The Sino-Burmese War, 1765–69Suggested by: geoffinitelyill, idciyd The Emperor of Qing Dynasty China, Qianlong, was a successful military leader who suppressed many rebellions and expanded the borders of China. Conquering and massacring many people…
The Sino-Burmese War, 1765–69
Suggested by: geoffinitelyill, idciyd
The Emperor of Qing Dynasty China, Qianlong, was a successful military leader who suppressed many rebellions and expanded the borders of China. Conquering and massacring many people along the way to the point of genocide, he remains a controversial topic.
He then set his eyes towards Burma, believing it be an easy victory against a “barbarian” people he sent the Green Standard Army which was based in Yunnan (which borders Burma). The following conflicts claimed the lives of over 70,000 Chinese soldiers and is often referred to as the “most disastrous frontier war that the Qing Dynasty had ever waged”.
Burma and China prior to the war (1765)
[The Green Standard Army was the core of Qing China’s military. The majority of its early ethnic makeup was of Han Chinese descent, voluntarily enlisted men from the lower classes who, because of their poverty and inability to sustain and support a family, were separated and shunned from the core of the Chinese society. Most commonly they were used as a policing force which would often put down rebellions and keep order.]
As Burma was involved in an invasion of Siam, the Qing saw this as an opportune time to invade Burma so Minister Liu Zao used a few minor trade disputes between Burmese merchants and local Chinese as the excuse to invade.
The Qianlong Emperor in Armor on Horseback,
by Italian Jesuit Giuseppe Castiglione (1688–1766 AD).
First Invasion
The first invasion was in 1765, the Chinese laid siege on the Burmese city of Kengtung but the siege was lifted, and the Chinese were then chased off and defeated. In embarrassment, Liu sliced his throat and while dying he wrote “There is no way to pay back the emperor’s favor. I deserve death with my crime”.
Chinese soldier of Emperor Qianlong, by William Alexander, 1793.
Second Invasion
The enraged Emperor appointed an experienced officer, Yang Yingju, with the duty of leading their second invasion of Burma in 1766. This one also ended in a disastrous defeat as Yang’s forces were ambushed after already losing most of their men to cholera, malaria and dysentery: “800 out of 1000 soldiers in one garrison had died of disease, and that another hundred were ill”.
Yang was ordered to return to Beijing and upon arriving there he was ordered by the Emperor himself to commit suicide. Blaming their losses on the ineffectiveness of the Green Standard Army, the Emperor now appointed Ming Rui with the task of invading Burma. This time the army would consist of an elite force known as the Manchu Bannermen, which were part of a greater military grouping known as the Eight Banners.
Third Invasion
Main battle routes of the third invasion (1767-1768)
Ming planned a two pronged attack that would end with a pincer attack but his northern army met the enemy at the Kaungton fort and was held there until their eventual retreat back to Yunan under heavy losses (in which he was executed). Meanwhile the southern pincer under Ming Rui, clashed with an army half their size which they routed.
In response, the Burmese king Hsinbyushin recalled armies that were in Siam and Ming Rui’s progress had been hampered. His army was too far from their supply base and their supply lines were being attacked by Teingya Minkhaung and his guerrilla army.
Manchu Imperial Gaurdsmen
With his northern army retreating, his army suffering heavily losses from malaria and experienced Burmese armies returning from Siam, Ming Rui began his retreat back to Yunnan. Two Burmese armies in pursuit encircled him and his army, after 3 days of fighting Ming Rui’s army was destroyed while the rest were captured. Severely wounded, Ming Rui could’ve escaped but he decided to instead hang himself from a tree.
4th Invasion
Military Minister Fuheng
Embarrassed, there was no way in the Emperor’s mind that they could end this war in anything else but a victory. Next he set Ming Rui’s uncle, Fuheng, to lead in the next invasion of Burma. Despite Burma’s offerings for a diplomatic end (because of their business in Siam), the Chinese refused. Burma now redeployed the forces that were in Siam close to their border with China and as a result Siam had retaken the lands they lost to Burma.
Qing flotilla
Fuheng decided on a three pronged invasion, one in which his supply lines would remain secured and two of the three armies would have naval support. The Burmese formed three armies which would meet the enemy at the borders and another to cut off Chinese supply lines, they also built a flotilla of warships. The Chinese armies took Bhamo and afterwards lost their newly built flotilla of warships to the Burmese, they fell ill and were later completely encircled.
