First Anglo-Burmese War

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox military conflict Template:Campaignbox First Anglo–Burmese War Template:Contains special characters

The First Anglo-Burmese War (Template:Langx; Template:IPA; 5 March 1824 – 24 February 1826), also known as the First Burma War in English language accounts and First English Invasion War (Template:Langx) in Burmese language accounts, was the first of three wars fought between the British and Burmese empires in the 19th century. The war, which began primarily over the control of what is now Northeastern India, ended in a costly but decisive British victory, giving the British total control of Assam, Cachar, Manipur and Jaintia as well as Arakan Province and Tenasserim. The Burmese submitted to a British demand to pay an indemnity of one million pounds sterling, and signed a commercial treaty.<ref name=app-237>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=mha-214>Template:Cite book</ref>

The war was one of the most expensive in British Indian history. 15,000 British 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 (£Template:Formatprice – £Template:Formatprice as of Template:Inflation-year)Template:Inflation-fn<ref name=rlf-113>Template:Cite book</ref> contributed to a severe economic crisis in British India which cost the East India Company its remaining privileges.<ref name=webster>Template:Cite book</ref>

Although once strong enough to threaten the interests of the British East India Company (especially with respect to the eastern border regions of Assam, Manipur, and Arakan), the Burmese Empire now suffered "the beginning of the end" of its status as an independent nation.<ref name=rlf-113/> They would be economically burdened for years to come by the cost of the indemnity.<ref name=mha-214/> The British, eventually waging the Second and Third Anglo-Burmese Wars against a much-weakened Burma, would assume control of the entire country by 1885.

Causes

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By 1822, Burmese expansion into Manipur and Assam and its "forward policy" of probing into the hill states of Jaintia and Cachar, had put pressure on British Bengal. Calcutta unilaterally declared Cachar and Jaintia British protectorates and sent in troops.<ref name=mmb-18>Thant Myint-U, The Making of Modern Burma, pp. 18–19</ref>

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 Maha Bandula became the 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.<ref name=rlf-113/> 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.<ref name=mmb-18/>

In September 1823, the casus belli was British and Burmese forces clashing to claim Shalpuri Island near Chittagong. The Burmese considered the British sepoys raising their flag as a provocation which in turn led to Burmese troops attacking the sepoys and driving them out. The British considered the attack as unprovoked and Burmese occupation as war.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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 Bengal's sphere of influence, the desire for new markets for British manufacturing.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The British were also anxious to deny the French the use of Burmese harbours and concerned about French influence at the Court of Ava, as the kingdom was still known to them.<ref name="Hall">Template:Cite book</ref> British Ambassador Michael Symes's mission was equipped to gain as much knowledge as possible of the country for future British plans whereas previous envoys were concerned principally with trade concessions.Template:Citation needed

Anglo-French rivalry had already played a role during Alaungpaya's endeavours of unifying the kingdom.<ref name="Hall"/> 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.<ref name="Hall"/>

War

British Army passing through forests

Western theatre

The commander in chief of the Burmese army, Maha Bandula, was supported by 12 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.<ref name=mmb-18/> Bandula personally commanded the Arakan theatre while Uzana commanded the Cachar and Jaintia theater.<ref name=rlf-113/>

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".<ref name=app-237/> Uzana had already defeated the British units in Cachar and Jaintia in January 1824. The British sent reinforcements but they were largely indecisive.

In May, a Burmese column of some 4,000 men led by U Sa,<ref name=app>Template:Cite book</ref> fought their way into Bengal, defeating British troops at the Battle of Ramu, Template:Convert east of Cox's Bazar, on 17 May 1824.<ref name=geh-341>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name=wpd>Template:Cite news</ref> The Burmese success caused extreme panic in Chittagong and in Calcutta.<ref name=hb>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

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.<ref name=mha-214/>

Inside Burma

British naval force entered the harbour of Yangon (Rangoon) in May 1824
The Storming of the Lesser Stockade at Kemmendine near Yangon (Rangoon) on 10 June 1824
The Attack of the Stockades at Pagoda Point, on the Rangoon River, 8 July 1824

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.<ref name=mha-212>Htin Aung, pp. 212–214</ref><ref name=app-236>Phayre, pp. 236–237</ref> The Burmese, pursuing a scorched earth policy, left an empty city behind and chose to fortify positions along an east–west Template:Convert arc outside the city. The British forces led by General Archibald Campbell took positions inside the Shwedagon Pagoda compound, which was fortified. The British launched attacks on Burmese lines and, by July 1824, had successfully pushed the Burmese towards Kamayut, Template:Convert from Shwedagon. Burmese efforts to retake Shwedagon in September failed.<ref name=rlf-114>Myint-U, River of Lost Footsteps, pp. 114–117</ref>

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 Arakan Yoma.<ref name=bmh>Perrett, pp. 176–177</ref> Moving tens of thousands of men over the 3,000-foot-high Arakan hills, or 10,000-foot-high Assamese ranges, heavily forested with only narrow footpaths and open to attack by tigers and leopards, would have been difficult even in mild weather conditions. The King later granted both Bandula and Uzana the title Agga Maha Thenapati (Template:Langx) equivalent to Field Marshal, the highest possible military rank. Bandula was also made the governor of Sittaung.<ref name=rlf-114/>

