First Anglo-Burmese War
First Anglo-Burmese War ပထမ အင်္ဂလိပ် မြန်မာ စစ် | |
---|---|
Part of Cachar and Jaintia | |
Result |
British victory[3]
|
Territorial changes |
Burma cedes Tenasserim; loses influence in Cachar and Jaintia; pays one million pound sterling in indemnity |
- Burmese Shan States
Sir Archibald Campbell
Joseph Wanton Morrison (Died from disease)
Co-belligerent:
Rama III
Chaophraya Mahayotha
Phraya Surasena
Phraya Chumphon
Maha Bandula †
Maha Ne Myo †
Minkyaw Zeya Thura
72 percent of European casualties died from disease (25 percent killed in action)[4]
Over 3,500 Indian and others
Total: 15,000 dead[5]
The First Anglo-Burmese War (
The war was one of the most expensive in British Indian history. Fifteen thousand European and Indian soldiers died, together with an unknown number of Burmese military and civilian casualties. The high cost of the campaign to the British, 5–13 million pounds sterling (£500 million – £1.38 billion as of 2023)[8][9] contributed to a severe economic crisis in British India which cost the East India Company its remaining privileges.[10]
Although once strong enough to threaten the interests of the
Causes
By 1822, Burmese expansion into
Cross-border raids into these newly acquired territories from British territories and spheres of influence vexed the Burmese. Convinced that war was inevitable, Burmese commander-in-chief
In September 1823, the casus belli was Burma occupying Shalpuri Island near Chittagong, which was claimed by the East India Company.[12]
In January 1824, Burma sent one of their top generals, Thado Thiri Maha Uzana, into Cachar and Jaintia to disperse the rebels. The British sent in their own force to meet the Burmese in Cachar, resulting in the first clashes between the two. The war formally broke out on 5 March 1824, following border clashes in Arakan.
The British reason for the war was, in addition to expanding British
Anglo-French rivalry had already played a role during Alaungpaya's endeavours of unifying the kingdom.[15] The Burmese in these wars were advancing into smaller states not ruled by the British or the subject of expansionist goals by the British before the war began, and the British were not so much preoccupied by the refugee problem initially as by the threat posed by the French until further incidents forced their hand.[15]
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Borders of British Bengal in 1814
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New territories added through the war (1855 map)
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A British depiction of Bagyidaw purportedly ordering his troops to wrest Bengal from the East India Company
War
Western theatre
The commander in chief of the Burmese army, Maha Bandula, was supported by twelve of the country's best divisions, including one under his personal command, all totaling 10,000 men and 500 horses. His general staff included some of the country's most decorated soldiers, men such as the Lord of Salay and the governors of Danyawaddy, Wuntho, and Taungoo. Bandula's plan was to attack the British on two fronts: Chittagong from Arakan in the southeast, and Sylhet from Cachar and Jaintia in the north.[11] Bandula personally commanded the Arakan theatre while Uzana commanded the Cachar and Jaintia theater.[9]
Early in the war, battle-hardened Burmese forces were able to push back the British forces because the Burmese, who had been fighting in the jungles of Manipur and Assam for nearly a decade, were more familiar with the terrain, which represented "a formidable obstacle to the march of a European force".[6] Uzana had already defeated the British units in Cachar and Jaintia in January 1824.
In May, Burmese forces led by U Sa, Lord Myawaddy (about 4,000)[16] fought their way into Bengal, defeating British troops at the Battle of Ramu, 10 miles (16 km) east of Cox's Bazar, on 17 May 1824.[17] Sa's column then joined Bandula's column on the march to defeat British forces at Gadawpalin, and went on to capture Cox's Bazar.[18] The Burmese success caused extreme panic in Chittagong and in Calcutta.[19] Across the eastern Bengal, the European inhabitants formed themselves into militia forces. A large portion of the crews of the East India Company's ships was landed to assist in the defense of Calcutta.[20]
But Bandula, not wanting to overstretch, stopped U Sa from proceeding to Chittagong. Had Bandula marched on to Chittagong, which unbeknown to him was lightly held, he could have taken it and the way to Calcutta would have opened. Had they been able to threaten Calcutta, the Burmese could have obtained more favourable terms in the subsequent peace negotiations.[7]
Inside Burma
Battle of Yangon (May–December 1824)
Instead of fighting in hard terrain, the British took the fight to the Burmese mainland. On 11 May 1824, a British naval force of over 10,000 men (5,000 British soldiers and over 5,000 Indian sepoys) entered the harbour of Yangon (Rangoon), taking the Burmese by surprise.
