Mahabandoola
Encyclopedia
General Maha Bandula was commander-in-chief
of the Burmese military forces
from 1821 until his death in 1825 in the First Anglo-Burmese War. Bandula was a key figure in the Konbaung dynasty
's policy of expansionism in Manipur
and Assam
that ultimately resulted in the war and the beginning of the downfall of the dynasty. Nonetheless, the general, who died in action, is celebrated as a national hero by the Burmese for his resistance to the British. Today, some of the most prominent places in the country are named after him.
Yit in 1781 in Dabayin
, the firstborn son of a minor gentry family of Pauk Taw and his wife, Nyein. As customary with Burmese boys of the era, Maung Yit received education at the local Buddhist monastery. He had to take on early responsibilities in his youth after the death of his father. He worked the fields with his mother and looked after his two younger brothers, Maung Aye and Maung Mya, and younger sister Ma Doke.
, then the kingdom's capital, to serve as the lowest grade retainer in the royal service of Crown Prince Thado Minsaw
, who had his hometown Dababyin in fief. Maung Yit quickly rose through the ranks, first under Thado Minsaw and later his son Prince of Sagaing, who succeeded as crown prince in 1808. He became first the governor of Dabayin, and the governor of Ahlone-Monywa three years later.
in June 1819. Maha Bandula's first major military action as senior commander came soon after in Manipur
. The small kingdom in the west was a rebellion-prone protectorate between 1758 and 1782, and had been retaken by King Bodawpaya
since 1813. When the raja of Manipur, Marjit Singh, who was placed on the throne by the Burmese only six years earlier, did not attend the new king's coronation ceremony or send an embassy bearing tribute, as all vassal kings had an obligation to do, Bagyidaw sent an expeditionary force to reclaim Manipur.
In October 1819, the Burmese forces invaded Manipur, under the overall command of Thado Minye Kyawhtin, the king's brother. Maha Bandula was one of two deputy commander-in-chiefs (Sitke). He commanded an infantry force of 5000 men and 500 cavalry, followed by Gen. Ne Myo Thura Minhla Nawrahta's 20,000 infantrymen and 2500 cavalry. The Manipuris made their stand near their capital. The fort, surrounded by high hills on two sides and heavily fortified by stout timber gates on the remaining side, was said to be nearly impregnable. Bandula sent in commandos who scaled the hills at night and broke open the stout gates, allowing the Burmese to take the fort and the capital. Raja Marjit Singh fled to the neighboring state of Cachar, which was ruled by his brother Chourjit Singh
. The daring operation made him famous. The king granted him the title Ne Myo Thura Yegaung.
After the conquest, the Burmese left a garrison in Manipur, backed by a long supply line up the Chindwin river
.
In February 1821, a Burmese army of 20,000 (including 10,000 Hkamti
Shan and Kachin levies) crossed the snow-clad mountains to Assam from their northernmost forts along the Hukawng valley
. After nearly a year and a half of hard fought battles in some of the most difficult terrains in the world, the Burmese forces finally defeated Chandra Kanta Singh and the Assamese army in July 1822, and made Assam a Burmese province under a military governor-general, extinguishing the 600-year-old Ahom
court once and for all. The defeated Assamese king fled to British territory of Bengal
. The British ignored Bandula's demands to surrender the fugitive king, and instead sent reinforcement units to frontier forts. Maha Bandula left a military garrison of 2000 men commanded by Gen. Maha Thilawa, and returned to Ava. It was after the conquest of Assam that the former Maung Yit received the title Thado Maha Bandula (or simply Maha Bandula), as he would be known from then on.
. Calcutta unilaterally declared Cachar and Jaintia British protectorates, and sent in troops. Cross border raids into these newly acquired territories from British territories and spheres of influence vexed the Burmese. Convinced that war was inevitable, Bandula became a main proponent of offensive policy against the British. Bandula was part of the war party at Bagyidaw's court, which also included Queen Me Nu and her brother, the lord of Salin. Bandula believed that a decisive victory could allow Ava to consolidate its gains in its new western empire in Arakan, Manipur, Assam, Cachar and Jaintia, as well as take over eastern Bengal.
In January 1824, Bandula sent in one of his top lieutenants Thado Thiri Maha Uzana into Cachar and Jaintia to chase away 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.
from Arakan in the southeast, and Sylhet
from Cachar and Jaintia in the north. Bandula personally commanded the Arakan theater while Uzana commanded Cachar and Jaintia theater.
