Sino-Burmese War (1765–1769)
Encyclopedia
The Sino-Burmese War also known as the Qing invasions of Burma or the Myanmar campaign of the Qing Dynasty, was a war fought between the Qing Dynasty
of China
and the Konbaung Dynasty
of Burma (Myanmar). China under the Qianlong Emperor
launched four invasions of Burma between 1765 and 1769, which were considered as one of his Ten Great Campaigns
. Nonetheless, the war, which claimed the lives of over 70,000 Chinese soldiers and four commanders, is sometimes described as "the most disastrous frontier war that the Qing Dynasty had ever waged", and one that "assured Burmese independence". Burma's successful defense laid the foundation for the present-day boundary between the two countries.
At first, Qianlong envisaged an easy war, and sent in only the Green Standard troops
stationed in Yunnan
. The Qing invasion came as the majority of Burmese forces were deployed in their latest invasion of Siam
. Nonetheless, battle-hardened Burmese troops defeated the first two invasions of 1765–1766 and 1766–1767 at the border. The regional conflict now escalated to a major war that involved military maneuvers nationwide in both countries. The third invasion (1767–1768) led by the elite Manchu Bannermen
nearly succeeded, penetrating deep into central Burma within a few days' march from the capital, Ava
. But the Bannermen of northern China could not cope with unfamiliar tropical terrains and lethal endemic diseases, and were driven back with heavy losses. After the close-call, King Hsinbyushin
redeployed his armies from Siam to the Chinese front. The fourth and largest invasion got bogged down at the frontier. With the Qing forces completely encircled, a truce was reached between the field commanders of the two sides in December 1769.
The Qing kept a heavy military lineup in the border areas of Yunnan for about one decade in an attempt to wage another war while imposing a ban on inter-border trade for two decades. The Burmese too were preoccupied with the Chinese threat, and kept a series of garrisons along the border. Twenty years later, when Burma and China resumed a diplomatic relationship in 1790, the Qing unilaterally viewed the act as Burmese submission, and claimed victory. Ironically, the main beneficiaries of this war were the Siamese. After having lost their capital Ayutthaya
to the Burmese in 1767, they reclaimed most of their territories in the next three years.
first conquered Yunnan borderlands between 1380 and 1388, and stamped out local resistance by the mid 1440s. The Burmese control of the Shan States
(which covered the present-day Kachin State
, Shan State
and Kayah State
) came in 1557 when King Bayinnaung
of Toungoo Dynasty
conquered all of the Shan States. The border was never demarcated in the modern sense, with local Shan sawbwas (chiefs) at the border regions paying tribute to both sides. The situation turned to China's favor in the 1730s when the Qing decided to impose a tighter control of Yunnan's border regions while the Burmese authority largely dissipated with the rapid decline of the Toungoo Dynasty.
The Qing attempts for tighter control of the border were initially met with fierce resistance by the local chiefs. In 1732, the Yunnan government's demand of higher taxes led to several Shan revolts at the border. Shan resistance leaders united people by saying "The lands and water are our properties. We could plow ourselves and eat our own produces. There is not a need to pay tributes to foreign government". In July 1732, a Shan army, mostly consisted of native mountaineers, laid siege to the Qing garrison at Pu'er for ninety days. The Yunnan government responded with an overwhelming force numbered around 5,000 and lifted the siege. The Qing army pursued further west but could not put down persistent local resistance. Finally, the Qing field commanders changed their tactics by allying with neutral sawbwas, granting Qing titles and powers, including Green Standard captainships and regional commanderships. To complete the agreements, the third ranking officer of Yunnan traveled to Simao
personally and held a ceremony of allegiance which marked as Qing annexation of border areas. By the mid-1730s, the sawbwas of the border who used to pay dual tributes, were increasingly siding with the more powerful Qing. By 1735, the year which the Qianlong Emperor ascended the Chinese throne, ten sawbwas had sided with the Qing. The annexed border states ranged from Mogaung
and Bhamo
in present day Kachin State
to Hsenwi (Theinni) and Kengtung (Kyaingtong) in present day Shan State
to Sipsongpanna
(Kyaingyun) in present day Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan.
While the Qing were consolidating their hold at the border, the Toungoo Dynasty was faced with multiple external raids and internal rebellions and could not take any reciprocal action. Throughout the 1730s, the dynasty faced Manipuri
raids that reached increasingly deeper parts of Upper Burma. In 1740, the Mon
of Lower Burma revolted and founded the Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom
. By the mid-1740s, the authority of the Burmese king had largely dissipated. In 1752, the Toungoo Dynasty was toppled by the forces of Restored Hanthawaddy which captured Ava
.
By then, the Qing control of the former borderlands was unquestioned. In 1752, the Qianlong Emperor issued a manuscript, Qing Imperial illustration of Tributaries, saying that all "barbarian" tribes under his rule must be studied and reported their natures and cultures back to Beijing.
rose to challenge Restored Hanthawaddy, and went on to reunite much of the kingdom by 1758. In 1758-59, King Alaungpaya
, the founder of the dynasty, sent an expedition to the farther Shan States (present-day Kachin State and northern and eastern Shan State), which had been annexed by the Qing over two decades earlier, to reestablish Burmese authority. (Nearer Shan States had been reacquired since 1754). Three of the ten farther Shan state sawbwas (Mogaung, Bhamo, Hsenwi) and their militias reportedly ran away into Yunnan and tried persuade Qing officials to invade Burma. The nephew of Kengtung sawbwa and his followers also fled.
The Yunnan government reported the news to Qianlong in 1759, and the Qing court promptly issued an imperial edict ordering reconquest. At first, the Yunnan officials, who believed that "barbarians must be conquered using barbarians", tried to resolve the matter by supporting the defected sawbwas. But the strategy did not work. In 1764, a Burmese army, which was on its way to Siam, was increasing its grip of the borderlands, and the sawbwas complained to China. In response, the emperor appointed Liu Zao, a respected scholarly minister from the capital to sort out the matters. At Kunming, Liu assessed that the use of Tai-Shan militias alone was not working, and that he needed to commit regular Green Standard Army
troops.
, left Kengtung for yet another Burmese invasion of Siam. With the main Burmese army gone, Liu used a few minor trade disputes between local Chinese and Burmese merchants as the excuse to order an invasion of Kengtung in December 1765. The invasion force, which consisted of 3,500 Green Standard troops
along with Tai-Shan militias, laid siege to Kengtung but could not match battle-hardened Burmese troops at the Kengtung garrison, led by Gen. Ne Myo Sithu
. The Burmese lifted the siege and pursued the invaders into Pu'er Prefecture
, and defeated them there. Ne Myo Sithu left a reinforced garrison, and returned to Ava in April 1766.
Governor Liu in his embarrassment first tried to conceal what had happened. When the emperor became suspicious, he ordered Liu's immediate recall and demotion. Instead of complying, Liu committed suicide by slicing his throat with a stationery knife, writing as blood was pouring from his neck: "There is no way to pay back the emperor's favor. I deserve death with my crime". While this kind of suicide in the face of bureaucratic failure apparently was not unusual in Qing China, it reportedly enraged Qianlong nonetheless. Sorting out the Mien (the Chinese word for "Burmese") was now a matter of imperial prestige. The emperor now appointed Yang Yingju, an experienced frontier officer with long service in Xinjiang and Guangzhou.
was ordered to give up Bhamo, and instead stay at the Burmese stockade at Kaungton
, a few miles south of Bhamo on the Irrawaddy. The Kaungton fort had been especially equipped with the cannon corps led by the French
gunners (captured at the battle of Thanlyin
in 1756.) To reinforce them, another army led by Maha Thiha Thura
and posted at the easternmost Burmese garrison at Kenghung
(present-day Jinghong, Yunnan), was ordered to march to the Bhamo theater across the northern Shan states.
, and another led by Ne Myo Sithu
, surrounded the Chinese. Maha Thiha Thura's army also arrived and took position near Bhamo to block the escape route back to Yunnan.
