Bang Rachan

Monument of eleven leaders of Khai Bang Rachan

In 1767, Burmese armies entered Siam. Burmese accounts describe the invasion as having a deliberate and predetermined ambition, credited to King Mang Ra. Other sources and analysts of the period, most notably Damrong Rajanubhab, the father of Thai history, consider this to be historical revisionism and believe that the Burmese did not initially invade with the intention of permanent conquest nor with any designs on Ayutthaya itself.[4]

Burmese forces encountered little resistance from the Siamese and advanced close to the capital, but hesitated to attack due to their uncertainty regarding the strength of the forces to be faced. There was much raiding of the surrounding countryside and, contrary to the general policy which required the submission of the Siamese, they demanded the unmarried daughters of the local populace as well, a policy which provoked the Siamese people to resistance.

The beginning of the resistance and the first notable accounts of Bang Rachan occurred when a group of Siamese villagers from various villages—notably Sibuathong, Pho Krap, and Pho Thale—led by Nai Thaen, Nai Chote, Nai Inn, Nai Muang, Nai Thong Kauo, and Nai Dok Mai lured a group of Burmese soldiers into the forest with the promise of rescuing the women who were held captive and then turned upon the soldiers, killing the entire group of twenty. After this they retreated to Bang Rachan, where most of the population of the villages of Mueang Wiset Chaichan, Mueang Sing, and Mueang San had fled.

Bang Rachan is described as being ideally suited to defense: "A place where foodstuffs were plentiful...a village on high ground and ... difficult for the enemy to get at." In addition to its ideal situation and its swelling numbers, Bang Rachan had at this point approximately 400 fighting men. They had 11 leaders (Nai Thong Min, Nai Panreuang, Nai Thong Saeng Yai, Nai Chan Nuad Keao, Nai Thaen, Nai Chote, Nai Inn, Nai Muang, Nai Thong Kauo, Nai Dok Mai and Nai Khun Sun) and had worked on making fortifications. A Buddhist priest, Thammachot, had been invited into the village monastery where he was held in great veneration by the villagers. They believed him to have great powers and knowledge of spells, charms, and incantations.

The Burmese leaders camped at Mueang Wiset Chaichan, were aware of the slaughter of their men by the Siamese who had fled to Bang Rachan and sent a small force of about 100 men to capture them. The Burmese were taken by surprise when they were attacked while resting and were almost entirely wiped out by the force led by Nai Thaen, who had been elected leader of Bang Rachan.

News of this victory spread quickly across the country and resulted in more people coming out of hiding to join the resistance movement, swelling the ranks camped within Bang Rachan to 1,000 fighting men. This amateur force was organized along the lines of a professional military unit, but were disadvantaged by their lack of equipment, especially firearms.

Aware that he was facing heavy resistance, the Burmese leader at Wiset Chaichan requested reinforcements before sending another force against the village. But again he underestimated the village's resolve, as a second, 500-strong Burmese attacking force was routed. A third attack, again greater in numbers and under a new leader, was similarly defeated.

A pivotal event occurred during the fourth attack on the village by a force of 1,000 Burmese under Surin Chokhong. This force was not immediately defeated by the Siamese villagers, but their commander was killed and after much fighting the villagers retreated. Instead of seizing their advantage, the Burmese force lowered its guard to begin preparing food and caring for the corpse of their commander. Seeing this, the villagers quickly returned to the field and the surprised Burmese force was defeated and lost most of its troops. While victorious again, the leader of Bang Rachan, Nai Thaen, was shot in the knee, an event which would have grave consequences for the resistance.

The aftermath of this fourth battle saw both sides receive reinforcements, with the leaders selecting a new leader out of the eleven to replace Nai Thaen, who had become Nai Chan Nuad Keao, who was famed for his ferocity and "bristling moustache". The fortunes of Bang Rachan remained positive under Nai Chan Nuad Keao, who the forces increase and achieve ever greater levels of organization. Bang Rachan's reputation grew to such an extent that the Burmese came to fear them and the leaders had trouble recruiting troops to attack the village.

After seven attacks and seven defeats, an eighth force, under a Mon commander who had lived in Siam, volunteered to take an army and defeat Bang Rachan. What set this commander apart from the previous Burmese leadership was his knowledge of the land and the Siamese and his lack of arrogance. He did not underestimate the villagers. He adjusted his tactics to disadvantage them. He inched slowly towards the village, building a series of forts along the route and, when faced with the villagers, refused to fight except from within fortress walls.

A lack of artillery was now crippling the villagers, as they could not reduce the Burmese forts without it. They suffered great losses from infantry assaults. One of the Siamese leaders, Nai Thong Min, got drunk and, furious, mounted a water buffalo, to attack the Burmese with a small force in what remains one of the iconic images of Bang Rachan. He was killed and his men routed, the first defeat of the villagers by the Burmese.

Bang Rachan pleaded for help from Ayutthaya. They asked for cannons they could deploy against the forts, but the Ayutthaya showed the indifference typical of its actions throughout the war. They refused the request. One man, Phraya Rattanathibet, was sent to help villagers forge their own weapons. The guns they cast cracked and were useless. Soon after this, Nai Then died of the wound to his knee and the other leaders, Nai Chan Nuad Keao and Nai Khun San, had succumbed to their wounds they had sustained when trying to take down the Burmese forts.

4 out of the 11 leaders had died and now the village was by now dispirited and hopeless, and faced a siege by the Burmese in the form of cannon fire, siege towers, and tunneling under village walls. Saldly, the village was routed despite its resistance to the very end,  five months after its first act of resistance. It was the only successful opposition by Siamese forces in a war characterized by the failure of Ayutthaya, its professional armies, and its generals.

A battle monument is 13 kilometers southwest of the town on Route 3032 in Khai Bang Rachan District.

Two Thai films about Bang Rachan have been made. One was in 1966 and it starred Sombat Metanee. Better known is the 2000 film by director Thanit Jitnukul and starring Winai Kraibutr. Oliver Stone adopted the film and "presented" screenings of it in the United States in 2004.

• Ayutthaya Kingdom
• Siam
• History of Thailand
• History of Burma

• Rajanubhab, Prince Damrong. Our Wars with the Burmese: Thai-Burmese Conflict 1539-1767, ISBN 974-7534-58-4
• Kyaw Thet (1962). History of Union of Burma (in Burmese). Yangon: Yangon University Press.
• Phayre, Lt. Gen. Sir Arthur P. (1883). History of Burma (1967 ed.). London: Susil Gupta.
• Wyatt, David K. (2003). History of Thailand (2 ed.). Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-08475-7.

• Attractions in Sing Buri