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". Uzana had already defeated the British units in Cachar and Jaintia in January 1824. In May, Burmese forces led by Lord Myawaddy defeated units of British India Army in the Battle of Ramu, inside British territory, causing a great panic in Calcutta. But Bandula, not wanting to overstretch, stopped Myawaddy from proceeding ahead 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 been open.(The Burmese, because of the disparity in arms, could not have won the war in any case. But had they been able to threaten Calcutta, the Burmese could have obtained more favorable terms in the peace negotiations later on.)
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 (5000 British soldiers and over 5000 Indian sepoys) entered the harbor of Yangon, taking the Burmese by surprise. The Burmese pursuing a scotched earth policy, left an empty city, and instead chose to fortify positions along an east-west 10-mile arc outside the city. The British forces led by General Archibald Campbell
took position inside a fortified Shwedagon Pagoda compound. The British launched attacks on Burmese lines, and by July 1824, had successfully pushed the Burmese towards Kamayut
, five miles from Shwedagon. Burmese efforts to retake Shwedagon in September failed.
King Bagyidaw ordered a near complete withdrawal from the western front—Bandula from Arakan and Bengal, and Uzana from Assam, Cachar and Jaintia—and meet the enemy in Yangon. In August, in the midst of monsoon season, Bandula and his army crossed the Arakan Yoma
. Even in good weather, moving tens of thousands of men over the 3000-foot-high Arakan hills or 10,000-foot-high Assamese ranges, heavily forested and with only narrow footpaths, open to attack by tigers and leopards, would be difficult. To do this at the height of the drenching monsoon season was no easy task. Yet Bandula (from Arakan) and Uzana (from Assam) in a testament to their generalship and logistical skill, managed to do just that. The king granted both Bandula and Uzana the title Agga Maha Thenapati, the highest possible military rank. Bandula was also made the governor of Sittaung
.
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. Unbeknown to him, the British had just received the first shipment of the newest weapon in war that the Burmese had never seen–Congreve rocket
s.
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 far superior weaponry, withstood several Burmese gallant charges at the Shwedagon fort, cutting down men by 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. In the end, only 7000 of the 30000 Burmese soldiers returned.
, a small town not far from Yangon, in the Irrawaddy delta
. Having lost experienced men in Yangon, the Burmese forces now numbered about 10,000, of mixed quality, including some of the king's best soldiers but also many untrained and barely armed conscripts. The stockade itself stretched a mile along the riverbank, and was made up of solid teak beams no less than 15 feet high.
In March 1825, a four thousand strong British force supported by a flotilla of gun boats 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.
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, discarding 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.
, the Court of Ava agreed to (1) cede to the British Arakan (Rakhine), Tenasserim (Tanintharyi), Manipur and Assam, (2) recognize Cachar and Jaintia as British territories, and (3) pay an indemnity of one million pound sterling in four installments.
The First Anglo-Burmese War was the longest and most expensive war in British Indian history. Fifteen thousand European and Indian soldiers died, together with a higher (almost certainly much higher) number of Burmese soldiers. The campaign cost the British anywhere from five million pounds sterling to 13 million pounds sterling (roughly 18.5 billion to 48 billion in 2006 US dollars, measured as a percentage of the country's economy) that led to a severe economic crisis in British India in 1833.
But for the Burmese, it was to be the very beginning of the end of their independence. The Third Burmese Empire, for a brief moment the terror of British India, was effectively undone, crippled and no longer a threat to the eastern frontier of British India. The Burmese would be crushed for years to come by repaying the large indemnity of one million pounds (then US$5 million), a large sum even in Europe of that time. The British would make two more wars against the much weaker Burmese, and swallow up the entire country by 1885.
The Burmese remember Bandula's last words in this way:
Ironically, this very courage to take on the enemy head on and use the daring tactics that led to the improbable victories in Manipur and Assam would prove to be his undoing against the much better armed and world conquering British, who had defeated Napoleon's armies only a decade earlier. For all of his fame, Bandula failed to change tactics in face of far superior British weaponry. He failed to imagine the use of guerrilla tactics or any innovative strategy. Had he pursued guerrilla style tactics, the ultimate outcome of the war might not still have changed but the terms might have been less severe.
who defeated the Qing dynasty's invasions in 1766, 1767 and 1769, Gen. Maha Nawrahta
and Gen. Ne Myo Thihapate
, who dismembered Siam in 1767, or King Bayinnaung
, the soldier king, who captured much of western mainland South East Asia in the 16th century. Then again, they never fought against the British, the world superpower of the day.
