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Ava–Hanthawaddy War (1385–1391) orders of battle

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Key locations of the war

This is a list of orders of battle for the First Ava–Hanthawaddy War in which the Royal Ava Armed Forces and their allies Myaungmya armed forces fought the Royal Hanthawaddy Armed Forces between 1385 and 1391.

Background

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Sources

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The orders of battles for Ava in this article are sourced from the main royal chronicles—the Maha Yazawin, the Yazawin Thit and the Hmannan Yazawin, which primarily narrate the war from the Ava side, and provide a specific order of battle for each of the Ava campaigns; the chronicles also typically (but not always) provide the opposing forces' strength as part of their narratives.[note 1]

The extant information for the orders of battles for Hanthawaddy Pegu is not as detailed. The Razadarit Ayedawbon chronicle, which narrates the war from the Hanthawaddy perspective, provides only occasional facts and figures on the Hanthawaddy forces, and even less on the opposing forces. Therefore, this article uses the limited orders of battle information on the Hanthawaddy side reported in the main chronicles.[note 2]

Adjustment of strength figures

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The military strength figures in this article have been reduced by an order of magnitude from those reported in the chronicles, following G.E. Harvey's and Victor Lieberman's analyses of Burmese chronicles' military strength figures in general.[note 3] Specifically for this war, historians' estimates range from 12,000 to 30,000+ troops for Ava (as opposed to 130,000 to 290,000 infantry reported in the chronicles).[note 4]

Composition of the opposing forces

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In all the three invasions, Ava raised the vast majority of its regiments from districts around the capital (Ava, Pinle, Pinya, Myinsaing, Sagaing); central and southern districts along the Irrawaddy river (Pagan, Sagu, Salin, Pakhan Gyi, Myede and Prome); and south and southeastern districts (Nyaungyan, Yamethin, Taungdwin, Toungoo).[1][2] Of its northern districts only Kale contributed a regiment in the first and second invasions while Dabayin, Amyint and two Shan regiments participated in the second invasion.[3][2] However, after its war with the northern Maw kingdom (1387–1389/90),[4] Ava did not include any northern regiments in its third invasion of Hanthawaddy Pegu in 1390–1391.[5][6][7]

The Hanthawaddy army that withstood Ava's first two invasions consisted of troops from the central Hanthawaddy province (Dala, Dagon, Hlaing, Hmawbi and Pegu), the only province King Razadarit controlled.[8] It was only in 1390 after Razadarit had conquered Martaban and Myaungmya provinces that the Hanthawaddy army was able to field its largest force, drawn from all three provinces.[5][9]

First invasion (1385–1386)

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Ava

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Ava Order of Battle, 1385–1386
Unit Commander Strength[note 5] Notes Reference(s)
1st Army Crown Prince Tarabya 9 regiments; 7000 infantry, 500 cavalry, 20 elephants Sittaung Front
via Toungoo (Taungoo) 		[10][11][12]
Kale Regiment Lord of Kale
Toungoo Regiment Phaungga of Toungoo
Taungdwin Regiment Thihapate II of Taungdwin
Yamethin Regiment Thilawa of Yamethin
Sagaing Regiment Yazathingyan of Sagaing
Sagu Regiment Theinkhathu of Sagu
Myede Regiment Thinkhaya of Myede
Wadi Regiment Lord of Wadi
Ava Regiment Crown Prince Tarabya of Ava
2nd Army Prince Min Swe 9 regiments; 6000 infantry, 500 cavalry, 20 elephants Northern Delta Front
via Tharrawaddy 		[10][11][12]
Pinle Regiment Min Letwe of Pinle Killed in action  †
Prome Regiment Myet-Hna Shay of Prome
Pinya Regiment Thray Waduna of Pinya
Salin Regiment Lord of Salin
Talok Regiment Lord of Talok
Pakhan Gyi Regiment Lord of Pakhan
Pagan Regiment Sithu of Pagan
Nyaungyan Regiment Lord of Nyaungyan
Pyinzi Regiment Prince Min Swe of Pyinzi
Myaungmya Flotilla Viceroy Laukpya of Myaungmya unknown Southern Delta Front
via Myaungmya to Dagon 		[13]

