Battle of Maymyo | |||||||
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Part of the Sino-Burmese War (1765–69) | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Konbaung dynasty | Qing Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Maha Thiha Thura Maha Sithu | Ming Rui † | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
10,000 infantry 2,000 cavalry | 30,000 infantry and cavalry | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Minimal |
~20,000 killed, wounded or executed ~some 5,000 men escaped ~2,500 captured |
The Battle of Maymyo, fought in March 1768, was the final battle and the end of the Third Qing Invasion of Burma during the Sino-Burmese War (1765–69). In November 1767, the Qianlong Emperor ordered the Third Invasion under the command of his son-in-law Mingrui, with a 50,000-strong invasion force led by the Manchu Bannermen, after the failure of the Green Standard Army and Yunnan Border troops in the earlier invasions. They were the most successful of the invasions, penetrating deep into central Burma and defeating the main Burmese army at the Battle of Goteik Gorge.[1] However, Mingrui ended up overstretching his lines by the time he reached Ava. Burmese reinforcements arrived from Siam and began cutting the Qing supply lines. Hounded by Burmese guerrilla attacks, his men suffering from tropical diseases, and with no hope of being reinforced, Mingrui was forced to retreat. The Burmese army under Maha Thiha Thura caught up with him at Maymyo, modern-day Pyinoolwin, and all but wiped out the invasion force with the exception of a few survivors.