King Bagyidaw ordered a near-complete withdrawal from the western front—Bandula from Arakan and Bengal, and Uzana from Assam, Cachar, and Jaintia to meet the British in Yangon. In August, in the midst of monsoon season, Bandula and his army crossed the
By November, Bandula commanded a force of 30,000 massed outside Yangon. Bandula believed that he could take on a well-armed British force of 10,000 head-on. Although the Burmese were numerically superior, only 15,000 of the 30,000 had muskets. The Burmese cannons fired only balls whereas the British cannons fired exploding shells.[21] Unbeknown to him, the British had just received the first shipment of Congreve rockets, a new weapon in the war that the Burmese had never seen.[24][25] More ominously for the Burmese, the speedy march through the hilly regions of Rakhine Yoma and Assamese ranges had left their troops exhausted.
On 30 November, in what turned out be the biggest mistake of his career, Bandula ordered a frontal attack on British positions. The British, with superior weaponry, withstood several Burmese charges at the Shwedagon fort, cutting down men by the thousands. By 7 December, the British troops, supported by rocket fire, had begun to gain the upper hand. On 15 December, the Burmese were driven out of their last remaining stronghold at Kokine.[25]
In the end, only 7,000 of the 30,000 Burmese soldiers returned to the royal army.[21] Campbell's despatches stated the Burmese suffered some 6,000 casualties over the fifteen day battle. The rest of the Burmese, most of them conscript fled and returned to their homes. The British losses were considered heavy in proportion as well: 40 officers and 500 other ranks were killed or wounded in combat with a much larger number ill from disease.[26]
Battle of Danubyu (March–April 1825)
Bandula fell back to his rear base at
In March 1825, a four thousand strong British force supported by a flotilla of gunboats attacked Danubyu. The first British attack failed, and Bandula attempted a counter-charge, with foot soldiers, cavalry and 17 fighting elephants. But the elephants were stopped by rocket fire and the cavalry found it impossible to move against the sustained British artillery fire.[25]
On 1 April, the British launched a major attack, pounding down on the town with their heavy guns and raining their rockets on every part of the Burmese line. Bandula was killed by a mortar shell. Bandula had walked around the fort to boost the morale of his men, in his full insignia under a glittering golden umbrella, disregarding the warnings of his generals that he would prove an easy target for the enemy's guns. After Bandula's death, the Burmese evacuated Danubyu.[25]
Arakan campaign (February–April 1825)
U Sa was left to command the remaining Burmese troops in Arakan after Bandula's death and the main battalions were ordered to withdraw from Arakan by Bagyidaw to meet the British invasion in Yangon in August 1824. Sa held on to Arakan throughout 1824 while fighting was concentrated in Yangon.
After Gen.
On 29 March 1825, the British launched their attack on Mrauk-U. (At the same time, Campbell also launched an attack on Bandula's positions in the Battle of Danubyu.) After a few days of fighting, the Burmese forces at Mrauk-U were defeated on 1 April, coincidentally the same day Maha Bandula fell at Danubyu. Sa and the remaining Burmese forces evacuated and left Arakan. The British proceeded to occupy the rest of Arakan.[16]
Armistice
On 17 September 1825, an armistice was concluded for one month. In the course of the summer, General Joseph Wanton Morrison had conquered the province of Arakan; in the north, the Burmese were expelled from Assam; and the British had made some progress in Cachar, though their advance was finally impeded by the thick forests and jungle.[citation needed]
Battle of Prome (November–December 1825)
In November 1825, the Burmese decided to throw everything they had into a last-ditch effort. Starting in mid-November, the Burmese forces, consisting mainly of
The defeat in Prome effectively left the Burmese army in disarray, and it was in constant retreat from then on. On 26 December, they sent a flag of truce to the British camp. Negotiations having commenced, the Burmese capitulated to the British terms to end the war, signing the Treaty of Yandabo in February 1826.[citation needed]
Treaty of Yandabo
The British demanded and the Burmese agreed to:[6][7]
- Cede to the British Assam, Manipur, Taninthayi (Tenasserim) coast south of the Salween River
- Cease all interference in Cachar and Jaintia
- Pay an indemnity of one million pounds sterlingin four installments
- Allow for an exchange of diplomatic representatives between Ava and Calcutta
- Sign a commercial treaty in due course
- The first installment of indemnity was to be paid immediately, the second installment within the first 100 days from signing of the treaty, and the rest within two years. Until the second installment was paid, the British would not leave Yangon.[7]
- Cede to the British Assam, Manipur,
The Treaty of Yandabo was signed by General Campbell from the British side and Governor of Legaing Maha Min Hla Kyaw Htin from the Burmese side on 24 February 1826.[29] The Burmese paid 250,000 pounds sterling in gold and silver bullion as the first installment of the indemnity, and also released British prisoners of war. The war was thus brought to an end, and the British army moved south. The British army remained in the territories surrendered to it under the treaty and in the territories such as the Rangoon area which were occupied for several years to guarantee compliance with the financial terms of the treaty.[citation needed]
Aftermath
While both nations suffered heavy military and financial losses, the treaty imposed a more severe financial burden on the Burmese Kingdom and effectively left it crippled.