By November, Bandula commanded a large army outside Yangon. There is great disparancy of the numbers ranging from 30,000 to 60,000 (mostly from British sources). Terrance Blackburn discuss the numbers and felt that Campbell had exaggerated the Burmese numbers in his reports to imply that the British only needed a few to vanquish a vast horde sent against them.<ref>Terrance Blackburn, The British Humiliation of Burma, pp. 32</ref> According to the Burmese royal chronicles, the number was around 16,000.<ref>Maung Maung Tin, Konbaung Set Yazawin, pp. 118–122</ref>

Bandula believed that he could take on a well-armed British force of 10,000 head-on. Although the Burmese were numerically superior, only around half the army were musketeers, with the rest armed with spears and swords. The Burmese cannons fired only balls whereas the British cannons fired exploding shells.<ref name=mha-212/> 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.<ref name=bmh/><ref name=rlf-118/> 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.<ref name=rlf-118>Myint-U, River of Lost Footsteps, pp. 118–122</ref>

In the end, only 7,000 of the 16,000 Burmese soldiers returned to the royal army.<ref name=mha-212/> Campbell's despatches stated the Burmese suffered some 6,000 casualties over the 15 day battle. The rest of the Burmese army, most of them conscripts 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.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>

Battle of Danubyu (March–April 1825)

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Bandula's lookout tree at Danybyu, mounted with four guns

Bandula fell back to his rear base at Danubyu, 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 Template:Convert along the riverbank, and was made up of solid teak beams no less than Template:Convert high.<ref name=rlf-118/>

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.<ref name=rlf-118/>

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.<ref name=rlf-118/>

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. Archibald Campbell finally defeated Gen. Bandula in the Battle of Yangon in December 1824, the British turned their sights on Arakan. On 1 February 1825, an invasion force of 11,000 soldiers supported by gunboats and armed cruisers along the coast, as well as a squadron of cavalry under the command of Gen. Morrison, attacked Burmese positions in Arakan. Despite their superior numbers and firearms, the British had to fight depleted Burmese forces for nearly two months before they reached the main Burmese garrison at Mrauk-U, Arakan's capital.

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.<ref name=app/>

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.Template:Cn

Peace negotiations that began in September broke down by early October after the Burmese would not agree to British terms. The British had demanded no less than the complete dismemberment of the Burmese western territories in Arakan, Assam, Manipur, and the Tenasserim coast as well as two million pounds sterling of indemnity. The Burmese would not agree to give up Arakan and the large sum of indemnity.<ref name=rlf>Template:Cite book</ref>

Battle of Prome (November–December 1825)

Template:Main 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 Shan regiments led by their sawbwas, threatened Prome in a daring circular movement that almost surrounded the town and cut off communications lines to Yangon. In the end, the superior firepower of the British guns and missiles won out.<ref name="rlf"/> On 1 December, Gen. Campbell, with 2500 European and 1500 Indian sepoys, supported by a flotilla of gunboats, attacked the main Burmese position outside Prome. On 2 December, Maha Ne Myo was killed by a shell launched from the flotilla. After Maha Ne Myo's death, the British dislodged the Burmese by 5 December.<ref name=app-252>Template:Cite book</ref>

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.Template:Fact

Treaty of Yandabo

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The British demanded and the Burmese agreed to:<ref name=app-237/><ref name=mha-214/>

  1. Cede to the British Assam, Manipur, Rakhine (Arakan), and Taninthayi (Tenasserim) coast south of the Salween River
  2. Cease all interference in Cachar and Jaintia
  3. Pay an indemnity of one million pounds sterling in four installments
  4. Allow for an exchange of diplomatic representatives between Ava and Calcutta
  5. Sign a commercial treaty in due course
  6. 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.<ref name="mha-214" />

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.<ref name="mmb">Template:Cite book</ref> 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.Template:Fact

Aftermath

First Burma War Memorial at the St. George's Cathedral, Chennai

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.<ref name="Chopra 2003 79"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name="Robertson 1853 252"/> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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!"<ref name=":0" /> According to Campbell's casualty list in Burma, the 11,000 expedition suffered some 5,000 combat casualties.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

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.<ref name="webster" />

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.<ref name=rlf-125>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name=webster/>

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 Burmese kyat equivalent of 10 million. The cost of living of the average villager in Upper Burma in 1826 was one kyat per month.<ref name=mha-214/>

The British would wage two less expensive wars against the weaker Burmese in 1852 and 1885, and annex entire Burma by 1885.

British order of battle

Under the command of General Cotton:<ref name=Oriental2>Template:Cite book</ref>

  • British Regiments of Foot: 1st, 41st (270 men),<ref name=Oriental2/> and 89th (260 men)<ref name=Oriental2/> regiments
  • Madras Native Infantry: 18th and 28th regiments
  • 250 Royal Engineers<ref name=Oriental2/>
  • 100 Pioneers<ref name=Oriental2/>
  • Some artillery

Under the command of General Campbell:

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • 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.Template:Citation needed

See also

References

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Further reading

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