Hanthawaddy Pegu

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Pegu Order of Battle, 1385–1386
Unit Commander Strength[note 5] Notes Reference(s)
Main Army King Razadarit at least 8 regiments [11][12]
Pankyaw Regiment Nandameit ? Killed in action  † [10][14]
Hlaing Regiment Smin Zeik-Pun ? Captured by Ava [10][14]
Hmawbi Regiment Smin E-Kaung-Pein ? [13]
Dagon Regiment unnamed ? [10][14]
Royal Regiment King Razadarit 1000+ troops [15]

Second invasion (1386–1387)

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Ava

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Ava Order of Battle, 1386–1387
Unit Commander Strength[note 5] Notes Reference(s)
Army Crown Prince Tarabya 11 regiments; 12,000 infantry, 600 cavalry, 40 elephants Northern Delta Front [16][3][17]
Toungoo Regiment Phaungga of Toungoo
Taungdwin Regiment Thihapate II of Taungdwin
Yamethin Regiment Thilawa of Yamethin
Pinle Regiment Thray Thinkhaya of Pinle
Myinsaing Regiment Thray Sithu of Myinsaing
Kale Regiment Lord of Kale
Pinya Regiment Thray Waduna of Pinya
Nyaungyan Regiment Tuyin Ponnya of Nyaungyan
Dabayin Regiment Lord of Dabayin
Amyint Regiment Lord of Amyint
Ava Regiment Crown Prince Tarabya of Ava
Navy King Swa Saw Ke 9 regiments and 1 flotilla; 17,000 infantry, 100 transport ships, 120 war boats Southern Delta Front
via the Irrawaddy river 		[16][3][17]
Prome Regiment Myet-Hna Shay of Prome
Myede Regiment Thinkhaya of Myede
Sagu Regiment Theinkhathu of Sagu
Salin Regiment Lord of Salin
Talok Regiment Lord of Talok
Pakhan Gyi Regiment Lord of Pakhan Gyi
Sagaing Regiment Yazathingyan of Sagaing
1st Shan Regiment unnamed
2nd Shan Regiment unnamed
Royal Flotilla King Swa Saw Ke
Myaungmya Flotilla Viceroy Laukpya of Myaungmya 200 transport ships, 5 warships, 70 war boats Southern Delta Front [16][3][17]

Hanthawaddy Pegu

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Pegu Order of Battle, 1386–1387
Unit Commander Strength[note 5] Notes Reference(s)
Main Army King Razadarit 5 regiments; 6000 infantry, ? cavalry, 20 elephants Pegu and Northern Delta [18][19]
1st Vanguard Regiment Than-Byat
2nd Vanguard Regiment Sit-Laung
3rd Vanguard Regiment Smin Yawgarat
4th Vanguard Regiment Byat Za
Royal Regiment King Razadarit
Hlaing Regiment Dein Mani-Yut
Smin Ye-Thin-Yan (deputy) 		500 troops Northern Delta Front [20]
Hmawbi Regiment Northern Delta Front
Dagon Regiment Southern Delta Front
Dala Regiment Nyi Kan-Kaung Southern Delta Front

Hanthawaddy Pegu–Myaungmya (1389–1390)

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Hanthawaddy Pegu

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Pegu Order of Battle, 1389–1390
Unit Commander Strength[note 5] Notes Reference(s)
Main Army King Razadarit At least 4 regiments; ? infantry, 10+ elephants Battles of Bassein, Myaungmya [note 6]
1st Regiment Dein Mani-Yut 1000+ troops, ? elephants Battle of Daybethwe [21]
2nd Regiment Byat Za 700 troops, 10 elephants Siege of Sandoway [22]
Naval Squadron Lagun Ein 20+ war boats Battle of Pan Hlaing [23]
Gu-Htut Regiment Smin Baykhatta
Smin Than-Kye 		? Occupation of Gu-Htut [24]
Royal Regiment King Razadarit [25]

