The Tha Din Daeng campaign (, , literally 'Tha Din Daeng War') was a short conflict, occurring in 1786 in Tha Din Daeng, now in

Kanchanaburi Province Kanchanaburi (, ) is the largest of the western Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. The neighboring provinces are (clockwise, from the north) Tak province, Tak, Uthai Thani province, Uthai Thani, Suphan Buri province, Sup ...

in western

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. The belligerents were King

Bodawpaya Bodawpaya (, ; ; 11 March 1745 – 5 June 1819) 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 procl ...

of the Burmese

Konbaung Dynasty The Konbaung dynasty (), also known as the Third Burmese Empire (တတိယမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်), was the last dynasty that ruled Burma from 1752 to 1885. It created the second-largest empire in history of Mya ...

, against Phraphutthayotfa Chulalok and

Maha Sura Singhanat Maharurasinghanat, Prince of Front Palace (; (1 November 1744 – 3 November 1803) was the younger brother of King Rama I, the first monarch of the Chakri dynasty of Siam. As an Ayutthayan general, he fought alongside his brother in various camp ...

of the Rattanakosin Kingdom.

Military Campaigns

Prelude

After many defeats in early 1786, King Bodawpaya retreated to

Martaban Mottama (, ; Muttama , ; formerly Martaban) is a town in the Thaton District of Mon State, Myanmar. Located on the west bank of the Thanlwin river (Salween), on the opposite side of Mawlamyaing, Mottama was the capital of the Martaban Kingdo ...

. However, he retained some of his forces on the Tenasserim Coast waiting for the new campaigns. The traditional wars were usually conducted in

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...

as the lands in the

rainy season The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Rainy Season may also refer to: * ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King * "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni * '' ...

were swampy and ravaged with disease, making it unsuitable for marching and encampment. King Bodawpaya ordered the Burmese forces at

Tavoy Dawei (, ; , ; , RTGS: ''Thawai'', ; formerly known as Tavoy) is a city in south-eastern Myanmar and is the capital of the Tanintharyi Region, formerly known as the Tenasserim Division, on the eastern bank of the Dawei River. The city is about ...

to retreat to Martaban under the command of Minhla Sithu, while Maha Thiri Thihathu was ordered to retreat from

Mergui Myeik (, or ; , ; , , ; formerly Mergui, ) is a rural city in Tanintharyi Region, Myanmar, located in the extreme south of the country on the coast off an island on the Andaman Sea. , the estimated population was over 209,000. ''World Gazett ...

to Tavoy. The king then marched back to

Dagon Dagon or Dagan (; ) was a god worshipped in ancient Syria, across the middle of the Euphrates, with primary temples located in Tuttul and Terqa, though many attestations of his cult come from cities such as Mari and Emar as well. In settl ...

where he worshipped the famous

Shwedagon Pagoda The Shwedagon Pagoda (, ; ), officially named ''Shwedagon Zedi Daw'' (, , ), and also known as the Great Dagon Pagoda and the Golden Pagoda, is a gilded stupa located in Yangon, Myanmar. The Shwedagon is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda in Myanma ...

and returned to Ava. The Burmese armies stationed at Martaban and Tavoy, waiting for the rainy season to be over to conduct new invasions of Siam. In September 1786, King Bodawpaya resumed his Siamese campaigns. He sent his eldest son and heir, Prince Thado Minsaw or Prince Nanda Kyawdin (known in Thai sources as Einshe Maha

Uparaja Uparaja is a noble title reserved for the viceroy in India and the Buddhist dynasties in Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, as well as some of their minor tributary kingdoms. It is ultimately from Sanskrit उपराज ''upa- rāja'' equivalent ...

) to Martaban to organize the new invasion of Siam.

Preparations

Prince Nanda Kyawdin or Einshe Uparaja took the lead of the army of 50,000 men at

, with ''Wundauk'' Nemyo Kyawzwa as his ''Sitke''. King Bodawpaya made sure that the provision shortage would not hinder the campaign again. He ordered the grain rations of Arakan and the whole Lower Burma to be sent to the frontlines. The Burmese also established strong supply lines with supply outposts stationed all along the way from Martaban to

Kanchanaburi Kanchanaburi (, ) is a town municipality ('' thesaban mueang'') in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. The town of lies to the southeast of Erawan National Park within Kanchanaburi Province, approximately 120km west of Bangkok. In 2006 it had a po ...

. Unlike the previous invasion, the Burmese concentrate the forces in single direction at Kanchanaburi instead of dispersing the forces in many directions. Prince Nanda Kyawdin sent Minhla Sithu, the Burmese veteran who had been defeated by the Siamese at the Battle of Latya seven months earlier, to lead the vanguard of 30,000 ahead into Kanchanaburi. Emboldened by their successes earlier in the year, the Siamese were much more confident in their responses to the Burmese invasion. Both King

Rama I Phutthayotfa Chulalok (born Thongduang; 20 March 1737 – 7 September 1809), also known by his regnal name Rama I, was the founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (now Thailand) and the first King of Siam from the reigning Chakri dynasty. He asc ...

and his brother Prince

marched to meet the Burmese at Kanchanaburi. *Prince Maha Sura Singhanat, along with his two generals ''Phraya'' Kalahom Ratchasena and ''Phraya'' Chasaenyakorn and ''Chao Phraya'' Rattanapipit the ''Samuha Nayok'', marched ahead the army of 30,000 men. *King Rama I himself and his nephew Prince

Anurak Devesh Somdet Phra Chao Lan Ther Chaofa Thong-In Krom Phra Rajawang Boworn Sathan Phimuk (, lit: ''His Royal Highness Prince Thong-In, the Deputy Viceroy of Siam'') (28 March 1746 – 20 December 1806) was a Siamese prince and military leader. A nep ...

of the Rear Palace led the royal army of 30,000 men.

The Battle (March 1787)

The Burmese armies entered

through the Three Pagodas Pass or Payathonzu. Minha Sithu divided his forces to station at Tha Din Daeng and Samsop, both in Sangkhlaburi, Kanchanaburi. Prince Nanda Kyawdin stayed at the Three Padogas. Prince

marched to Sai Yok in Kanchanaburi and encamped. He ordered his generals ''Phraya'' Kalahom Ratchasena and ''Phraya'' Chasaenyakorn to march ahead as vanguard to Sangkhlaburi. When King

had reached Sai Yok, Prince Maha Sura Singhanat moved to Sangkhlaburi. The Siamese armies concealed their movements in the jungles to inflict the surprise attack on the Burmese. After long marches, the two sides finally met at Tha Din Daeng and Samsop in March 1787. The fighting was very short and Minhla Sithu was quickly defeated, again for the second time. This short war was called “Tha Din Daeng campaign”. Minhla Sithu retreated back to Payathonzu. Prince Nanda Kyawdin, upon seeing the defeat of Minhla Sithu, also retreated back to Martaban. The Siamese forces burnt all the Burmese grain supplies in Kanchanaburi The campaign is commemorated by a park established by the

Royal Thai Army The Royal Thai Army or RTA (; ) is the army of Thailand and the oldest and largest branch of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. History Origin The Royal Thai Army is responsible for protecting the kingdom's sovereignty. The army was formed in 187 ...

from the town of

References

Conflicts in 1786 Battles of the Burmese–Siamese wars Wars involving the Rattanakosin Kingdom 1780s in Siam {{battle-stub

Military Campaigns

Prelude

Preparations

The Battle (March 1787)

See also

References