The British terms in the negotiations were strongly influenced by the heavy cost in lives and money which the war had entailed. Some 40,000 British and Indians troops had been involved, of whom 15,000 died.[5][30] British casualties were blamed on poor planning and logistics as only a quarter of the casualties were from the fighting while almost 70% were from tropical diseases.[4] In the Arakan Campaign alone, 659 Europeans out of 1,500 and some 3,500 Indians out of a total of 8,000 died in hospital.[31] The 1st Madras European Regiment lost 600 out of 900 men in two years. Despite the official reports' emphasis on the disparity of death from disease and combat casualties, Captain Frederick Doveton commented on the British casualties that they were nevertheless high for the troops that engaged, "in the case before us the proportion of killed and wounded to the numbers engaged and space of time occupied may bear in comparison to the palmy and bloody days of Talavera and Waterloo!"[26]
The cost to British India's finances had been almost ruinous, amounting to approximately 13 million pounds sterling. The cost of war contributed to a severe economic crisis in India, which by 1833 had bankrupted the Bengal agency houses and cost the British East India Company its remaining privileges, including the monopoly of trade to China.[10]
For the Burmese, the treaty was a total humiliation and a long-lasting financial burden. A whole generation of men had been wiped out in battle. The world the Burmese knew, of conquest and martial pride, built on the back of the impressive military success of the previous seventy-five years, had come crashing down.[32] The Court of Ava could not come to terms with the loss of the territories and made unsuccessful attempts to get them back. An uninvited British resident in Ava was a daily reminder of the humiliating defeat.[10]
In addition, the burden of indemnity left the Burmese royal treasury bankrupt for years. The indemnity of one million pounds sterling was considered a large sum in Europe at that time. It appeared even more daunting when converted to the
The British would wage two less expensive wars against the weaker Burmese in 1852 and 1885, and annex Burma by 1885.
British order of battle
Under the command of General Cotton:[33]
- British Regiments of Foot: 89th (260 men)[33]regiments
- Madras Native Infantry: 18th and 28th regiments
- 250 Royal Engineers[33]
- 100 Pioneers[33]
- Some artillery
Under the command of General Campbell:
- British Regiments of Foot: 13th, 38th, 47th, and 87th regiments
- 2nd Battalion, The Madras European Regiment
- Madras Native Infantry: 3rd, 7th, 9th, 12th, 18th, 25th, 26th, 30th, 34th, 43rd, Regiments
- 1st Battalion Madras Pioneers
- Detachment Bengal European Foot Artillery
- Bengal Native Infantry: 13th (Light Infantry), 38th, 40th Regiments
Defence at Prome:
- Four Madras Native Infantry regiments
In fiction
- On the Irrawaddy by G. A. Henty is a fictional account of the First Anglo-Burmese War.[34]
- 'Marching to Ava, A Story of the First Burmese War' by Henry Charles Moore [1904] is a fictional account of the campaign featuring fictional character Guy Clifford along with Sir Archibald Campbell as the Commanding Officer
- The first few chapters of the novel The Sabre's Edge by Allan Mallinson are set during the First Anglo-Burmese War.[citation needed]
See also
- Burmese invasions of Assam
- Barrackpore Mutiny of 1824
- Burma–France relations
- History of Burma
- Konbaung dynasty
- Sino–Burmese War (1765–1769)
- Second Anglo-Burmese War
- Third Anglo-Burmese War
References
- ^ Wood, W.A.R. (1924). A History of Siam. London: T. Fisher Unwin, Ltd. pp. 276–277. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ Van Roy, Edward (2010). "Safe Haven: Mon Refugees at the Capitals of Siam from the 1500s to the 1800s" (PDF). Journal of the Siam Society. 98: 172–173. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ Sophonpanich, Ithi. "The Anxieties of Empire: British Debate on the Failure of John Crawfurd's Mission to Siam, c. 1820–1830". Journal of the Siam Society: 135. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
- ^ a b Robertson, Thomas Campbell (1853). Political incidents of the First Burmese War. Harvard University: Richard Bentley. p. 252.
