Battle of Ramu

Battle of Ramu
Part of the First Anglo-Burmese War
Date13 to 16 May 1824
Location
Ramu, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh (then part of the British Empire)
Result Burmese victory
Belligerents
Konbaung dynasty Burmese Empire British Empire
Commanders and leaders
Konbaung dynasty Maha Thiha Thura, U Sa Captain Thomas Noton  †
Strength
Between 1,000 to 2,000 infantry (engaged)
200 cavalry
Total: 4,000

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, also known in Burmese as ပန်းဝါတိုက်ပွဲ fought in May 1824, was one of the major opening battles of the First Anglo-Burmese War. On May 10, 1824, the Burmese under General Maha Bandula launched an invasion of Chittagong from Arakan as the southern part of a two-pronged attack aimed at Calcutta. They offered to end the invasion if the British were to hand over some Arakanese rebels that had taken refuge in the Bengal Presidency. The British commander at Ramu, Captain Noton (also spelled Cotton in some sources), rejected the offer, and the Burmese detachment under Maha Thiha Thura, the future Lord Myawaddy Mingyi U Sa attacked.[1] After three days of fighting the British troops, a mixed force with a total strength of several hundred men,[2] was routed and forced from Ramu on May 17.[1] The British losses in killed, wounded and missing amounted to more than half the strength of the garrison.[2] The Burmese however failed to exploit their advantage,[3] and Maha Bandula's army would withdraw to counter the British occupation of Rangoon.[2]

  1. ^ a b Topich, William J.; Leitich, Keith A. (2013). The History of Myanmar. ABC-CLIO. p. 45. ISBN 9780313357244. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Ritchie, Anne Thackeray; Evans, Richardson (2012). Lord Amherst and the British Advance Eastwards to Burma. Cambridge University Press. p. 91. ISBN 9781108044721. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  3. ^ Tucker, Spencer C., ed. (2009). A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. ABC-CLIO. p. 1143. ISBN 9781851096725. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.