The impasse did not favor the Chinese troops who were utterly unprepared to fight in the tropical weather of Upper Burma. Thousands of Chinese soldiers reportedly were struck down by cholera, dysentery and malaria. One Qing report stated that "800 out of 1000 soldiers in one garrison had died of disease, and that another hundred were ill".
With the Chinese army greatly weakened, the Burmese then launched their offensive. First, Ne Myo Sithu easily retook the lightly held Bhamo. The main Chinese army was now totally holed up in the Kaungton-Bhamo corridor, cut off from all supplies. The Burmese then proceeded to attack the main Chinese army from two sides Balamindin's army out of Kaungton fortress, and Ne Myo Sithu's army from the north. The Chinese retreated eastwards and then northwards where another Burmese army led by Maha Thiha Thura
was waiting. The two other Burmese armies also followed up, and the Chinese army was destroyed entirely. Maha Sithu's army which had been guarding the western flank of the Irrawaddy, then marched north of Myitkyina
and defeated lightly held other Chinese garrisons at the border. The Burmese armies proceeded to occupy eight Chinese Shan States within Yunnan.
s; and that the Burmese commander, Ne Myo Sithu, after losing 10,000 men had sued for peace. He recommended that the emperor graciously accept the peace offer to restore the normal trade relations between the two countries. The Qianlong Emperor however realized the falsity of the report, and ordered Yang back to Beijing. On his arrival, Yang committed suicide at the order of the emperor.
s themselves to come into the picture. He had always doubted the battle-worthiness of his Chinese Green Standard armies. The Manchus saw themselves as a warlike and conquering race and the Chinese as an occupied people. He commissioned a study of the first two invasions, and the report reinforced his biases—that the low battle-worthiness of the Green Standard armies was the reason for the failures.
In 1767, Qianlong appointed the veteran Manchu commander Mingrui
, a son-in-law of his, as governor-general of Yunnan and Guizhou, and head of the Burma campaign. Mingrui had seen battle against the Turks in the northwest and was in command of the strategically key post of Ili
(in present-day Kazakhstan
). His appointment meant that this was no longer a border dispute but a full-fledged war. Mingrui arrived in Yunnan in April. An invasion force consisted of elite Manchu and Mongol troops were rushed down from northern China and Manchuria. Provinces throughout China were mobilized to provide supplies. This force was to be accompanied by thousands of Green Standards from Yunnan and Tai-Shan militias. The strength of the total invasion force was 50,000 men, the vast majority being infantry. The mountains and thick jungles of Burma kept the use of cavalry
forces to a minimum. As a precaution against illness, which the Qing court now took seriously, the campaign was planned for the winter months when diseases were believed to be less prevalent.
since January 1766. Throughout 1767, when the Chinese were mobilizing for their most serious invasion yet, the Burmese were still focused on defeating the Siamese. Even after the Siamese capital was finally captured in April 1767, Hsinbyushin kept much of the troops in Siam during the rainy season months in order to mop up the remaining Siamese resistance during the winter months later that year. (He actually allowed many Shan and Laotian battalions to demobilize at the start of the rainy season.)
As a result, when the invasion did come in November 1767, the Burmese defenses had not been upgraded to meet a much larger and a more determined foe. The Burmese command looked much like that of the second invasion. Hsinbyushin again assigned the same commanders of the second invasion to face off the Chinese. Maha Sithu led the main Burmese army, and was the overall commander of the Chinese theater, with Maha Thiha Thura
and Ne Myo Sithu
commanding two other Burmese armies. Balamindin again commanded the Kaungton fort. (Given that the main Burmese army was only about 7000 strong, the entire Burmese defense at the start of the third invasion was most likely no more than 20,000.)
and Hsipaw
, and down the Namtu river
. (The main invasion route was the same route followed by the Manchu forces a century earlier, chasing Yongli Emperor
of Ming Dynasty.) The second army, led by Gen. E'erdeng'e, was to try the Bhamo route again. The ultimate objective was for both armies to clamp themselves in a pincer action on the Burmese capital of Ava. The Burmese plan was to hold the second Chinese army in the north at Kaungton with the army led by Ne Myo Sithu, and meet the main Chinese army in the northeast with two armies led by Maha Sithu and Maha Thiha Thura.
At first, everything went according to plan for the Qing. The third invasion began in November 1767 as the smaller Chinese army attacked and occupied Bhamo. Within eight days, Mingrui's main army occupied the Shan states of Hsenwi and Hsipaw. Mingrui made Hsenwi a supply base, and assigned 5000 troops to remain at Hsenwi and guard the rear. He then led a 15,000-strong army in the direction of Ava. In late December, at the Goteik Gorge (south of Hsipaw), the two main armies faced off and the first major battle of the third invasion ensued. Outnumbered two-to-one, Maha Sithu's main Burmese army was thoroughly routed by Mingrui's Bannermen. Maha Thiha Thura too was repulsed at Hsenwi. The news of the disaster at Goteik reached Ava. Hsinbyushin finally realized the gravity of the situation, and urgently recalled Burmese armies from Siam.
Having smashed through the main Burmese army, Mingrui pressed on full steam ahead, overrunning one town after another, and reached Singu
on the Irrawaddy, 30 miles north of Ava at the beginning of 1768. The only bright spot for the Burmese was that the northern invasion force, which was to come down the Irrawaddy to join up with Mingrui's main army, had been held off at Kaungton
.
It turned out that Mingrui had overstretched himself, and was in no position to proceed any farther. He was now too far away from his main supply base at Hsenwi, hundreds of miles away in the northern Shan Hills. The Burmese guerrilla attacks on the long supply lines across the jungles of the Shan Hills were seriously hampering the Qing army's ability to proceed. (Burmese guerrilla operations were directed by Gen. Teingya Minkhaung
, a deputy of Maha Thiha Thura). Mingrui now resorted to defensive tactics, playing for time to enable the northern army to come to his relief. But it was not to be. The northern army had suffered heavy casualties in their repeated attacks against the Kaungton fort. Its commander, against the express orders of Mingrui, retreated back to Yunnan. (The commander was later publicly shamed and executed on the orders of the emperor.)
The situation turned worse for Mingrui. By early 1768, battle-hardened Burmese reinforcements from Siam had begun to arrive back. Bolstered by the reinforcements, two Burmese armies led by Maha Thiha Thura and Ne Myo Sithu succeeded in retaking Hsenwi. The Qing commander at Hsenwi committed suicide. The main Qing army was now cut off from all supplies. It was now March 1768. Thousands of Bannermen, nomadic tribesmen from the freezing grasslands along the Russian border, began dying of malaria as well as Burmese attacks in the furnace-like hot weather of central Burma. Mingrui gave up all hope of proceeding toward Ava, and instead tried to make it back to Yunnan with as many of his soldiers as possible.
The emperor turned to one of his most trusted advisers, the chief grand councilor Fuheng
, Mingrui's uncle. Back in the 1750s, Fuheng had been one of the few senior officials who had fully backed Qianlong's decision to eliminate the Dzungars at a time when most believed that war was too risky. On 14 April 1768, the imperial court announced the death of Mingrui and the appointment of Fuheng as the new chief commander of the Burma campaign. Manchu generals, Agui, Aligun and Suhede were appointed as his deputies. Now, the top rung of the Qing military establishment prepared for a final showdown with the Burmese.
Before any fighting resumed, some on the Chinese side sent out peace feelers to the court of Ava. The Burmese also sent signals that they would like to give diplomacy a chance, given their preoccupations in Siam. But the emperor, with Fuheng's encouragement, made it clear that no compromise with the Burmese could be made. The dignity of the state demanded a full surrender. His aim was to establish direct Qing rule over all Burmese possessions. Emissaries were sent to Siam and Laotian states informing them of the Chinese ambition and seeking an alliance.
Ava now fully expected another major invasion. Hsinbyushin had now brought most of the troops back from Siam to face the Chinese. With the Burmese fully preoccupied with the Chinese threat, the Siamese resistance retook Ayutthaya in 1768 and went on to reconquer all of their territories throughout 1768 and 1769. For the Burmese, their hard-fought gains of the prior three years (1765–1767) in Siam had gone to waste but there was little they could do. The survival of their kingdom was now at stake.