Rather, Bandula's continued popularity is because of his courage to fight on against an overwhelmingly superior enemy. Perhaps, it is also because the Burmese view Bandula as the proxy for the last glory days of the Third Burmese Empire. The Burmese remember that Bandula's death was followed by a series of one ignominious setback after another that eventually led to the loss of sovereignty in 1885. Indeed, some would say the ignominious setbacks continue up to this day. For whatever reason, Maha Bandula remains the most famous general in Burmese history.
Team Bandula is one of five student teams into which all students in every Burmese primary and secondary school are organized. The other four teams are named after the greatest kings of Burmese history: Team Anawrahta
, Team Kyansittha
, Team Bayinnaung
and Team Alaungpaya
.
Some of the most prominent places in Myanmar are named after the fallen general.
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
of the Burmese military forces
Royal Burmese Army
The Royal Burmese Army was the armed forces of the Burmese monarchy from the 9th to 19th centuries. It refers to the military forces of the Pagan Dynasty, the Ava Kingdom, the Toungoo Dynasty and the Konbaung Dynasty in chronological order...
from 1821 until his death in 1825 in the First Anglo-Burmese War. Bandula was a key figure in the Konbaung dynasty
Konbaung dynasty
The Konbaung Dynasty was the last dynasty that ruled Burma from 1752 to 1885. The dynasty created the second largest empire in Burmese history, and continued the administrative reforms begun by the Toungoo dynasty, laying the foundations of modern state of Burma...
's policy of expansionism in Manipur
Manipur
Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...
and Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
that ultimately resulted in the war and the beginning of the downfall of the dynasty. Nonetheless, the general, who died in action, is celebrated as a national hero by the Burmese for his resistance to the British. Today, some of the most prominent places in the country are named after him.
Early life
Maha Bandula was born MaungBurmese name
Burmese names lack the serial quality of most modern names. The Burmese people have no customary patronymic or matronymic system and thus there is no surname at all. In Burmese culture, people can change their name at will, often with no government oversight, to reflect a change in the course of...
Yit in 1781 in Dabayin
Dabayin
-History:Located a few kilometers west of Shwebo, the birthplace of Konbaung dynasty, Dabayin was a major source of many Konbaung soldiers and officials, including the country's most famous general Maha Bandula. Having Dabayin as fief was a powerful symbol before one became king. King Naungdawgyi...
, the firstborn son of a minor gentry family of Pauk Taw and his wife, Nyein. As customary with Burmese boys of the era, Maung Yit received education at the local Buddhist monastery. He had to take on early responsibilities in his youth after the death of his father. He worked the fields with his mother and looked after his two younger brothers, Maung Aye and Maung Mya, and younger sister Ma Doke.
Service
Later in his youth, Maung Yit moved to AmarapuraAmarapura
Amarapura is a former capital of Myanmar, and now a township of Mandalay. Amarapura is bounded by the Ayeyarwady river in the west, Chanmyathazi township in the north, and the city of Innwa in the south...
, then the kingdom's capital, to serve as the lowest grade retainer in the royal service of Crown Prince Thado Minsaw
Thado Minsaw
Thado Minsaw was crown prince of Burma from 13 July 1783 to 9 April 1808, during the reign of his father King Bodawpaya of Konbaung dynasty. Prince of Shwedaung and Dabayin was entrusted by the king to manage the day-to-day affairs of the kingdom, and when necessary, to lead the Royal Army against...
, who had his hometown Dababyin in fief. Maung Yit quickly rose through the ranks, first under Thado Minsaw and later his son Prince of Sagaing, who succeeded as crown prince in 1808. He became first the governor of Dabayin, and the governor of Ahlone-Monywa three years later.
Manipur (1819)
Maha Bandula became a senior commander of the Burmese military forces after his lord the Prince of Sagaing ascended to the Burmese throne as King BagyidawBagyidaw
Bagyidaw Bagyidaw's reign saw the First Anglo-Burmese War , which marked the beginning of the end of the highly militaristic Konbaung dynasty. Bagyidaw inherited the largest Burmese empire, second only to King Bayinnaung's, but also one that shared a long ill-defined borders with British India...
in June 1819. Maha Bandula's first major military action as senior commander came soon after in Manipur
Manipur
Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...