A Burmese war-boat on the Irrawaddy River
“Comrades, unless we make peace, yet another invasion will come. And when we have defeated it, yet another will come. Our nation cannot go on just repelling invasion after invasion of the Chinese for we have other things to do. Let us stop the slaughter, and let their people and our people live in peace.”
An uneasy peace was established but the Qing and Burma kept forts and heavy military presences along the border areas of Yunnan. When Burma and China resumed a diplomatic relationship in 1790, the Qing unilaterally viewed the act as Burmese submission, and ‘claimed’ victory.
Chinese military post c. 1796
The Burmese military proved that they were able and willing to take on a far superior enemy, using their familiarity with the terrain and the weather to their maximum advantage. The Battle of Maymyo is now a military case study of infantry fighting against a larger army.
Battle of Maymyo
In March 1768, Ming Rui began his retreat, pursued by a Burmese army of 10,000 men and 2000 cavalry. The Burmese then tried to encircle the Chinese by splitting the army into two. Maha Thiha Thura had now assumed the overall command, replacing Maha Sithu. The smaller army, led by Maha Sithu, continued to pursue Ming Rui while the larger army led by Maha Thiha Thura advanced through the mountainous route to emerge directly behind the Chinese. Through careful maneuvering, the Burmese managed to achieve complete encirclement of the Chinese at modern-day Pyinoolwin (Maymyo), about 50 miles northeast of Ava. Over the course of three days of bloody fighting, the Bannerman army was completely annihilated. The slaughter was such that the Burmese could hardly grip their swords as the hilts were slippery with enemy blood.[35] Of the original 30,000 men of the main army, only 2500 remained alive and were captured. The rest had been killed either on the battlefield, through disease or through execution after their surrender.[5] Ming Rui himself was severely wounded in battle. Only a small group managed to break through and escaped the carnage. Ming Rui himself could have escaped with that group. Instead, he cut off his queue and sent it to the emperor as a token of his loyalty by those who were escaping. He then hanged himself on a tree.[32] In the end, only a few dozen of the main army returned.[27]
ဦးေၾကာင္ၾကီး
2 comments
ဦးကြောင်ကြီး
October 16, 2017 at 10:22 am
The Sino-Burmese War, 1765–69Suggested by: geoffinitelyill, idciyd The Emperor of Qing Dynasty China, Qianlong, was a successful military leader who suppressed many rebellions and expanded the borders of China. Conquering and massacring many people…
The Sino-Burmese War, 1765–69
Suggested by: geoffinitelyill, idciyd
The Emperor of Qing Dynasty China, Qianlong, was a successful military leader who suppressed many rebellions and expanded the borders of China. Conquering and massacring many people along the way to the point of genocide, he remains a controversial topic.
He then set his eyes towards Burma, believing it be an easy victory against a “barbarian” people he sent the Green Standard Army which was based in Yunnan (which borders Burma). The following conflicts claimed the lives of over 70,000 Chinese soldiers and is often referred to as the “most disastrous frontier war that the Qing Dynasty had ever waged”.
Burma and China prior to the war (1765)
[The Green Standard Army was the core of Qing China’s military. The majority of its early ethnic makeup was of Han Chinese descent, voluntarily enlisted men from the lower classes who, because of their poverty and inability to sustain and support a family, were separated and shunned from the core of the Chinese society. Most commonly they were used as a policing force which would often put down rebellions and keep order.]
As Burma was involved in an invasion of Siam, the Qing saw this as an opportune time to invade Burma so Minister Liu Zao used a few minor trade disputes between Burmese merchants and local Chinese as the excuse to invade.
The Qianlong Emperor in Armor on Horseback,
by Italian Jesuit Giuseppe Castiglione (1688–1766 AD).
First Invasion
The first invasion was in 1765, the Chinese laid siege on the Burmese city of Kengtung but the siege was lifted, and the Chinese were then chased off and defeated. In embarrassment, Liu sliced his throat and while dying he wrote “There is no way to pay back the emperor’s favor. I deserve death with my crime”.
Chinese soldier of Emperor Qianlong, by William Alexander, 1793.
Second Invasion
The enraged Emperor appointed an experienced officer, Yang Yingju, with the duty of leading their second invasion of Burma in 1766. This one also ended in a disastrous defeat as Yang’s forces were ambushed after already losing most of their men to cholera, malaria and dysentery: “800 out of 1000 soldiers in one garrison had died of disease, and that another hundred were ill”.