, governor of Tabe
, who had arrived back from the Siamese theater. (Based on their troop movements, the Burmese appeared to have known at least the general direction of where the massive invasion force would come.) Maha Thiha Thura moved upriver by boat toward Bhamo.
village, 12 miles east of the Burmese fortress at Kaungton. As planned, the carpenters duly built hundreds of war boats to sail down the Irrawaddy.
But almost nothing went according to plan. One army did cross over to the western bank of the Irrawaddy, as planned. But the commander of that army did not want to march far away from the base. When the Burmese army assigned to guard the west bank approached, the Chinese retreated back to the east bank. Likewise, the army assigned to march down the eastern bank also did not proceed. This left the Chinese flotilla exposed. The Burmese flotilla came up the river and attacked and sank all the Chinese boats. The Chinese armies now converged on attacking Kaungton. But for four consecutive weeks, the Burmese put up a remarkable defense, withstanding gallant charges by the Bannermen to scale the walls.
A little over a month into the invasion, the entire Qing invasion force was bogged down at the border. Predictably, many Chinese soldiers and sailors fell ill, and began to die in large numbers. Fuheng himself was struck down by fever. More ominously for the Chinese, the Burmese army sent to cut the enemy line of communication also achieved its purpose, and closed in on the Chinese armies from the rear. By early December, the Chinese forces were completely encircled. The Burmese armies then attacked the Chinese fort at Shwenyaungbin, which fell after a fierce battle. The fleeing Chinese troops fell back into the pocket near Kaungton where other Chinese forces were stationed. The Chinese armies were now trapped inside the corridor between the Shwenyaungbin and Kaungton forts, completely surrounded by rings of Burmese forces.
Maha Thiha Thura was said to have said:
He pointed out to his commanders that war with the Chinese was quickly becoming a cancer that would finally destroy the nation. Compared to Chinese losses, Burmese losses were light but considered in proportion to the population, they were heavy. The commanders were not convinced but Maha Thiha Thura, on his own responsibility, and without informing the king, demanded that the Chinese agree to the following terms:
The Chinese commanders decided to agree to the terms, probably because they had no other choice. At Kaungton, on 13 December 1769 (or 22 December 1769), under a 7-roofed pyathat hall, 14 Burmese and 13 Chinese officers signed a peace treaty. The Chinese burned their boats and melted down their cannon. Two days later, as the Burmese stood to arms and looked down, starved Chinese soldiers marched sullenly away up the Taiping valley; they began to perish by thousands of hunger in the passes.
At Ava, Hsinbyushin was furious that his generals had acted without his knowledge, and tore up his copy of the treaty. Knowing that the king was angry, the Burmese armies were afraid to return to the capital. In January 1770, they marched to Manipur
where a rebellion had begun, taking advantage of Burmese troubles with the Chinese. After a three days' battle near Langthabal, the Manipuris were defeated, and their raja fled to Assam. The Burmese raised their nominee to the throne, and returned. The king's anger had subsided; after all, they had won victories and preserved his throne. Still, the king sent Maha Thiha Thura, the decorated general, whose daughter was married to Hsinbyushin's son and heir-apparent Singu
, a woman's dress to wear, and exiled him and other generals to the Shan states. He would not allow them to see him. He also exiled ministers who dared to speak on their behalf.
Although hostilities ceased, an uneasy truce ensued. None of the points in the treaty was honored by both sides. Because the Chinese did not return the sawbwas, the Burmese did not return the 2500 Chinese prisoners of war, who were resettled. The Qing had lost some of the generation's most important frontier experts, including Yang Yingju, Mingrui, Aligun, and Fuheng (who eventually died of malaria in 1770). The war cost the Qing treasury 9.8 million silver tael
s. Nonetheless, Qianlong kept a heavy military lineup in the border areas of Yunnan for about one decade in an attempt to wage another war while imposing a ban on inter-border trade for two decades.
The Burmese for years were preoccupied with another impending invasion by the Chinese, and kept a series of garrisons along the border. The high casualties of the war (in terms of the population size) and the ongoing need to guard the northern border seriously hampered the Burmese military's capability to renew warfare in Siam. It would be another five years when the Burmese sent another invasion force to Siam.
It would be another twenty years when Burma and China resumed a diplomatic relationship in 1790. The resumption was brokered by the Tai-Shan nobles and Yunnan officials who wanted to see trade resume. To the Burmese, then under King Bodawpaya
, the resumption was on equal terms, and they considered the exchange of presents as part of diplomatic etiquette, not as tribute. To the Chinese however, all of these diplomatic missions were considered as tributary missions. Qianlong viewed the resumption of relations as Burmese submission, and unilaterally claimed victory and included the Burma campaign in his list of Ten Great Campaigns
.
However, the war also forced the Burmese to withdraw from Siam. Their victory over the Qing is described as a moral victory. Historian GE Harvey writes: "Their other victories were over states on their own level such as Siam; this was won over an empire. Alaungpaya's crusade against the Mon
s was stained with treachery; the great siege of Ayuthaya was a magnificent dacoity
", though he described the Sino-Burmese war "a righteous war of defense against the invader".
From a wider geopolitical standpoint, the Qing, and the Qianlong Emperor, who hitherto had never faced defeat, now had to accept—albeit grudgingly—that there were limits to Qing power. A historian of Chinese Military History, Marvin Whiting, writes that the Burmese success probably saved the independence of other states in Southeast Asia
.
The war is considered the peak of Konbaung military power. Historian Victor Lieberman writes: "These near simultaneous victories over Siam (1767) and China (1765-1769) testified to a truly astonishing elan unmatched since Bayinnaung
." 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.)
Yet it proved that there were limits to the Burmese military power. The Burmese learned that they could not fight two simultaneous wars, especially if one of them was the world's largest military. Hsinbyushin's reckless decision to fight a two-front war nearly cost the kingdom its independence. Moreover, their losses while smaller than Qing losses were heavy in proportion to her much smaller size of population, hampering their military capability elsewhere. Konbaung's military power would plateau in the following decades. It made no progress against Siam. Its later conquests came only against smaller kingdoms to the west—Arakan
, Manipur
and Assam
.
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and 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...
of Burma (Myanmar). China under the Qianlong Emperor
Qianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. The fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796...
launched four invasions of Burma between 1765 and 1769, which were considered as one of his Ten Great Campaigns
Ten Great Campaigns
The Ten Great Campaigns were a series of wars fought during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, much celebrated in the official Qing Dynasty annals. They included three to enlarge the area of Qing control in Central Asia: two against the Dzungars and the pacification of Xinjiang...
. Nonetheless, the war, which claimed the lives of over 70,000 Chinese soldiers and four commanders, is sometimes described as "the most disastrous frontier war that the Qing Dynasty had ever waged", and one that "assured Burmese independence". Burma's successful defense laid the foundation for the present-day boundary between the two countries.
At first, Qianlong envisaged an easy war, and sent in only the Green Standard troops
Green Standard Army
Green Standard Army is the name of a category of military units under the control of the Qing Dynasty in China. It was made up mostly of ethnic Han soldiers and operated concurrently with the Manchu-Mongol-Han Eight Banner armies...
stationed in Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
. The Qing invasion came as the majority of Burmese forces were deployed in their latest invasion of Siam
Ayutthaya kingdom
Ayutthaya was a Siamese kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767. Ayutthaya was friendly towards foreign traders, including the Chinese, Vietnamese , Indians, Japanese and Persians, and later the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and French, permitting them to set up villages outside the walls of the...
. Nonetheless, battle-hardened Burmese troops defeated the first two invasions of 1765–1766 and 1766–1767 at the border. The regional conflict now escalated to a major war that involved military maneuvers nationwide in both countries. The third invasion (1767–1768) led by the elite Manchu Bannermen
Eight Banners
The Eight Banners were administrative divisions into which all Manchu families were placed. They provided the basic framework for the Manchu military organization...
nearly succeeded, penetrating deep into central Burma within a few days' march from the capital, Ava
Ava
Innwa is a city in the Mandalay Division of Burma , situated just to the south of Amarapura on the Ayeyarwady River. Its formal title is Ratanapura , which means City of Gems in Pali. The name Innwa means mouth of the lake, which comes from in , meaning lake, and wa , which means mouth...
