Orders of battle for the Ava–Hanthawaddy War (1401–1403)



This is a list of orders of battle for the Second Ava–Hanthawaddy War in which the Royal Ava Armed Forces defended an invasion by the Royal Hanthawaddy Armed Forces between 1401 and 1403.

Adjustment of strength figures
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.

Invasion of Ava (1401–1402)
Circa 15 November 1401, Hanthawaddy forces led by King Razadarit invaded Ava by land and by river.

Hanthawaddy Pegu
The Razadarit Ayedawbon chronicle provides the most detailed description of Pegu's order of battle: (1) a naval invasion force (~5000 to 7000 troops) that sailed up to Ava, (2) a 3000-strong army that laid siege to Prome (Pyay), and (3) an army of unknown strength that guarded the capital Pegu (Bago). The main royal chronicles provide higher figures, ranging from 6000 troops and 500 war boats (Yazawin Thit) to 16,000 troops and 300 war boats (Maha Yazawin and Hmannan Yazawin).

Ava
The Maha Yazawin chronicle (1724) names 12 forts along the Irrawaddy river to face the invasion forces. The Yazawin Thit (1798) mentions only Prome, Ava, Myede, and Pagan in its narrative, and the Hmannan Yazawin (1832) repeats the Maha Yazawin's account.

Furthermore, the Ava court claimed that the kingdom's defensive network included over 50 fortified towns whose rulers were loyal to Minkhaung. According to Michael Aung-Thwin, the forts were "strategically arranged throughout the kingdom so that each town was within one day's or two days' march of another." The following are the lists reported in the three main chronicles.

Of the 17 Southern Division fortifications reported in the Maha Yazawin, at least twelve are located in the Ava capital region, not in the south. Indeed, the Yazawin Thit omits the twelve and reports only five in the Southern Division. Furthermore, it omits the Ngasingu fort, and keeps just the nearby Singu fort in the Irrawaddy Division. The Hmannan Yazawin largely follows the Maha Yazawin's list, excluding the fort at Pin, while keeping the nearby Natmauk fort. Note that Michael Aung-Thwin gives a total of 53 forts, citing the Maha Yazawin, even though it is the Hmannan's list that sums up to 53.

Battle of Sale (April 1402)
Chronicles do provide little information with regard to the units involved. The Razadarit Ayedawbon mentions Smin Upakaung the Younger as a cavalry commander in the Hanthawaddy detachment from the retreating Hanthawaddy navy that tried to raid Sale. The main chronicles say two cavalry battalions sent down from Ava defended the town.

Hanthawaddy Pegu
The following is the Hanthawaddy order of battle as listed in the Yazawin Thit  chronicle. The Maha Yazawin and Hmannan chronicles mention only Razadarit, Dein Mani-Yut and Byat Za as commanders. The Razadarit Ayedawbon only says that a combined land and naval forces reinvaded again, right after the new year, without listing an order of battle.

Battle of Nawin (December 1402)
The battle of Nawin took place on 26 December 1402. It was the last battle of the war. Peace negotiations began about 10 days after the battle, c. 5 January 1403.

Ava
None of the main royal chronicles provides a specific order battle for Ava, except to say that the army included regiments from the Shan states. According to the Razadarit Ayedawbon and Yazawin Thit chronicles, the remnants of the Vanguard Army defeated in the battle of Thaymathauk also joined the main army.

Hanthawaddy Pegu
Chronicles say that the Nawin fort was defended by three regiments, without specifying the troop strength.