was executed as the Soviet Forces staged attacks on the south and north of the city. The German forces were fully surrounded by Zhukov and his troops which led to their surrendering on February 2. As this operation at Stalingrad was coming to a conclusion, Zhukov was charged with the responsibility of overseeing Operation Spark that opened way in January 1943 to Leningrad, the besieged city. 

During Operation Spark, Zhukov used the strategy of guessing the intentions of Germans where he advised Soviet Union to take a defensive stance while letting Wehrmacht to exhaust itself.

Final years and Legacy

General Dwight Eisenhower, the commander of Allied offensive on Western Front said that due to the success of war in Europe, the United Nations really owns a great debt to Zhukov for his contribution in the war. In Moscow, Zhukov himself led the Russian Victory Parade where he rode on a white stallion on Red Square via the parade ground. It was the intention of Stalin that he would lead the victory’s parade although he had to give up his ambitions due to poor riding skills. Unfortunately, this only ended up with Stalin being more jealous towards Zhukov. Stalin didn’t like the fact that the name Zhukov was behind all major war victories in Russia. Of all his battles, Zhukov was highly successful and the only time that he was forced to stop was after their supply line becoming too extended. 

 

The whole of USSR hailed and adored Zhukov as a great hero as he didn’t loose even one battle. However, later, a number of authors in Russia and other parts described Zhukov as a very cruel general and commander who did anything it took to succeed at his missions. He had no sympathy or thought for the human life. Soon after the war ended, Zhukov became supreme military commander for Soviet Occupation Zone planned by Russia in German. A year later, Zhukov was removed by Stalin from the post as he felt that Zhukov’s popularity was becoming a threat to him. Later, he was assigned to Odessa Military District which was relatively insignificant. 

 

In 1953, Stalin died and Zhukov was now able to enjoy favors from the new leader, first becoming the deputy minister for defense and in 1955, he became Russia’s minister for defense. In 1957, Nikita Khruschchev removed Zhukov from the ministry even though Zhukov was his supporter. In June 1957, he was removed from Central Committee after arguing with Nikita regarding army policy. Despite being greatly liked by Aleksei Kosygin and Leonid Brezhnez, this was the last role he ever served in the government but he still remained to be a top favorite among the Russian people.

Even though little is known about the personal life of Zhukov, historical records show that he had three daughters from his two marriages. On 18 June 1974, Zhukov died and was buried on Red Square just next to Kremlin walls.