. The small kingdom in the west was a rebellion-prone protectorate between 1758 and 1782, and had been retaken by King Bodawpaya
Bodawpaya
Bodawpaya was the sixth king of the Konbaung Dynasty of Burma. Born Maung Shwe Waing and later Badon Min, he was the fourth son of Alaungpaya, founder of the dynasty and the Third Burmese Empire. He was proclaimed king after deposing his nephew Phaungkaza Maung Maung, son of his oldest brother...
since 1813. When the raja of Manipur, Marjit Singh, who was placed on the throne by the Burmese only six years earlier, did not attend the new king's coronation ceremony or send an embassy bearing tribute, as all vassal kings had an obligation to do, Bagyidaw sent an expeditionary force to reclaim Manipur.
In October 1819, the Burmese forces invaded Manipur, under the overall command of Thado Minye Kyawhtin, the king's brother. Maha Bandula was one of two deputy commander-in-chiefs (Sitke). He commanded an infantry force of 5000 men and 500 cavalry, followed by Gen. Ne Myo Thura Minhla Nawrahta's 20,000 infantrymen and 2500 cavalry. The Manipuris made their stand near their capital. The fort, surrounded by high hills on two sides and heavily fortified by stout timber gates on the remaining side, was said to be nearly impregnable. Bandula sent in commandos who scaled the hills at night and broke open the stout gates, allowing the Burmese to take the fort and the capital. Raja Marjit Singh fled to the neighboring state of Cachar, which was ruled by his brother Chourjit Singh
Chourjit Singh
Chourjit Singh was a Manipuri royal who fought for power during the internal power struggles in Manipur after the death of Ching-Thang Khomba.-References:Hodson, Thomas Callan.The Meitheis. Harvard University, 1908....
. The daring operation made him famous. The king granted him the title Ne Myo Thura Yegaung.
After the conquest, the Burmese left a garrison in Manipur, backed by a long supply line up the Chindwin river
Chindwin River
The Chindwin River is a river in Burma , and the largest tributary of the country's chief river the Ayeyarwady . It flows entirely within Burma and is known as Ning-thi to the Manipuris.-Source:...
.
Assam (1821–1822)
Like Manipur, Assam was one of Bodawpaya's acquisitions late in his rule. The Burmese first invaded the Ahom kingdom in March 1817, and installed a puppet king Chandra Kanta Singh. The puppet king was dethroned soon after the Burmese troops left the country, necessitating their return in early 1819 in the final days of the reign of King Bodawpaya. Nevertheless, in 1821, the puppet king switched allegiance to the British and turned against the Burmese. King Bagyidaw again turned to Bandula to reclaim Assam.In February 1821, a Burmese army of 20,000 (including 10,000 Hkamti
Khamti
The Khamti, whose name is also spelled as Hkamti by the Burmese and Khampti by the Assamese, is a sub-group of the Shan people found in the Sagaing Division, Hkamti District in northwestern Burma as well as Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh in India. Smaller numbers can be found in parts of Assam...
Shan and Kachin levies) crossed the snow-clad mountains to Assam from their northernmost forts along the Hukawng valley
Hukawng Valley
The Hukawng Valley is an isolated valley in Burma, roughly in area. It is located in Tanaing Township in the Myitkyina District of Kachin State in the northernmost part of the country.-Rivers:...
. After nearly a year and a half of hard fought battles in some of the most difficult terrains in the world, the Burmese forces finally defeated Chandra Kanta Singh and the Assamese army in July 1822, and made Assam a Burmese province under a military governor-general, extinguishing the 600-year-old Ahom
Ahom kingdom
The Ahom Kingdom was a medieval kingdom in the Brahmaputra valley in Assam that maintained its sovereignty for nearly 600 years and successfully resisted Mughal expansion in North-East India...
court once and for all. The defeated Assamese king fled to British territory of Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
. The British ignored Bandula's demands to surrender the fugitive king, and instead sent reinforcement units to frontier forts. Maha Bandula left a military garrison of 2000 men commanded by Gen. Maha Thilawa, and returned to Ava. It was after the conquest of Assam that the former Maung Yit received the title Thado Maha Bandula (or simply Maha Bandula), as he would be known from then on.