. But the Bannermen of northern China could not cope with unfamiliar tropical terrains and lethal endemic diseases, and were driven back with heavy losses. After the close-call, King Hsinbyushin
Hsinbyushin
Hsinbyushin was king of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma from 1763 to 1776. The second son of the dynasty founder Alaungpaya is best known for his wars with China and Siam, and is considered the most militaristic king of the dynasty. His successful defense against four Chinese invasions preserved...
redeployed his armies from Siam to the Chinese front. The fourth and largest invasion got bogged down at the frontier. With the Qing forces completely encircled, a truce was reached between the field commanders of the two sides in December 1769.
The Qing kept a heavy military lineup in the border areas of Yunnan for about one decade in an attempt to wage another war while imposing a ban on inter-border trade for two decades. The Burmese too were preoccupied with the Chinese threat, and kept a series of garrisons along the border. Twenty years later, when Burma and China resumed a diplomatic relationship in 1790, the Qing unilaterally viewed the act as Burmese submission, and claimed victory. Ironically, the main beneficiaries of this war were the Siamese. After having lost their capital Ayutthaya
Ayutthaya (city)
Ayutthaya city is the capital of Ayutthaya province in Thailand. Located in the valley of the Chao Phraya River. The city was founded in 1350 by King U Thong, who went there to escape a smallpox outbreak in Lop Buri and proclaimed it the capital of his kingdom, often referred to as the Ayutthaya...
to the Burmese in 1767, they reclaimed most of their territories in the next three years.
Background
The long border between Burma and China had long been vaguely defined. The Ming DynastyMing Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
first conquered Yunnan borderlands between 1380 and 1388, and stamped out local resistance by the mid 1440s. The Burmese control of the Shan States
Shan States
The Shan States were the princely states that ruled large areas of today's Burma , Yunnan Province in China, Laos and Thailand from the late 13th century until mid-20th century...
(which covered the present-day Kachin State
Kachin State
Kachin State , is the northernmost state of Burma. It is bordered by China to the north and east; Shan State to the south; and Sagaing Division and India to the west. It lies between north latitude 23° 27' and 28° 25' longitude 96° 0' and 98° 44'. The area of Kachin State is . The capital of the...
, Shan State
Shan State
Shan State is a state of Burma . Shan State borders China to the north, Laos to the east, and Thailand to the south, and five administrative divisions of Burma in the west. Largest of the 14 administrative divisions by land area, Shan State covers 155,800 km², almost a quarter of the total...
and Kayah State
Kayah State
Kayah State is a state of Myanmar. Situated in eastern Myanmar, it is bounded on the north by Shan State, on the east by Thailand's Mae Hong Son Province, and on the south and west by Kayin State. It lies approximately between 18° 30' and 19° 55' north latitude and between 94°40' and 97° 93' east...
) came in 1557 when 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...
of Toungoo Dynasty
Toungoo Dynasty
The Toungoo Dynasty was the ruling dynasty of Burma from the mid-16th century to 1752. Its early kings Tabinshwehti and Bayinnaung succeeded in reunifying the Pagan Empire for the first time since 1287, and in incorporating the Shan States for the first time...
conquered all of the Shan States. The border was never demarcated in the modern sense, with local Shan sawbwas (chiefs) at the border regions paying tribute to both sides. The situation turned to China's favor in the 1730s when the Qing decided to impose a tighter control of Yunnan's border regions while the Burmese authority largely dissipated with the rapid decline of the Toungoo Dynasty.
Qing consolidation of borderlands (1730s)
Simao District
Simao District is a district under the jurisdiction of Pu'er Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. It is the seat of Puer Prefecture....
personally and held a ceremony of allegiance which marked as Qing annexation of border areas. By the mid-1730s, the sawbwas of the border who used to pay dual tributes, were increasingly siding with the more powerful Qing. By 1735, the year which the Qianlong Emperor ascended the Chinese throne, ten sawbwas had sided with the Qing. The annexed border states ranged from Mogaung
Mogaung
Mogaung is a town in Kachin State, Myanmar. It is situated on the Mandalay-Myitkyina railway line.-External links:* Falling Rain Genomics, Inc.* Maplandia.com...
and Bhamo
Bhamo
Bhamo is a city of Kachin State in northernmost part of Myanmar, located 186 km south from the capital city of Myitkyina. It is on the Ayeyarwady River. It lies within 65 km of the border with Yunnan Province, China. The population consists of Chinese and Shan, with Kachin peoples in...
in present day Kachin State
Kachin State
Kachin State , is the northernmost state of Burma. It is bordered by China to the north and east; Shan State to the south; and Sagaing Division and India to the west. It lies between north latitude 23° 27' and 28° 25' longitude 96° 0' and 98° 44'. The area of Kachin State is . The capital of the...
to Hsenwi (Theinni) and Kengtung (Kyaingtong) in present day Shan State
Shan State
Shan State is a state of Burma . Shan State borders China to the north, Laos to the east, and Thailand to the south, and five administrative divisions of Burma in the west. Largest of the 14 administrative divisions by land area, Shan State covers 155,800 km², almost a quarter of the total...
to Sipsongpanna
Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture
Xishuangbanna is an autonomous prefecture in Yunnan Province, China. The capital city is Jinghong, the largest settlement in the area and one that straddles the Mekong River, called the Lancang River in Chinese.-Name:...
(Kyaingyun) in present day Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan.
While the Qing were consolidating their hold at the border, the Toungoo Dynasty was faced with multiple external raids and internal rebellions and could not take any reciprocal action. Throughout the 1730s, the dynasty faced Manipuri
Manipuri
Manipuri is the synonym of Meetei or Meitei. Meetei is an endonym and Manipuri is an exonym.It may refer to:* Manipur, a state in northeastern India* Manipuri language, a Tibeto-Burman language also known as the Meeteilon...
raids that reached increasingly deeper parts of Upper Burma. In 1740, the Mon
Mon people
The Mon are an ethnic group from Burma , living mostly in Mon State, Bago Division, the Irrawaddy Delta, and along the southern Thai–Burmese border. One of the earliest peoples to reside in Southeast Asia, the Mon were responsible for the spread of Theravada Buddhism in Burma and Thailand...
of Lower Burma revolted and founded the Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom
Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom
The Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom was the kingdom that ruled Lower Burma and parts of Upper Burma from 1740 to 1757. The kingdom grew out of a rebellion by the Mon people, who then formed the majority in Lower Burma, against the Burman Toungoo Dynasty of Ava in Upper Burma...
. By the mid-1740s, the authority of the Burmese king had largely dissipated. In 1752, the Toungoo Dynasty was toppled by the forces of Restored Hanthawaddy which captured Ava
Ava
Innwa is a city in the Mandalay Division of Burma , situated just to the south of Amarapura on the Ayeyarwady River. Its formal title is Ratanapura , which means City of Gems in Pali. The name Innwa means mouth of the lake, which comes from in , meaning lake, and wa , which means mouth...
.
By then, the Qing control of the former borderlands was unquestioned. In 1752, the Qianlong Emperor issued a manuscript, Qing Imperial illustration of Tributaries, saying that all "barbarian" tribes under his rule must be studied and reported their natures and cultures back to Beijing.
Burmese reassertion (1750s-1760s)
In 1752, a new dynasty called KonbaungKonbaung 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...
rose to challenge Restored Hanthawaddy, and went on to reunite much of the kingdom by 1758. In 1758-59, King 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...
, the founder of the dynasty, sent an expedition to the farther Shan States (present-day Kachin State and northern and eastern Shan State), which had been annexed by the Qing over two decades earlier, to reestablish Burmese authority. (Nearer Shan States had been reacquired since 1754). Three of the ten farther Shan state sawbwas (Mogaung, Bhamo, Hsenwi) and their militias reportedly ran away into Yunnan and tried persuade Qing officials to invade Burma. The nephew of Kengtung sawbwa and his followers also fled.