Myaungmya

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Myaungmya Order of Battle, 1389–1390
Unit Commander Strength[note 5] Notes Reference(s)
Myaungmya Army Ma Pyit-Nwe 1000+ infantry, ? elephants, ? war boats [note 7]
Daybathwe Battalion Saw E Binnya [26]
Bassein Regiment Lauk Shein
Deputies: Bya Kun, Bya Kyin 		1000 troops, ? elephants, 50+ war boats [27]
Bassein Naval Squadron Lauk Shein 50+ war boats

Third invasion (1390–1391)

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Ava

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Ava Order of Battle, 1390–1391
Unit Commander Strength[note 5] Notes Reference(s)
Army Crown Prince Tarabya 12 regiments; 12,000 infantry, 1000 cavalry, 80 elephants [5][6][7]
Toungoo Regiment Phaungga of Toungoo
Taungdwin Regiment Thihapate II of Taungdwin
Yamethin Regiment Thilawa of Yamethin
Pinle Regiment Thray Thinkhaya of Pinle
Myinsaing Regiment Thray Sithu of Myinsaing
Nyaungyan Regiment Tuyin Ponnya of Nyaungyan
Five Irrigated Districts Regiment Sithu Thanbawa
Pinya Regiment Thray Waduna of Pinya
Sagaing Regiment Yazathingyan of Sagaing
Paukmyaing Regiment Min Pale of Paukmyaing
Pyinzi Regiment Prince Min Swe of Pyinzi
Ava Regiment Crown Prince Tarabya of Ava
Navy King Swa Saw Ke 9 regiments & 1 flotilla; 17,000 infantry, 200 transport ships, 80 war boats Northern Delta Front
via the Irrawaddy river 		[5][6][7]
Prome Regiment Letya Pyanchi of Prome
Myede Regiment Thinkhaya of Myede
Sagu Regiment Theinkhathu of Sagu
Salin Regiment Nawrahta of Salin
Pagan Regiment Uzana of Pagan
Talok Regiment Yazathu of Talok
Pakhan Gyi Regiment Tarabya I of Pakhan
Singu Regiment Letya the Elder of Singu
Royal Flotilla King Swa Saw Ke

Hanthawaddy Pegu

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Pegu Order of Battle, 1390–1391
Unit Commander Strength[note 5] Notes Reference(s)
Main Army King Razadarit 8 regiments; 8000 infantry, 40 elephants Sittaung Front [5][9]
1st Regiment Byat Za
2nd Regiment Dein Mani-Yut
3rd Regiment Smin Ye-Thin-Yan
4th Regiment Smin Maw-Khwin
5th Regiment Smin E-Ba-Ye
6th Regiment Lagun Ein
7th Regiment Nyi Kan-Kaung
Royal Regiment King Razadarit
Gu-Htut Corps Smin Than-Kye 1 regiment & 4 naval squadrons; 5000 troops, 150 war boats Northern Delta Front [5][9][28][7]
1st Naval Squadron Maha Thamun
2nd Naval Squadron Smin Pun-Si
3rd Naval Squadron Smin E-Kaung-Pein
4th Naval Squadron Smin Bya Paik
Gu-Htut Regiment Smin Than-Kye