First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826)
By 1822, the conquests of Manipur and Assam had brought a long border between British India and the kingdom of Ava. The British, based in Calcutta, had their own designs on the region, and actively supported rebellions in Manipur, Assam and ArakanRakhine State
Rakhine State is a Burmese state. Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State in the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region in the east, the Bay of Bengal to the west, and the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh to the northwest. It is located approximately between...
. Calcutta unilaterally declared Cachar and Jaintia British protectorates, and sent in troops. Cross border raids into these newly acquired territories from British territories and spheres of influence vexed the Burmese. Convinced that war was inevitable, Bandula became a main proponent of offensive policy against the British. Bandula was part of the war party at Bagyidaw's court, which also included Queen Me Nu and her brother, the lord of Salin. Bandula believed that a decisive victory could allow Ava to consolidate its gains in its new western empire in Arakan, Manipur, Assam, Cachar and Jaintia, as well as take over eastern Bengal.
In January 1824, Bandula sent in one of his top lieutenants Thado Thiri Maha Uzana into Cachar and Jaintia to chase away 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.
Western theater
As the commander in chief of the Burmese army, Maha Bandula was supported by twelve of the country's best battalions, including one under his personal command, all totaling ten thousand men and five hundred horses. His general staff included some of the country's most decorated soldiers, men like the lord of Salay and the governors of Danyawaddy, Wuntho and Taungoo. Bandula's plan was to attack the British on two fronts: ChittagongChittagong
Chittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...
from Arakan in the southeast, and Sylhet
Sylhet
Sylhet , is a major city in north-eastern Bangladesh. It is the main city of Sylhet Division and Sylhet District, and was granted metropolitan city status in March 2009. Sylhet is located on the banks of the Surma Valley and is surrounded by the Jaintia, Khasi and Tripura hills...
from Cachar and Jaintia in the north. Bandula personally commanded the Arakan theater while Uzana commanded Cachar and Jaintia theater.
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". Uzana had already defeated the British units in Cachar and Jaintia in January 1824. In May, Burmese forces led by Lord Myawaddy defeated units of British India Army in the Battle of Ramu, inside British territory, causing a great panic in Calcutta. But Bandula, not wanting to overstretch, stopped Myawaddy from proceeding ahead to Chittagong
Chittagong
Chittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...
. 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 been open.(The Burmese, because of the disparity in arms, could not have won the war in any case. But had they been able to threaten Calcutta, the Burmese could have obtained more favorable terms in the peace negotiations later on.)
Battle of Yangon (May–December 1824)
Sir Archibald Campbell, 1st Baronet
General Sir Archibald Campbell, 1st Baronet GCB was an officer of the British Army, and from 1831 to 1837, the administrator of the colony of New Brunswick. From 1824 to 1826, Gen...
took position inside a fortified Shwedagon Pagoda compound. The British launched attacks on Burmese lines, and by July 1824, had successfully pushed the Burmese towards Kamayut
Kamayut Township
Kamayut Township is located in the north central part of Yangon. The township comprises ten wards, and shares borders with Hlaing township in the north, Hlaing township and Kyimyindaing township in the west, the Inya Lake, Bahan township and Mayangon township in the east, and Sanchaung township in...
, five miles from Shwedagon. Burmese efforts to retake Shwedagon in September failed.
King Bagyidaw ordered a near complete withdrawal from the western front—Bandula from Arakan and Bengal, and Uzana from Assam, Cachar and Jaintia—and meet the enemy in Yangon. In August, in the midst of monsoon season, Bandula and his army crossed the Arakan Yoma
Arakan Yoma
The Arakan Mountains is a mountain range in western Burma , between the coast of Rakhine State and the Central Burma Basin, in which flows the Irrawaddy River...
. Even in good weather, moving tens of thousands of men over the 3000-foot-high Arakan hills or 10,000-foot-high Assamese ranges, heavily forested and with only narrow footpaths, open to attack by tigers and leopards, would be difficult. To do this at the height of the drenching monsoon season was no easy task. Yet Bandula (from Arakan) and Uzana (from Assam) in a testament to their generalship and logistical skill, managed to do just that. The king granted both Bandula and Uzana the title Agga Maha Thenapati, the highest possible military rank. Bandula was also made the governor of Sittaung
Sittaung
Sittaung is a town in Paungbyin Township, Mawlaik District, in the Sagaing Region of Burma on the right bank of the Chindwin River. There is a highway running west to the Indian border which provides Tamu with access to transport on the Chindwin. This road was laid out in 1887 by troops under...
