BURMESE WARS. Three wars were fought between Burma and the British during the 19th century (see BURMA: History), which resulted in the gradual extinction of Burmese independence.
First Burmese War, 1823-26.—On Sept. 23, 1823, an armed party of Burmese attacked a British guard on Shapura, an island close to the Chittagong side, killing and wounding six of the guard. Two Burmese armies, one from Manipur and another from Assam, also entered Cachar, which was under British protection, in Jan. 1824. War with Burma was formally declared on March 5, 1824. On May 17 a Burmese force invaded Chittagong and drove a mixed sepoy and police detachment from its position at Ramu, but did not follow up its success. The British rulers in India, however, had resolved to carry the war into the enemy's country an armament, under Comm. Charles Grant and Sir Archi bald Campbell, entered the Rangoon river, and anchored off the town on May Io, 1824. After a feeble resistance the place was surrendered, troops were landed, and the inhabitants fled. On May 28, Sir A. Campbell ordered an attack on some of the nearest posts, which were all carried after a steadily weakening defence. Another attack was made on June Io on the stockades at the village of Kemmendine. Some of these were battered by artil lery from the war vessels in the river, and the shot and shells had such effect on the Burmese that they evacuated them. The devas tation of the country, which was part of the defensive system of the Burmese, was carried out with unrelenting rigour, and the invaders were soon reduced to great difficulties. The health of the men declined, and their ranks were fearfully thinned. The monarch of Ava sent large reinforcements to his dispirited and beaten army; and early in June an attack was commenced on the British lines but proved unsuccessful. On the 8th the British assaulted. The enemy were beaten at all points; and their strong est stockaded works, battered to pieces by a powerful artillery, were in general abandoned. With the exception of an attack by the prince of Tharrawaddy in the end of August, the enemy allowed the British to remain unmolested during the months of July and August. This interval was employed by Sir A. Campbell in subduing the Burmese provinces of Tavoy and Mergui, and the whole coast of Tennasserim. This was an important con quest, as the country was salubrious and afforded convalescent stations to the sick, who were now so numerous in the British army that there were scarcely 3,00o soldiers fit for duty.
The rainy season terminated about the end of October; and the court of Ava, alarmed by the discomfiture of its armies, re called the veteran legions which were employed in Arakan, under their renowned leader Maha Bandula. Bandula hastened by forced marches to the defence of his country; and by the end of Novem ber an army of 6o,000 men had surrounded the British position at Rangoon and Kemmendine, for the defence of which Sir Archi bald Campbell had only 5,000 efficient troops. The enemy in great force made repeated attacks on Kemmendine without success, and on Dec. 7 Bandula was defeated in a counter attack by Sir A. Campbell. The fugitives retired to a strong position on the river, but on the 15th were driven in confusion from the field.
Sir Archibald Campbell now resolved to advance on Prome, about loom. higher up the Irrawaddy river. He moved with his force on Feb. 13, 1825, in two divisions, one proceeding by land, and the other, under Gen. Willoughby Cotton, destined for the reduction of Danubyu, being embarked on the flotilla. Taking the command of the land force, he continued his advance till March i r, when intelligence reached him of the failure of the attack upon Danubyu. He instantly commenced a retrograde march; on the 27th he effected a junction with Gen. Cotton's force, and on April 2 entered the entrenchments at Danubyu with out resistance, Bandula having been killed by the explosion of a bomb. The English general entered Prome on the 25th and remained there during the rainy season. On Sept. i 7 an armistice was concluded for one month. In the course of the summer Gen. Joseph Morrison had conquered the province of Arakan ; in the north the Burmese were expelled from Assam; and the British had made some progress in Cachar.
The armistice having expired on Nov. 3, the army of Ava, amounting to 6o,000 men, advanced in three divisions against the British position at Prome, which was defended by 3,00o Europeans and 2,000 native troops. Sir A. Campbell on Dec. i attacked the different divisions of the Burmese and successively drove them from all their positions. The Burmese retired on Malun, along the course of the Irrawaddy, where they occupied, with io,000 or 12,000 men, a series of strongly fortified heights and a formidable stockade. On the 26th they sent a flag of truce to the British camp and negotiations having commenced, peace was proposed to them on the following conditions: (I) The cession of Arakan, together with the provinces of Mergui, Tavoy, and Ye ; (2) the renuncia tion by the Burmese sovereign of all claims upon Assam and the contiguous petty states; (3) the Company to be paid a crore of rupees as an indemnification for the expenses of the war; (4) residents from each court to be allowed, with an escort of 5o men; while it was also stipulated that British ships should no longer be obliged to unship their rudders and land their guns as formerly in the Burmese ports. This treaty was agreed to and signed, but the ratification of the king was still wanting; and it was soon apparent that the Burmese had no intention to sign it, but were preparing to renew the contest. On Jan. 19, accord ingly, Sir A. Campbell attacked and carried the enemy's position at Malum. Another offer of peace was here made by the Burmese, but it was found to be insincere; and the fugitive army made at the ancient city of Pagan a final stand in defence of the capital. They were attacked and overthrown on Feb. 9, 1826; and the invading force being now within four days' march of Ava, Dr.
Price, an American missionary, who with other Europeans had been thrown into prison when the war commenced, was sent to the British camp with the treaty (known as the treaty of Yanda boo) ratified, the prisoners of war released, and an instalment of 25 lakhs of rupees. The British army then evacuated the country.