Notes

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  1. ^ See (Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 291, 295, 301), (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 196, 198, 202) and (Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 417–418, 422, 429–430).
  2. ^ See (Pan Hla 2005) for the reporting in the Razadarit Ayedawbon chronicle of the Hanthawaddy army's formations. See (Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2003: 291–301), (Yazawin Thit Vol. 2012: 196–202), (Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 417–430) for Ava's side reporting of Hanthawaddy formations throughout the war.
  3. ^ See (Harvey 1925: 333–335)'s "Numerical Note". (Lieberman 2014: 98) writing on the First Toungoo period concurs: "Military mobilizations were probably more of a boast than a realistic estimate. Modern industrial states have difficulty placing 10% of their people under arms."
  4. ^ (Harvey 1925: 82 and 82 footnote 1): G.E. Harvey estimated that "the total strength of the invaders [Ava forces] would usually be about 12,000... partly because the Hmannan figure is usually 120,000 and the chronicles habitually over-estimate by ten". However, Harvey misquoted Hmannan since the chronicle does not report 120,000 anywhere for any of the campaigns of the war. Nor do any other main chronicles. All three main chronicles report 130,000 troops for the first invasion ((Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 291), (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 196) and (Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 417–418)); 290,000 troops for the second invasion ((Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 295), (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 198) and (Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 422)); and 290,000 troops for the third invasion ((Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 301), (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 202) and (Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 429–430)).
    (Aung-Thwin 2017: 64, 66): Michael Aung-Thwin's estimates of Ava's total strength were 20,000 to 33,000 troops for the campaigns.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Unless otherwise stated, the military mobilization figures in this article are reduced by an order of magnitude from those reported in the royal chronicles, per G.E. Harvey's analysis in his History of Burma (1925) in the section Numerical Note (pp. 333–335).
  6. ^ The Razadarit Ayedawbon (Pan Hla 2005: 185–190) does not mention the total strength of the Hanthawaddy forces for this campaign. Per (Pan Hla 2005: 185–186), Razadarit briefly left the front for Dala after the first battle of Bassein, and returned to the front before the battle of Myaungmya. During his absence, Dein commanded the remaining troops over 10,000 strong (which after adjusting down by an order of magnitude means over 1000 strong).
  7. ^ (Pan Hla 2005: 189) says over 10,000 troops surrendered after the battle of Myaungmya. This means Myangmya likely had more than 1000 troops, after adjusting by the chronicle figure by an order of magnitude. Furthermore, per (Pan Hla 2005: 187–188), Myaungmya defenses also included war elephants.

References

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  1. ^ Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 417–418, 422, 429–430
  2. ^ a b Aung-Thwin 2017: 65
  3. ^ a b c d Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 198
  4. ^ Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 199–201
  5. ^ a b c d e f Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 301
  6. ^ a b c Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 202
  7. ^ a b c d Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 429–430
  8. ^ Pan Hla 2005: 165, 169–170
  9. ^ a b c Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 202–203
  10. ^ a b c d e Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 291
  11. ^ a b c Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 196
  12. ^ a b c Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 417–418
  13. ^ a b Pan Hla 2005: 166
  14. ^ a b c Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 418
  15. ^ Pan Hla 2005: 167
  16. ^ a b c Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 295
  17. ^ a b c Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 422
  18. ^ Maha Yazawin 2006: 296
  19. ^ Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 423
  20. ^ Pan Hla 2005: 169–170
  21. ^ Pan Hla 2005: 185
  22. ^ Pan Hla 2005: 190
  23. ^ Pan Hla 2005: 184–185
  24. ^ Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 200–201
  25. ^ Pan Hla 2005: 186
  26. ^ Pan Hla 2005: 185–186
  27. ^ Pan Hla 2005: 178, 184
  28. ^ Pan Hla 2005: 198

Bibliography

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  • Aung-Thwin, Michael A. (2017). Myanmar in the Fifteenth Century. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-6783-6.
  • Harvey, G. E. (1925). History of Burma: From the Earliest Times to 10 March 1824. London: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd.
  • Kala, U (2006) [1724]. Maha Yazawin (in Burmese). Vol. 1–3 (4th printing ed.). Yangon: Ya-Pyei Publishing.
  • Lieberman, Victor B. (2014) [1984]. Burmese Administrative Cycles: Anarchy and Conquest, c. 1580–1760. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-05407-0.
  • Maha Sithu (2012) [1798]. Myint Swe; Kyaw Win; Thein Hlaing (eds.). Yazawin Thit (in Burmese). Vol. 1–3 (2nd printing ed.). Yangon: Ya-Pyei Publishing.
  • Pan Hla, Nai (2005) [1968]. Razadarit Ayedawbon (in Burmese) (8th printing ed.). Yangon: Armanthit Sarpay.
  • Royal Historical Commission of Burma (2003) [1832]. Hmannan Yazawin (in Burmese). Vol. 1–3. Yangon: Ministry of Information, Myanmar.
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