.
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. Unbeknown to him, the British had just received the first shipment of the newest weapon in war that the Burmese had never seen–Congreve rocket
Congreve rocket
The Congreve Rocket was a British military weapon designed and developed by Sir William Congreve in 1804.The rocket was developed by the British Royal Arsenal following the experiences of the Second, Third and Fourth Mysore Wars. The wars fought between the British East India Company and the...
s.
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 far superior weaponry, withstood several Burmese gallant charges at the Shwedagon fort, cutting down men by 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. In the end, only 7000 of the 30000 Burmese soldiers returned.
Battle of Danubyu (March–April 1825)
Bandula fell back to his rear base at DanubyuDanubyu
Danubyu is a town in the Ayeyarwady Division of south-west Myanmar. It is the seat of the Danubyu Township in the Maubin District....
, a small town not far from Yangon, in the Irrawaddy delta
Irrawaddy Delta
The Irrawaddy Delta or Ayeyarwady Delta lies in the Ayeyarwady Region , the lowest expanse of land in Burma that fans out from the limit of tidal influence at Myan Aung to the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, 290 km to the south at the mouth of the Ayeyarwady River...
. Having lost experienced men in Yangon, the Burmese forces now numbered about 10,000, of mixed quality, including some of the king's best soldiers but also many untrained and barely armed conscripts. The stockade itself stretched a mile along the riverbank, and was made up of solid teak beams no less than 15 feet high.
In March 1825, a four thousand strong British force supported by a flotilla of gun boats 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.
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, discarding 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.
Treaty of Yandabo
The war would go on for another 10 months, with the British forces gradually advancing, eventually to Yandabo about four days' march from Ava. In February 1826, the Burmese accepted defeat. Under the Treaty of YandaboTreaty of Yandabo
The Treaty of Yandabo was the peace treaty that ended the First Anglo-Burmese War. The treaty was signed on 24 February 1826, nearly two years after the war formally broke out on 5 March 1824, by General Sir Archibald Campbell on the British side, and by Governor of Legaing Maha Min Hla Kyaw Htin...
, the Court of Ava agreed to (1) cede to the British Arakan (Rakhine), Tenasserim (Tanintharyi), Manipur and Assam, (2) recognize Cachar and Jaintia as British territories, and (3) pay an indemnity of one million pound sterling in four installments.
The First Anglo-Burmese War was the longest and most expensive war in British Indian history. Fifteen thousand European and Indian soldiers died, together with a higher (almost certainly much higher) number of Burmese soldiers. The campaign cost the British anywhere from five million pounds sterling to 13 million pounds sterling (roughly 18.5 billion to 48 billion in 2006 US dollars, measured as a percentage of the country's economy) that led to a severe economic crisis in British India in 1833.
But for the Burmese, it was to be the very beginning of the end of their independence. The Third Burmese Empire, for a brief moment the terror of British India, was effectively undone, crippled and no longer a threat to the eastern frontier of British India. The Burmese would be crushed for years to come by repaying the large indemnity of one million pounds (then US$5 million), a large sum even in Europe of that time. The British would make two more wars against the much weaker Burmese, and swallow up the entire country by 1885.
Legacy
Maha Bandula looms large in Burmese history for his courage to take on the British. Due in large measure to Bandula's leadership, the First Anglo-Burmese War was the only of the three Anglo-Burmese wars that the Burmese were able to put up a fight.The Burmese remember Bandula's last words in this way:
- We may lose the battle. This is our destiny. We fight our best and we pay our lives. However, I cannot suffer indignity and disgrace for losing the battle for the lack of courage and fighting prowess. Let them realize that the Burmese lost the battle because of the loss of their Supreme Commander. This will prove to be an everlasting example of the Burmese fighting spirit and enhance the honor and glory of our nation and the people amongst the neighboring states.
Ironically, this very courage to take on the enemy head on and use the daring tactics that led to the improbable victories in Manipur and Assam would prove to be his undoing against the much better armed and world conquering British, who had defeated Napoleon's armies only a decade earlier. For all of his fame, Bandula failed to change tactics in face of far superior British weaponry. He failed to imagine the use of guerrilla tactics or any innovative strategy. Had he pursued guerrilla style tactics, the ultimate outcome of the war might not still have changed but the terms might have been less severe.