The Yunnan government reported the news to Qianlong in 1759, and the Qing court promptly issued an imperial edict ordering reconquest. At first, the Yunnan officials, who believed that "barbarians must be conquered using barbarians", tried to resolve the matter by supporting the defected sawbwas. But the strategy did not work. In 1764, a Burmese army, which was on its way to Siam, was increasing its grip of the borderlands, and the sawbwas complained to China. In response, the emperor appointed Liu Zao, a respected scholarly minister from the capital to sort out the matters. At Kunming, Liu assessed that the use of Tai-Shan militias alone was not working, and that he needed to commit regular Green Standard Army
Green Standard Army
Green Standard Army is the name of a category of military units under the control of the Qing Dynasty in China. It was made up mostly of ethnic Han soldiers and operated concurrently with the Manchu-Mongol-Han Eight Banner armies...
troops.
First invasion (1765–1766)
In early 1765, a 20,000-strong Burmese army stationed at Kengtung, led by Gen. Ne Myo ThihapateNe 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:...
, left Kengtung for yet another Burmese invasion of Siam. With the main Burmese army gone, Liu used a few minor trade disputes between local Chinese and Burmese merchants as the excuse to order an invasion of Kengtung in December 1765. The invasion force, which consisted of 3,500 Green Standard troops
Green Standard Army
Green Standard Army is the name of a category of military units under the control of the Qing Dynasty in China. It was made up mostly of ethnic Han soldiers and operated concurrently with the Manchu-Mongol-Han Eight Banner armies...
along with Tai-Shan militias, laid siege to Kengtung but could not match battle-hardened Burmese troops at the Kengtung garrison, led by Gen. Ne Myo Sithu
Ne Myo Sithu
Ne Myo Sithu was the overall commander of Burmese military forces in the first half of the Sino-Burmese War . He successfully led the Burmese armies in the first two invasions by the Chinese . In the second invasion , he began as the second-in-command of Gen. Maha Sithu but assumed the overall...
. The Burmese lifted the siege and pursued the invaders into Pu'er Prefecture
Ning'er Hani and Yi Autonomous County
The Ning'er Hani and Yi Autonomous County is an autonomous county under the jurisdiction of Pu'er Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China.-Demography:...
, and defeated them there. Ne Myo Sithu left a reinforced garrison, and returned to Ava in April 1766.
Governor Liu in his embarrassment first tried to conceal what had happened. When the emperor became suspicious, he ordered Liu's immediate recall and demotion. Instead of complying, Liu committed suicide by slicing his throat with a stationery knife, writing as blood was pouring from his neck: "There is no way to pay back the emperor's favor. I deserve death with my crime". While this kind of suicide in the face of bureaucratic failure apparently was not unusual in Qing China, it reportedly enraged Qianlong nonetheless. Sorting out the Mien (the Chinese word for "Burmese") was now a matter of imperial prestige. The emperor now appointed Yang Yingju, an experienced frontier officer with long service in Xinjiang and Guangzhou.
Second invasion (1766–1767)
Yang arrived in the summer of 1766 to take command. Unlike Liu's invasion of Kengtung, located far away from the Burmese heartland, Yang was determined to strike Upper Burma directly. He reportedly planned to place a Qing claimant on the Burmese throne. Yang's planned path of invasion was via Bhamo and down the Irrawaddy river to Ava. The Burmese knew the route of invasion in advance, and were prepared. Hsinbyushin's plan was to lure the Chinese into Burmese territory, and then surround them. The Burmese commander in the field BalamindinBalamindin
Balamindin was a general in the Burmese army of the Konbaung Dynasty. He is best known in Burmese history for his spirited defense Fort Kaungton against repeated attacks by numerically superior Chinese invasion forces in the Sino-Burmese War . From 1766 to 1769, Balamindin commanded the fort...
was ordered to give up Bhamo, and instead stay at the Burmese stockade at Kaungton
Kaungton
Kaungton is a village in Bhamo Township in Bhamo District in the Kachin State of north-eastern Burma..-External links:*...
, a few miles south of Bhamo on the Irrawaddy. The Kaungton fort had been especially equipped with the cannon corps led by the French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
gunners (captured at the battle of Thanlyin
Thanlyin
Thanlyin is a major port city of Myanmar, located across Bago River from the city of Yangon. Thanlyin Township comprises 17 quarters and 28 village tracts. It is home to the largest port in the country, Thilawa port.-History:...
in 1756.) To reinforce them, another army led by Maha Thiha Thura
Maha 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...
and posted at the easternmost Burmese garrison at Kenghung
Jinghong
Jinghong romanised as chiang rung, chiang hung, chengrung, cheng hung, jinghung, keng hung and muangjinghung) is the capital of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan province, China, and the historic capital of the former Tai kingdom of Sipsongpanna.-Location:Located between 100°25' -...
(present-day Jinghong, Yunnan), was ordered to march to the Bhamo theater across the northern Shan states.
Trap at Bhamo–Kaungton
As planned, the Qing troops easily captured Bhamo in December 1766, and established a supply base. The Chinese then proceeded to lay siege to the Burmese garrison at Kaungton. But Balamindin's defenses held off repeated Chinese assaults. Meanwhile, two Burmese armies, one led by Maha SithuMaha Sithu
Maha Sithu , was a general of Konbaung Dynasty of Burma who commanded the Burmese armies in the Sino–Burmese War . In the war, he was the commander-in-chief of the Burmese forces in the second invasion but he gave up the command after he fell ill. He again was the overall commander in the third...
, and another led by Ne Myo Sithu
Ne Myo Sithu
Ne Myo Sithu was the overall commander of Burmese military forces in the first half of the Sino-Burmese War . He successfully led the Burmese armies in the first two invasions by the Chinese . In the second invasion , he began as the second-in-command of Gen. Maha Sithu but assumed the overall...
, surrounded the Chinese. Maha Thiha Thura's army also arrived and took position near Bhamo to block the escape route back to Yunnan.
The impasse did not favor the Chinese troops who were utterly unprepared to fight in the tropical weather of Upper Burma. Thousands of Chinese soldiers reportedly were struck down by cholera, dysentery and malaria. One Qing report stated that "800 out of 1000 soldiers in one garrison had died of disease, and that another hundred were ill".
With the Chinese army greatly weakened, the Burmese then launched their offensive. First, Ne Myo Sithu easily retook the lightly held Bhamo. The main Chinese army was now totally holed up in the Kaungton-Bhamo corridor, cut off from all supplies. The Burmese then proceeded to attack the main Chinese army from two sides Balamindin's army out of Kaungton fortress, and Ne Myo Sithu's army from the north. The Chinese retreated eastwards and then northwards where another Burmese army led by Maha Thiha Thura
Maha 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...
was waiting. The two other Burmese armies also followed up, and the Chinese army was destroyed entirely. Maha Sithu's army which had been guarding the western flank of the Irrawaddy, then marched north of Myitkyina
Myitkyina
Myitkyina is the capital city of Kachin State in Myanmar , located from Yangon, and from Mandalay. In Burmese it means "near the big river", and in fact "Myitkyina" lies on the west bank of the Ayeyarwady River, just below from Myit-son of its two headstreams...
and defeated lightly held other Chinese garrisons at the border. The Burmese armies proceeded to occupy eight Chinese Shan States within Yunnan.
Aftermath
Victorious Burmese armies returned to Ava with the captured guns, muskets and prisoners in early May. At Kunming, Governor Yang began resorting to lies. He reported that Bhamo had been occupied; that its inhabitants had begun wearing Manchu-style pigtailQueue (hairstyle)
The queue or cue is a hairstyle in which the hair is worn long and gathered up into a ponytail. It was worn traditionally by certain Native American groups and the Manchu of Manchuria.-Manchu Queue:...
s; and that the Burmese commander, Ne Myo Sithu, after losing 10,000 men had sued for peace. He recommended that the emperor graciously accept the peace offer to restore the normal trade relations between the two countries. The Qianlong Emperor however realized the falsity of the report, and ordered Yang back to Beijing. On his arrival, Yang committed suicide at the order of the emperor.