- ^ ISBN 8120725069.
- ^ a b c Phayre, Lt. Gen. Sir Arthur P. (1967). History of Burma (2nd ed.). London: Sunil Gupta. pp. 236–237.
- ^ a b c d e f Maung Htin Aung (1967). A History of Burma. New York and London: Cambridge University Press. pp. 212, 214–215.
- ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-374-16342-6.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-86064-171-8.
- ^ a b c Thant Myint-U, The Making of Modern Burma, pp. 18–19
- ^ "The Somerset Light Infantry: A History". Archived from the original on 17 February 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- ISBN 978-0-19-533756-3.
- ^ Michael Symes (1795). An Account of an Embassy to the Kingdom of Ava (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
- ^ a b c D.G.E. Hall (1960). Burma (PDF). Hutchinson University Library. pp. 96–97, 78–85, 104. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 September 2011.
- ^ a b Lt. Gen. Sir Arthur P. Phayre (1967). History of Burma (2nd ed.). London: Susil Gupta. pp. 236–247.
- ^ GE Harvey (1925). "Notes: Fire-Arms". History of Burma. London: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd. p. 341.
- ^ "Myawaddy Mingyi U Sa" (PDF). Yangon: Working People's Daily. 16 May 1988. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
- ^ Maung Htin Aung (1967). A History of Burma. New York and London: Cambridge University Press.
- ^ India Intelligence Branch Subject (1911). Frontier And Overseas Expeditions From India. India Intelligence Branch. p. 13.
- ^ a b c Htin Aung, pp. 212–214
- ^ Phayre, pp. 236–237
- ^ a b Myint-U, River of Lost Footsteps, pp. 114–117
- ^ a b Perrett, pp. 176–177
- ^ a b c d e Myint-U, River of Lost Footsteps, pp. 118–122
- ^ a b Doveton, Frederick (1852). Reminiscences of the Burmese War in 1824–5–6. New York: Cambridge. pp. 279, 356.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-374-16342-6.
- ^ Lt. Gen. Sir Arthur P. Phayre (1967). History of Burma (2nd ed.). London: Sunil Gupta. pp. 252–254.
- ISBN 978-0-521-79914-0.
- ^ Cooler, Richard M. (1977). British romantic views of the first Anglo-Burmese war, 1824–1826. Decalb: Northern Illinois University. p. 8.
- S2CID 163316258.
- ISBN 978-0-374-16342-6.
- ^ a b c d e Oriental herald and journal of general literature, Volume 9. New York Public Library: S.N. 1826. p. 443.
- ^ "On The Irrawaddy". Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
Further reading
- Hall, D.G.E. (1945). Europe and Burma, 1824–26. Oxford University Press.
- Hall, D.G.E. (1960). Burma. 3rd ed. London: Hutchinson University Library.
- Blackburn, Terence R. (2009). The Defeat of Ava: The First Anglo-Burmese War, 1824–26 (Hardcover ed.). A. P. H. Publishing. ISBN 978-81-313-0544-7.
- Htin Aung, Maung (1967). A History of Burma. New York: Columbia University Press.
- Myint-U, Thant (2006). The River of Lost Footsteps: Histories of Burma. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
- Harvey, G. E. (1925). History of Burma: From the Earliest Times to 10 March 1824, The Beginning of the English Conquest. London: Longmans, Green, and Co. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- Snodgrass, John James (1827). Narrative of the Burmese War: Detailing the Operations of Major-General Sir Archibald Campbell, 1st Baronet's Army, From its landing at Rangoon in May 1824, to the conclusion of a Treaty of Peace at Yandaboo in February 1826. John Murray, London. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
- Robertson, Thomas Campbell (1853). Political Incidents of the First Burmese War. London: Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- Trant, Thomas Abercrombie (1827). Two Years in Ava: From May 1824, to May 1826. London: John Murray, Albemarle Street. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- Cox, Hiram (1821). Journal of a Residence in the Burmhan Empire and More Particularly at the Court of Amarapoorah. London: John Warren. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- Doveton, F. B. (1852). Reminiscences of the Burmese War, in 1824–5–6. London: Allen and Co. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- Gouger, Henry (1860). Personal Narrative of Two Years' Imprisonment in Burmah. London: John Murray, Albemarle Street. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- Phayre, Sir Arthur P. (1883). History of Burma: Including Burma Proper, Pegu, Taungu, Tenasserim, and Arakan, from the Earliest Time to the End of the First War with British India. London: Trübner & Co., Ludgate Hill. Retrieved 29 October 2019.