Second Burmese War, 1852.—On March 15, 1852, Lord Dal housie sent an ultimatum to King Pagan, announcing that hostile operations would be commenced if all his demands were not agreed to by April I. Meanwhile a force consisting of 8,10o troops had been despatched to Rangoon under the command of Gen. H. T. Godwin, C.B., while Comm. Lambert commanded the naval contingent. No reply being given to this letter, the first blow of the second Burmese War was struck by the British on April 5, 1852, when Martaban was taken. Rangoon town was occupied on the 12th, and the Shwe Dagon pagoda on the i4th, after heavy fighting, when the Burmese army retired northwards. Bassein was seized on May 19 and Pegu was taken on June 3 of ter some sharp fighting round the Shwe-maw-daw pagoda. Dur ing the rainy season the approval of the East India Company's court of directors and of the British government was obtained to the annexation of the lower portion of the Irrawaddy valley, including Prome. Lord Dalhousie visited Rangoon in July and August and discussed the whole situation with the civil, military, and naval authorities. In consequence, Gen. Godwin occupied Prome on Oct. 9 after but slight resistance. Early in December, Lord Dalhousie informed King Pagan that the province of Pegu would henceforth form part of the British dominions, and that if his troops resisted the measure his whole kingdom would be destroyed. The proclamation of annexation was issued on Jan. 20, 1853, and thus the Second Burmese War was brought to an end without any treaty being signed.
Third Burmese War, 1885-86.—The imposition of an impos sible fine on the Bombay-Burma Trading Company, coupled with the threat of confiscation of all their rights and property in case of non-payment, led to the British ultimatum of Oct. 22, 1885; and by Nov. 9 a practical refusal of the terms having been re ceived at Rangoon, the occupation of Mandalay and the dethrone ment of King Thibaw were determined upon. The British planned an advance by water direct on the capital, and Maj.-Gen. Prender gast had command of the expedition. As was only to be expected in an enterprise of this description, the navy as well as the army was called in requisition; and as usual the services rendered by the seamen and guns were most important. The total effective of the force was 9,034 fighting men, 2,810 native followers, and 67 guns, and for river service 24 machine guns.
Thayetmyo was the British post on the river nearest to the frontier, and here, by Nov. 14, five days after Thibaw's answer had been received, practically the whole expedition was assembled. On the same day Gen. Prendergast received instructions to com mence operations. The Burmese king and his country were taken completely by surprise by the unexampled rapidity of the advance. There had been no time for them to collect and organize for the stubborn resistance of which the river and its defences were capable. They had not even been able to block the river by sinking steamers, etc., across it, for, on the very day of the receipt of orders to advance, the armed steamers "Irrawaddy" and "Kath leen" engaged the nearest Burmese batteries, and brought out from under their guns the king's steamer and some barges which were lying in readiness for this very purpose. On the 16th the batteries themselves on both banks were taken by a land attack, the enemy being evidently unprepared and making no resistance. On Nov. I 7, however, at Minhla, on the right bank of the river, the Burmans in considerable force held successively a barricade, a pagoda, and the redoubt of Minhla. The attack was pressed home by a brigade of native infantry on shore, covered by a bombardment from the river, and the enemy were defeated with a loss of 17o killed and 276 prisoners, besides many more drowned in the attempt to escape by the river. The advance was continued next day and the following days, the naval brigade and heavy artillery leading and silencing in succession the enemy's river defences at Nyaungu, Pakokku, and Myingyan. On Nov. 26, when the flotilla was approaching the ancient capital of Ava, envoys from King Thibaw met Gen. Prendergast with offers of surrender; and on the 27th, when the ships were lying off that city and ready to commence hostilities, the order of the king to his troops to lay down their arms was received. There were three strong forts here, full at that moment with thousands of armed Burmans, and though a large number of these filed past and laid down their arms by the king's command, many more were allowed to disperse with their weapons; and these, in the time that followed, broke up into dacoit or guerrilla bands, which be came the scourge of the country and prolonged the war for years. Meanwhile, however, the surrender of the king of Burma was com plete; and on Nov. 28, in less than a fortnight from the declara tion of war, Mandalay had fallen, and the king himself was a prisoner, while every strong fort and town on the river, and all the king's ordnance (1,861 pieces) and thousands of rifles, mus kets, and arms had been taken.
From Mandalay, Gen. Prendergast seized Bhamo on Dec. 28. This was a very important move, as it forestalled the Chinese, who were preparing to claim the place. But unfortunately, al though the king was dethroned and deported, and the capital and the whole of the river in the hands of the British, the bands of armed soldiery, unaccustomed to conditions other than those of anarchy, rapine, and murder, took advantage of the impene trable cover of their jungles to continue a desultory armed resist ance. Reinforcements had to be poured into the country, and it was in this phase of the campaign, lasting several years, that the most arduous work fell to the lot of the troops. The final pacifica tion of the country, under the direction of Sir Frederick (after wards Earl) Roberts, was only brought about by an extensive system of small protective posts scattered all over the country, and small lightly equipped columns moving out to disperse the enemy.
No account of the third Burmese War would be complete with out a reference to the first, and perhaps for this reason most notable, land advance into the enemy's country. This was carried out in Nov. 1885 from Toungoo, the British frontier post in the east of the country, by a small column of all arms under Col. W. P. Dicken, 3rd Madras Light Infantry, the first objective being Ningyan. The operations were completely successful, in spite of a good deal of scattered resistance, and the force afterwards moved forward to Yamethin and Hlaingdet. As inland operations developed, the want of mounted troops was badly felt, and sev eral regiments of cavalry were brought over from India, while mounted infantry was raised locally.