Chinese mobilization
After the two defeats, the emperor and his court could not comprehend how a relatively small "barbaric" country like Burma could resist to the might of the Qing. For Qianlong, it was time for the ManchuManchu
The Manchu people or Man are an ethnic minority of China who originated in Manchuria . During their rise in the 17th century, with the help of the Ming dynasty rebels , they came to power in China and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which...
s themselves to come into the picture. He had always doubted the battle-worthiness of his Chinese Green Standard armies. The Manchus saw themselves as a warlike and conquering race and the Chinese as an occupied people. He commissioned a study of the first two invasions, and the report reinforced his biases—that the low battle-worthiness of the Green Standard armies was the reason for the failures.
In 1767, Qianlong appointed the veteran Manchu commander Mingrui
Mingrui
Mingrui was governor-general of Yunnan and Guizhou from April 1767 to March 1768. A son-in-law of the Qianlong Emperor of China, Mingrui was appointed by the emperor to lead a 50,000-strong invasion force led by the elite Manchu Bannermen in the third campaign of the Qing invasions of Burma...
, a son-in-law of his, as governor-general of Yunnan and Guizhou, and head of the Burma campaign. Mingrui had seen battle against the Turks in the northwest and was in command of the strategically key post of Ili
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture , in northernmost Xinjiang, is the only Kazakh autonomous prefecture of the People's Republic of China.-Geography and coordinates:The following figures excludes both Tacheng Prefecture and Altay Prefecture....
(in present-day Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
). His appointment meant that this was no longer a border dispute but a full-fledged war. Mingrui arrived in Yunnan in April. An invasion force consisted of elite Manchu and Mongol troops were rushed down from northern China and Manchuria. Provinces throughout China were mobilized to provide supplies. This force was to be accompanied by thousands of Green Standards from Yunnan and Tai-Shan militias. The strength of the total invasion force was 50,000 men, the vast majority being infantry. The mountains and thick jungles of Burma kept the use of cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
forces to a minimum. As a precaution against illness, which the Qing court now took seriously, the campaign was planned for the winter months when diseases were believed to be less prevalent.
Burmese mobilization
The Burmese now had the biggest army in the world mobilized against them. Yet King Hsinbyushin did not seem to realize the gravity of the situation. Throughout the first two invasions, he had steadfastly refused to recall the main Burmese armies, which had been battling in Siam since January 1765, and laying siege to the Siamese capital of AyutthayaAyutthaya (city)
Ayutthaya city is the capital of Ayutthaya province in Thailand. Located in the valley of the Chao Phraya River. The city was founded in 1350 by King U Thong, who went there to escape a smallpox outbreak in Lop Buri and proclaimed it the capital of his kingdom, often referred to as the Ayutthaya...
since January 1766. Throughout 1767, when the Chinese were mobilizing for their most serious invasion yet, the Burmese were still focused on defeating the Siamese. Even after the Siamese capital was finally captured in April 1767, Hsinbyushin kept much of the troops in Siam during the rainy season months in order to mop up the remaining Siamese resistance during the winter months later that year. (He actually allowed many Shan and Laotian battalions to demobilize at the start of the rainy season.)
As a result, when the invasion did come in November 1767, the Burmese defenses had not been upgraded to meet a much larger and a more determined foe. The Burmese command looked much like that of the second invasion. Hsinbyushin again assigned the same commanders of the second invasion to face off the Chinese. Maha Sithu led the main Burmese army, and was the overall commander of the Chinese theater, with Maha Thiha Thura
Maha 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...
and Ne Myo Sithu
Ne Myo Sithu
Ne Myo Sithu was the overall commander of Burmese military forces in the first half of the Sino-Burmese War . He successfully led the Burmese armies in the first two invasions by the Chinese . In the second invasion , he began as the second-in-command of Gen. Maha Sithu but assumed the overall...
commanding two other Burmese armies. Balamindin again commanded the Kaungton fort. (Given that the main Burmese army was only about 7000 strong, the entire Burmese defense at the start of the third invasion was most likely no more than 20,000.)
Chinese offensive
Mingrui planned a two-pronged invasion as soon as the rainy season ended. The main Chinese army, led by Mingrui himself, was to approach Ava through Hsenwi, LashioLashio
Lashio is the largest town in northern Shan State, Myanmar, about northeast of Mandalay. It is situated on a low mountain spur overlooking the valley of the Nam Yao river. The population grew from around 5000 in 1960 to 88,590 in 1983. It is currently estimated at around 130,000.Lashio is the...
and Hsipaw
Hsipaw
Hsipaw , is a town in Shan State, Myanmar on the riverbank of Myitnge River. It is 200 km northeast of Mandalay.-Shan Saopha:Hsipaw is perhaps one of the most well known and powerful saopha states of Shan State...
, and down the Namtu river
Namtu
Namtu is a town in northern Shan State, Burma. Famous for its Bawdwin and Namtu silver mines, it is situated on the Nam Tu River, and is connected to Lashio by rail.-History:...
. (The main invasion route was the same route followed by the Manchu forces a century earlier, chasing Yongli Emperor
Zhu Youlang, Prince of Gui
Zhu Youlang, Prince of Gui, the Yongli Emperor was the fourth and last emperor of the Southern Ming Dynasty of China. His era name means "Perpetual calendar"....
of Ming Dynasty.) The second army, led by Gen. E'erdeng'e, was to try the Bhamo route again. The ultimate objective was for both armies to clamp themselves in a pincer action on the Burmese capital of Ava. The Burmese plan was to hold the second Chinese army in the north at Kaungton with the army led by Ne Myo Sithu, and meet the main Chinese army in the northeast with two armies led by Maha Sithu and Maha Thiha Thura.
At first, everything went according to plan for the Qing. The third invasion began in November 1767 as the smaller Chinese army attacked and occupied Bhamo. Within eight days, Mingrui's main army occupied the Shan states of Hsenwi and Hsipaw. Mingrui made Hsenwi a supply base, and assigned 5000 troops to remain at Hsenwi and guard the rear. He then led a 15,000-strong army in the direction of Ava. In late December, at the Goteik Gorge (south of Hsipaw), the two main armies faced off and the first major battle of the third invasion ensued. Outnumbered two-to-one, Maha Sithu's main Burmese army was thoroughly routed by Mingrui's Bannermen. Maha Thiha Thura too was repulsed at Hsenwi. The news of the disaster at Goteik reached Ava. Hsinbyushin finally realized the gravity of the situation, and urgently recalled Burmese armies from Siam.
Having smashed through the main Burmese army, Mingrui pressed on full steam ahead, overrunning one town after another, and reached Singu
Singu
-External links:*...
on the Irrawaddy, 30 miles north of Ava at the beginning of 1768. The only bright spot for the Burmese was that the northern invasion force, which was to come down the Irrawaddy to join up with Mingrui's main army, had been held off at Kaungton
Kaungton
Kaungton is a village in Bhamo Township in Bhamo District in the Kachin State of north-eastern Burma..-External links:*...
.
Burmese counter-attack
At Ava, Hsinbyushin famously did not panic at the prospect of a large Chinese army (about 30,000) at the doorstep. The court urged the king to flee but he scornfully refused, saying he and his brother princes, sons of Alaungpaya, would fight the Chinese single-handed if they had to. Instead of defending the capital, Hsinbyushin calmly sent an army to take up position outside Singu, personally leading his men toward the front line.It turned out that Mingrui had overstretched himself, and was in no position to proceed any farther. He was now too far away from his main supply base at Hsenwi, hundreds of miles away in the northern Shan Hills. The Burmese guerrilla attacks on the long supply lines across the jungles of the Shan Hills were seriously hampering the Qing army's ability to proceed. (Burmese guerrilla operations were directed by Gen. Teingya Minkhaung
Teingya Minkhaung
Teingya Minkhaung was a minister and an army general of Konbaung Dynasty of Burma . He is best known for his effective guerrilla warfare against the Chinese invasion forces in the Sino-Burmese War...
, a deputy of Maha Thiha Thura). Mingrui now resorted to defensive tactics, playing for time to enable the northern army to come to his relief. But it was not to be. The northern army had suffered heavy casualties in their repeated attacks against the Kaungton fort. Its commander, against the express orders of Mingrui, retreated back to Yunnan. (The commander was later publicly shamed and executed on the orders of the emperor.)
The situation turned worse for Mingrui. By early 1768, battle-hardened Burmese reinforcements from Siam had begun to arrive back. Bolstered by the reinforcements, two Burmese armies led by Maha Thiha Thura and Ne Myo Sithu succeeded in retaking Hsenwi. The Qing commander at Hsenwi committed suicide. The main Qing army was now cut off from all supplies. It was now March 1768. Thousands of Bannermen, nomadic tribesmen from the freezing grasslands along the Russian border, began dying of malaria as well as Burmese attacks in the furnace-like hot weather of central Burma. Mingrui gave up all hope of proceeding toward Ava, and instead tried to make it back to Yunnan with as many of his soldiers as possible.
Battle of Maymyo
In March 1768, Mingrui 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 Mingrui 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. 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. Mingrui himself was severely wounded in battle. Only a small group managed to break through and escaped the carnage. Mingrui himself could have escaped with that group. Instead, he cut off his pigtail and sent it to the emperor as a token of his loyalty by those who were escaping. He then hanged himself on a tree. In the end, only a few dozen of the main army returned.Intermission (1768-1769)
The Qianlong Emperor had sent Mingrui and his Bannermen assuming an easy victory. He had begun making plans about how he would administer his newest territory. For weeks, the Qing court had heard nothing, and then the news finally came. The emperor was shocked and ordered an immediate halt to all military actions until he could decide what next to do. Generals returning from the front line cautioned that there was no way Burma could be conquered. But there was no real choice but to press on. Imperial prestige was at stake.The emperor turned to one of his most trusted advisers, the chief grand councilor Fuheng
Fuheng
Fuheng was a senior official at the court of the Qianlong Emperor from the 1750s to his death in 1770. He is best known for leading the Qing troops in the fourth and last invasion of Burma in the Sino-Burmese War...
, Mingrui's uncle. Back in the 1750s, Fuheng had been one of the few senior officials who had fully backed Qianlong's decision to eliminate the Dzungars at a time when most believed that war was too risky. On 14 April 1768, the imperial court announced the death of Mingrui and the appointment of Fuheng as the new chief commander of the Burma campaign. Manchu generals, Agui, Aligun and Suhede were appointed as his deputies. Now, the top rung of the Qing military establishment prepared for a final showdown with the Burmese.
Before any fighting resumed, some on the Chinese side sent out peace feelers to the court of Ava. The Burmese also sent signals that they would like to give diplomacy a chance, given their preoccupations in Siam. But the emperor, with Fuheng's encouragement, made it clear that no compromise with the Burmese could be made. The dignity of the state demanded a full surrender. His aim was to establish direct Qing rule over all Burmese possessions. Emissaries were sent to Siam and Laotian states informing them of the Chinese ambition and seeking an alliance.
Ava now fully expected another major invasion. Hsinbyushin had now brought most of the troops back from Siam to face the Chinese. With the Burmese fully preoccupied with the Chinese threat, the Siamese resistance retook Ayutthaya in 1768 and went on to reconquer all of their territories throughout 1768 and 1769. For the Burmese, their hard-fought gains of the prior three years (1765–1767) in Siam had gone to waste but there was little they could do. The survival of their kingdom was now at stake.
Chinese battle plan
Fuheng arrived in Yunnan in April, 1769 to take command of a 60,000-strong force. He studied past Ming and Mongol expeditions to form his battle plan, which called for a three-pronged invasion via Bhamo and the Irrawaddy river. The first army would attack Bhamo and Kaungton head-on, which he knew would be difficult. But two other larger armies would bypass Kaungton and march down the Irrawaddy, one on each bank of the river, to Ava. The twin invading armies on each side of the river would be accompanied by war boats manned by thousands of sailors from the Fujian Navy. Not to repeat the mistake of Mingrui, he was determined to guard his supply and communication lines, and advance at a sustainable pace. (He apparently avoided an invasion route through the jungles of Shan Hills so as to minimize the Burmese guerrilla attacks on his supply lines.) He brought in a full regiment of carpenters who would build fortresses and boats along the invasion route.Burmese battle plan
For the Burmese, the overall objective was to stop the enemy at the border, and prevent another Chinese penetration into their heartland. Maha Thiha Thura was the overall commander, the role which he had assumed since the second half of the third invasion. As usual, Balamindin commanded the Kaungton fort. In the last week of September, three Burmese armies were dispatched to meet the three Chinese armies head-on. A fourth army was organized with the sole purpose to cut the enemy supply lines. Hsinbyushin had also organized a flotilla of war boats to meet the Chinese war boats. The Burmese defenses now included French musketeers and gunners under the command of Pierre de MilardPierre de Milard
Pierre de Milard , often described as Chevalier Milard, also spelled Chevalier Millard, was a French Navy officer of the 18th century who became a Captain of the Guard for the king of Burma...
, governor of Tabe
Natogyi Township
NwarHtoGyi Township is a township of Myingyan District in the Mandalay Division of Burma....
, who had arrived back from the Siamese theater. (Based on their troop movements, the Burmese appeared to have known at least the general direction of where the massive invasion force would come.) Maha Thiha Thura moved upriver by boat toward Bhamo.
Invasion
As the Burmese armies marched north, Fuheng, against the advice of his officers, decided not to wait until the end of the monsoon season. It clearly was a calculated gamble; he had wanted to strike before the Burmese arrived but he had also hoped that "miasma would not be everywhere." So in October 1768, towards the end of (but still during) the monsoon season, Fuheng launched the largest invasion yet. The three Chinese armies jointly attacked and captured Bhamo. They proceeded south and built a massive fortress near ShwenyaungbinShwenyaungbin
Shwenyaungbin, also Shwe-nyaung-bin or Schwenyaungbiri, is a large village in Mogok Township, Pyin Oo Lwin District, in the Mandalay Region of central Burma. It is located west of Mogok...
village, 12 miles east of the Burmese fortress at Kaungton. As planned, the carpenters duly built hundreds of war boats to sail down the Irrawaddy.
But almost nothing went according to plan. One army did cross over to the western bank of the Irrawaddy, as planned. But the commander of that army did not want to march far away from the base. When the Burmese army assigned to guard the west bank approached, the Chinese retreated back to the east bank. Likewise, the army assigned to march down the eastern bank also did not proceed. This left the Chinese flotilla exposed. The Burmese flotilla came up the river and attacked and sank all the Chinese boats. The Chinese armies now converged on attacking Kaungton. But for four consecutive weeks, the Burmese put up a remarkable defense, withstanding gallant charges by the Bannermen to scale the walls.
A little over a month into the invasion, the entire Qing invasion force was bogged down at the border. Predictably, many Chinese soldiers and sailors fell ill, and began to die in large numbers. Fuheng himself was struck down by fever. More ominously for the Chinese, the Burmese army sent to cut the enemy line of communication also achieved its purpose, and closed in on the Chinese armies from the rear. By early December, the Chinese forces were completely encircled. The Burmese armies then attacked the Chinese fort at Shwenyaungbin, which fell after a fierce battle. The fleeing Chinese troops fell back into the pocket near Kaungton where other Chinese forces were stationed. The Chinese armies were now trapped inside the corridor between the Shwenyaungbin and Kaungton forts, completely surrounded by rings of Burmese forces.
Truce
The Chinese command, which had already lost 20,000 men, and a quantity of arms and ammunition, now asked for terms. The Burmese staff were averse to granting terms, saying that the Chinese were surrounded like cattle in a pen, they were starving, and in a few days, they could be wiped out to a man. But Maha Thiha Thura, who oversaw the annihilation of Mingrui's army at the battle of Maymyo in 1768, realized that another wipe-out would merely stiffen the resolve of the Chinese government.Maha Thiha Thura was said to have said:
- 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.
