Battle of Ramu facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle of Ramu
Part of the First Anglo-Burmese War
Date 13 to 16 May 1824 Location Ramu, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh (then part of the British Empire) Result Burmese victory
Belligerents
Burmese Empire	British Empire
Commanders and leaders
Maha Thiha Thura	Captain Noton   †
Strength
Between 2,000 to 4,000 infantry 200 cavalry Total: 2,000 to 4,000 (The British had estimated that there were at least 10,000 men)	350 Bengal Army Regulars 250 Provincials 400 Arakanese Levies 2 Six-pounder guns Total: 1,000
Casualties and losses
Less than 200 killed or wounded	6 officers killed and 2 wounded 250 killed, wounded or captured Entire force disintegrated

The Battle of Ramu was an important early battle in the First Anglo-Burmese War. It took place in May 1824 near Ramu, which is now in Bangladesh. The battle was fought between the Burmese Empire and the British Empire.

On May 10, 1824, Burmese forces, led by General Maha Bandula, invaded Chittagong. This was part of a bigger plan to attack Calcutta. The Burmese offered to stop their invasion if the British would hand over some Arakanese rebels. These rebels had found safety in British territory.

Captain Noton, the British commander at Ramu, refused this offer. A Burmese group, led by Lord Myawaddy Mingyi U Sa, then attacked. After three days of fighting, the British troops were defeated. They were forced to leave Ramu on May 17. The British lost more than half of their soldiers. However, the Burmese did not continue their attack. They had to go back to deal with the British taking over Rangoon.

Why the Battle Happened

The Start of the War

In 1824, Burmese armies marched into British-controlled areas. Their goal was to make the British give back Arakanese rebels. These rebels had sought safety with the British.

General Maha Bandula led the main Burmese army. He had about 10,000 soldiers and 500 horses. Bandula planned to attack the British from two directions. One attack would come from Arakan in the southeast, targeting Chittagong. The other would come from Cachar and Jaintia in the north, targeting Sylhet. Bandula personally led the attack from Arakan.

British Forces in the Area

The British forces in Chittagong were led by Colonel Shapland. They had about 3,000 soldiers. These included different groups like the Bengal Native Infantry and local Arakanese fighters.

Early in the war, the British struggled against the experienced Burmese soldiers. Fighting in the thick jungles of Manipur and Assam was very difficult.

Peace Attempts and First Shots

While Bandula stayed in Arakan, a Burmese force of 4,000 men moved into Chittagong. This group was led by Lord Myawaddy. The Burmese tried several times to make peace.

A British witness reported that Burmese horsemen approached. They said they did not want to fight. They only wanted the British to hand over the rebels. They offered to explain more if Captain Noton would let them cross the river safely.

Captain Noton did not trust the Burmese and said no. It seems the British fired first. On the evening of May 14, the Burmese gathered on the other side of the river. British units fired cannons at them. This caused a lot of confusion among the Burmese.

The Ratnapallang Skirmish

The Burmese then attacked a British position at Ratnapallang, south of Ramu. Captain Noton decided to attack the Burmese there. On May 11, he left Ramu with most of his soldiers and two cannons.

The British found the Burmese on hills overlooking the road. The Burmese had also built a strong fort, called a stockade, at Ratnapallang. Captain Noton's men moved past the hills toward the stockade. However, they had trouble moving their cannons because the elephant drivers were not experienced.

The British and Burmese fought all night around the stockade. But the British had to pull back in the morning. Their ammunition carriers had run away, making the cannons useless. Noton returned to Ramu, having lost some men. He then received more British soldiers as backup.

The Armies at Ramu

British Strength

The British forces at Ramu had about 350 regular soldiers. These were from different Bengal Native Infantry groups. They also had 250 men from the Chittagong Provincial Battalion. About 400 local Arakanese fighters, called Levies, joined them. Captain Noton also had two six-pounder cannons. In total, the British had about 1,000 men.

Burmese Strength

The Burmese army started with 4,000 men from their capital. They gathered more fighters along the way, reaching about 10,000 men by the time they reached Arakan. The British thought there were at least 10,000 Burmese soldiers and 200 horsemen at Ramu. However, the actual number was likely lower. The Burmese forces had split into different groups under various commanders. Also, the British often found it hard to get good information about the Burmese army.

The Battle of Ramu

On the morning of May 13, Lord Myawaddy's Burmese forces were stronger. They had been successful before and were feeling confident. They moved from their fort at Ratnapallang. They took over the hills east of Ramu, across the river.

Captain Noton decided to defend Ramu, even though the Burmese were much stronger. He believed that more British soldiers would arrive from Chittagong soon.

On May 14, the two British cannons stopped the Burmese from crossing the river. But on May 15, the Burmese managed to cross. They took control of a water tank near the British position. The British camp was surrounded by a low wall and had the river on one side. The Burmese soldiers used the natural cover well. They took over the tank in front of the British without much trouble.

Over the next two days, the Burmese dug themselves in closer to the British lines. This happened even though the British fired heavily at them. The local Arakanese fighters and Provincials became very scared. They almost ran away.

Captain Noton thought about retreating. But he had heard that more British soldiers would arrive the next day. So, he decided to stay and fight. Small fights continued all night. By the next morning, the Burmese had made their positions even stronger. They were now very close to the British soldiers at the tank.

As the Burmese got closer, the local fighters and Provincials fled. The elephants that pulled the cannons also ran away. This left the British regular soldiers greatly outnumbered and without their cannons. Captain Noton, with only about 400 tired men, tried to retreat. They kept some order for about half a mile. But then the Burmese cavalry caught up to them. The cavalry charged and completely defeated the remaining British troops.

One witness described the end of the battle: "A small group of Burmese horsemen chased our soldiers. Any man who fell behind was quickly killed. This caused our troops to panic, and their officers could not get them to keep order."

What Happened Next

Who Was Lost

The British force lost about 250 men. These were either killed, wounded, or captured. Among the nine officers, only three survived, and two of them were wounded. Six officers, including Captain Noton, were killed. The British force at Ramu was completely destroyed. British prisoners were marched back to Ava, the Burmese capital. The British later said their operations in this area were "unsatisfactory." They did not know the land well, many soldiers got sick, and it was hard to get supplies.

The number of Burmese losses is not known. But it is thought they lost at most 200 men, mostly from British cannon fire. However, the Burmese commander, Myawaddy, saw how powerful the British regular soldiers were. After this, he tried to avoid fighting them in open battles.

Impact of the Battle

Myawaddy's group then joined Bandula's group. They went on to capture Cox's Bazar. The defeat at Ramu caused great fear in Chittagong and Calcutta. The Burmese victory also played a part in the Barrackpore mutiny of 1824. In this event, stories about the Burmese army's power were greatly exaggerated.

However, General Bandula stopped Myawaddy from going to Chittagong. Bandula did not want his army to be spread out too much. If the Burmese had taken Chittagong, it would have opened the way to Calcutta. This threat might have made the British agree to better peace terms for Burma. Or it might have made them send more troops to the Arakan area instead of to Rangoon.

Also, the British taking over Rangoon by sea forced the Burmese attack to stop. Myawaddy and his experienced soldiers went back to Arakan. Bandula took the rest of his men back to Rangoon. There, they faced a large British force of 11,000 men.

The British later returned to Arakan with a much larger army of 10,000 men. This army included two Royal regiments, cavalry, and thirty cannons. It was led by famous officers. Although the British finally defeated Myawaddy's remaining men in the Battle of Mrauk U in April 1825, many British soldiers suffered greatly from tropical diseases.