Popularity and fame
Bandula remains extremely popular in Burmese imagination, and is often the only general ranked along side famous Burmese kings. His popularity is perhaps not just due to his skills as a military commander. After all, Bandula's victories came with able, experienced lieutenants like Gen. Ne Myo Thura Min Hla Nawrahta in Manipur and Gen. Maha Thilawa in Assam. Besides, the country has known more successful generals like Gen. Maha Thiha ThuraMaha Thiha Thura
Maha Thiha Thura was commander-in-chief of the Burmese military from 1768 to 1776. Regarded as a brilliant military strategist, the general is best known in Burmese history for defeating the Chinese invasions of Burma...
who defeated the Qing dynasty's invasions in 1766, 1767 and 1769, Gen. Maha Nawrahta
Maha Nawrahta
Gen. Maha Nawrahta was joint commander-in-chief of the Royal Burmese Army from 1765 to 1767. The general is best known for commanding the southern invasion force in the Burmese invasion of Siam . He and Ne Myo Thihapate jointly commanded the 14-month-long siege of Ayutthaya, the capital of Siam....
and Gen. Ne Myo Thihapate
Ne Myo Thihapate
Ne Myo Thihapate was a general in the Royal Burmese Army of Konbaung Dynasty of Burma . The general is best known for conquering the Ayutthaya Kingdom, along with Gen. Maha Nawrahta, in April 1767.-Career:...
, who dismembered Siam in 1767, or King Bayinnaung
Bayinnaung
Bayinnaung Kyawhtin Nawrahta was the third king of the Toungoo dynasty of Burma . During his 30-year reign, which has been called the "greatest explosion of human energy ever seen in Burma", Bayinnaung assembled the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia, which included much of modern day...
, the soldier king, who captured much of western mainland South East Asia in the 16th century. Then again, they never fought against the British, the world superpower of the day.
Rather, Bandula's continued popularity is because of his courage to fight on against an overwhelmingly superior enemy. Perhaps, it is also because the Burmese view Bandula as the proxy for the last glory days of the Third Burmese Empire. The Burmese remember that Bandula's death was followed by a series of one ignominious setback after another that eventually led to the loss of sovereignty in 1885. Indeed, some would say the ignominious setbacks continue up to this day. For whatever reason, Maha Bandula remains the most famous general in Burmese history.
Commemorations
Anawrahta
Anawrahta Minsaw was the founder of the Pagan Empire. Considered the father of the Burmese nation, Anawrahta turned a small principality in the dry zone of Upper Burma into the first Burmese Empire that formed the basis of modern-day Burma...
, Team Kyansittha
Kyansittha
Kyansittha was king of Pagan dynasty of Burma from 1084 to 1113, and is considered one of the greatest Burmese monarchs. He continued the social, economic and cultural reforms begun by his father, King Anawrahta. Pagan became an internationally recognized power during his 28-year reign...
, Team Bayinnaung
Bayinnaung
Bayinnaung Kyawhtin Nawrahta was the third king of the Toungoo dynasty of Burma . During his 30-year reign, which has been called the "greatest explosion of human energy ever seen in Burma", Bayinnaung assembled the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia, which included much of modern day...
and Team Alaungpaya
Alaungpaya
Alaungpaya was king of Burma from 1752 to 1760, and the founder of the Konbaung Dynasty. By his death in 1760, the former chief of a small village in Upper Burma had reunified all of Burma, subdued Manipur, recovered Lan Na, and driven out the French and the English who had given help to the...
.
Some of the most prominent places in Myanmar are named after the fallen general.
- Maha Bandula RoadMaha Bandula RoadMaha Bandula Road is a major road of southern Yangon, Burma. It crosses the city in a west-east direction and runs parallel to Bogyoke Aung San Road. It runs past Maha Bandula Park and eventually to Maha Bandula Bridge....
, one of four major avenues in downtown YangonYangonYangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial... - Maha Bandula Park in the center of downtown Yangon
- Maha Bandula Park Road, a busy street in downtown Yangon
- Maha Bandula BridgeMaha Bandula BridgeMaha Bandula Bridge is a major bridge in Yangon, Burma. It is named after Maha Bandula and crosses the river. It is accessed by Maha Bandula Road....
, a bridge in eastern Yangon