He pointed out to his commanders that war with the Chinese was quickly becoming a cancer that would finally destroy the nation. Compared to Chinese losses, Burmese losses were light but considered in proportion to the population, they were heavy. The commanders were not convinced but Maha Thiha Thura, on his own responsibility, and without informing the king, demanded that the Chinese agree to the following terms:
- The Chinese would surrender all the sawbwas and other rebels and fugitives from Burmese justice who had taken shelter in Chinese territory;
- The Chinese would undertake to respect Burmese sovereignty over those Shan states that had been historically part of Burma;
- All prisoners of war would be released;
- The emperor of China and the king of Burma would resume friendly relations, regularly exchanging embassies bearing letters of good will and presents.
The Chinese commanders decided to agree to the terms, probably because they had no other choice. At Kaungton, on 13 December 1769 (or 22 December 1769), under a 7-roofed pyathat hall, 14 Burmese and 13 Chinese officers signed a peace treaty. The Chinese burned their boats and melted down their cannon. Two days later, as the Burmese stood to arms and looked down, starved Chinese soldiers marched sullenly away up the Taiping valley; they began to perish by thousands of hunger in the passes.
Epilogue
At Beijing, the Qianlong Emperor was not pleased with the treaty. He did not accept the Chinese commanders' explanation that the fourth stipulation—exchange of embassies bearing presents amounted to Burmese submission and tribute. He did not permit the surrender of the sawbwas or other fugitives nor the resumption of trade between the two countries.At Ava, Hsinbyushin was furious that his generals had acted without his knowledge, and tore up his copy of the treaty. Knowing that the king was angry, the Burmese armies were afraid to return to the capital. In January 1770, they marched to 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...
where a rebellion had begun, taking advantage of Burmese troubles with the Chinese. After a three days' battle near Langthabal, the Manipuris were defeated, and their raja fled to Assam. The Burmese raised their nominee to the throne, and returned. The king's anger had subsided; after all, they had won victories and preserved his throne. Still, the king sent Maha Thiha Thura, the decorated general, whose daughter was married to Hsinbyushin's son and heir-apparent Singu
Singu Min
Singu Min was the fourth king of the Konbaung dynasty of Myanmar. The king, who came to power amid controversy, largely put an end to his father Hsinbyushin's policy of territorial expansion, which had severely depleted the kingdom's manpower and resources. He stopped his father's latest war...
, a woman's dress to wear, and exiled him and other generals to the Shan states. He would not allow them to see him. He also exiled ministers who dared to speak on their behalf.
Although hostilities ceased, an uneasy truce ensued. None of the points in the treaty was honored by both sides. Because the Chinese did not return the sawbwas, the Burmese did not return the 2500 Chinese prisoners of war, who were resettled. The Qing had lost some of the generation's most important frontier experts, including Yang Yingju, Mingrui, Aligun, and Fuheng (who eventually died of malaria in 1770). The war cost the Qing treasury 9.8 million silver tael
Tael
Tael can refer to any one of several weight measures of the Far East. Most commonly, it refers to the Chinese tael, a part of the Chinese system of weights and currency....
s. Nonetheless, Qianlong kept a heavy military lineup in the border areas of Yunnan for about one decade in an attempt to wage another war while imposing a ban on inter-border trade for two decades.
The Burmese for years were preoccupied with another impending invasion by the Chinese, and kept a series of garrisons along the border. The high casualties of the war (in terms of the population size) and the ongoing need to guard the northern border seriously hampered the Burmese military's capability to renew warfare in Siam. It would be another five years when the Burmese sent another invasion force to Siam.
It would be another twenty years when Burma and China resumed a diplomatic relationship in 1790. The resumption was brokered by the Tai-Shan nobles and Yunnan officials who wanted to see trade resume. To the Burmese, then under 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...
, the resumption was on equal terms, and they considered the exchange of presents as part of diplomatic etiquette, not as tribute. To the Chinese however, all of these diplomatic missions were considered as tributary missions. Qianlong viewed the resumption of relations as Burmese submission, and unilaterally claimed victory and included the Burma campaign in his list of Ten Great Campaigns
Ten Great Campaigns
The Ten Great Campaigns were a series of wars fought during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, much celebrated in the official Qing Dynasty annals. They included three to enlarge the area of Qing control in Central Asia: two against the Dzungars and the pacification of Xinjiang...
.
Territorial changes
Burma's successful defense laid the foundation for the present-day boundary between the two countries. The border still was not demarcated, and the borderlands were still overlapping spheres of influence. After the war, Burma remained in possession of Koshanpye, the nine states above Bhamo. At least down to the eve of the First Anglo-Burmese War in 1824, the Burmese exerted authority over the southern Yunnan borderlands, as far as Kenghung (present-day Jinghong, Yunnan). Likewise, the Chinese exercised a degree of control over the borderlands, including present-day northeastern Kachin State. Overall, the Burmese were able to push back the line of control up to one that existed before the Qing consolidation drive of 1730s.However, the war also forced the Burmese to withdraw from Siam. Their victory over the Qing is described as a moral victory. Historian GE Harvey writes: "Their other victories were over states on their own level such as Siam; this was won over an empire. Alaungpaya's crusade against the Mon
Mon people
The Mon are an ethnic group from Burma , living mostly in Mon State, Bago Division, the Irrawaddy Delta, and along the southern Thai–Burmese border. One of the earliest peoples to reside in Southeast Asia, the Mon were responsible for the spread of Theravada Buddhism in Burma and Thailand...
s was stained with treachery; the great siege of Ayuthaya was a magnificent dacoity
Dacoity
Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in India. The spelling is the anglicized version of the Hindi word and as a colloquial Anglo-Indian word with this meaning, also appears in the Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases Banditry is criminal activity involving robbery by groups of...
", though he described the Sino-Burmese war "a righteous war of defense against the invader".
Geopolitical
The main beneficiaries of the war were the Siamese, who took full advantage of the Burmese absence to reclaim their lost territories and independence. By 1770, they had reconquered most of the pre-1765 territories. Only Tenesserim remained in Burmese hands. Preoccupied by the Chinese threat, and recovering from the depletion of manpower from the war, Hsinbyushin left Siam alone even as Siam continued to consolidate its gains. (He was finally forced to send Burmese armies to Siam in 1775 in response to a Siamese-backed rebellion in Lan Na a year earlier). In the following decades, Siam would become a power in its own right, swallowing up Lan Na, Laotian states, and parts of Cambodia.From a wider geopolitical standpoint, the Qing, and the Qianlong Emperor, who hitherto had never faced defeat, now had to accept—albeit grudgingly—that there were limits to Qing power. A historian of Chinese Military History, Marvin Whiting, writes that the Burmese success probably saved the independence of other states in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
.
Military
For the Qing, the war highlighted limits to their military power. Qianlong blamed the low battle-worthiness of his Green Standard armies for the first two failed invasions. But he was to concede later that his Manchu Bannermen too were less suited to fighting in Burma than in Xinjiang. Despite sending in 50,000 and 60,000 troops in the last two invasions, the Qing command lacked up-to-date invasion routes, and had to consult centuries-old maps to form their battle plan. This unfamiliarity exposed their supply and communication lines to repeated Burmese attacks, and allowed their main armies to be encircled in the last three invasions. The Burmese scorched earth policy meant that the Chinese were vulnerable to supply line cuts. Perhaps most importantly, the Qing soldiers proved ill-suited to fight in the tropical weather of Burma. In the last three invasions, thousands of Chinese troops died of (or were ill from) malaria and other tropical diseases. This must have neutralized to a considerable degree the main Chinese advantage of superior numbers, and allowed the Burmese to engage the Chinese armies head-to-head towards the end of the invasions.The war is considered the peak of Konbaung military power. Historian Victor Lieberman writes: "These near simultaneous victories over Siam (1767) and China (1765-1769) testified to a truly astonishing elan unmatched since 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 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.)
Yet it proved that there were limits to the Burmese military power. The Burmese learned that they could not fight two simultaneous wars, especially if one of them was the world's largest military. Hsinbyushin's reckless decision to fight a two-front war nearly cost the kingdom its independence. Moreover, their losses while smaller than Qing losses were heavy in proportion to her much smaller size of population, hampering their military capability elsewhere. Konbaung's military power would plateau in the following decades. It made no progress against Siam. Its later conquests came only against smaller kingdoms to the west—Arakan
Rakhine 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...
, 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...
.