Yang was ordered to return to Beijing and upon arriving there he was ordered by the Emperor himself to commit suicide. Blaming their losses on the ineffectiveness of the Green Standard Army, the Emperor now appointed Ming Rui with the task of invading Burma. This time the army would consist of an elite force known as the Manchu Bannermen, which were part of a greater military grouping known as the Eight Banners.
Third Invasion
Main battle routes of the third invasion (1767-1768)
Ming planned a two pronged attack that would end with a pincer attack but his northern army met the enemy at the Kaungton fort and was held there until their eventual retreat back to Yunan under heavy losses (in which he was executed). Meanwhile the southern pincer under Ming Rui, clashed with an army half their size which they routed.
In response, the Burmese king Hsinbyushin recalled armies that were in Siam and Ming Rui’s progress had been hampered. His army was too far from their supply base and their supply lines were being attacked by Teingya Minkhaung and his guerrilla army.
Manchu Imperial Gaurdsmen
With his northern army retreating, his army suffering heavily losses from malaria and experienced Burmese armies returning from Siam, Ming Rui began his retreat back to Yunnan. Two Burmese armies in pursuit encircled him and his army, after 3 days of fighting Ming Rui’s army was destroyed while the rest were captured. Severely wounded, Ming Rui could’ve escaped but he decided to instead hang himself from a tree.
4th Invasion
Military Minister Fuheng
Embarrassed, there was no way in the Emperor’s mind that they could end this war in anything else but a victory. Next he set Ming Rui’s uncle, Fuheng, to lead in the next invasion of Burma. Despite Burma’s offerings for a diplomatic end (because of their business in Siam), the Chinese refused. Burma now redeployed the forces that were in Siam close to their border with China and as a result Siam had retaken the lands they lost to Burma.
Qing flotilla
Fuheng decided on a three pronged invasion, one in which his supply lines would remain secured and two of the three armies would have naval support. The Burmese formed three armies which would meet the enemy at the borders and another to cut off Chinese supply lines, they also built a flotilla of warships. The Chinese armies took Bhamo and afterwards lost their newly built flotilla of warships to the Burmese, they fell ill and were later completely encircled.
A Burmese war-boat on the Irrawaddy River
“Comrades, unless we make peace, yet another invasion will come. And when we have defeated it, yet another will come. Our nation cannot go on just repelling invasion after invasion of the Chinese for we have other things to do. Let us stop the slaughter, and let their people and our people live in peace.”
An uneasy peace was established but the Qing and Burma kept forts and heavy military presences along the border areas of Yunnan. When Burma and China resumed a diplomatic relationship in 1790, the Qing unilaterally viewed the act as Burmese submission, and ‘claimed’ victory.
Chinese military post c. 1796
The Burmese military proved that they were able and willing to take on a far superior enemy, using their familiarity with the terrain and the weather to their maximum advantage. The Battle of Maymyo is now a military case study of infantry fighting against a larger army.
Battle of Maymyo
In March 1768, Ming Rui began his retreat, pursued by a Burmese army of 10,000 men and 2000 cavalry. The Burmese then tried to encircle the Chinese by splitting the army into two. Maha Thiha Thura had now assumed the overall command, replacing Maha Sithu. The smaller army, led by Maha Sithu, continued to pursue Ming Rui while the larger army led by Maha Thiha Thura advanced through the mountainous route to emerge directly behind the Chinese. Through careful maneuvering, the Burmese managed to achieve complete encirclement of the Chinese at modern-day Pyinoolwin (Maymyo), about 50 miles northeast of Ava. Over the course of three days of bloody fighting, the Bannerman army was completely annihilated. The slaughter was such that the Burmese could hardly grip their swords as the hilts were slippery with enemy blood.[35] Of the original 30,000 men of the main army, only 2500 remained alive and were captured. The rest had been killed either on the battlefield, through disease or through execution after their surrender.[5] Ming Rui himself was severely wounded in battle. Only a small group managed to break through and escaped the carnage. Ming Rui himself could have escaped with that group. Instead, he cut off his queue and sent it to the emperor as a token of his loyalty by those who were escaping. He then hanged himself on a tree.[32] In the end, only a few dozen of the main army returned.[27]
Thint Aye Yeik
October 20, 2017 at 12:50 pm
အခု ဗမာ့တပ်မတော်ကတော့
လက်သံကတော့ ပြောင်နေတာပဲ
ဒါမယ့် ပြည်တွင်းစစ်အတွင်းသာ….
:k: