3rd Burma War
| 3rd Burma War | |
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| 9 November-28 December 1885 | |
| Chronological list of Wars and Campaigns | |
| [[Image:|250px| ]] | |
| Location: Burma | |
| Combatants: | |
| British India | Burma |
| Result: British victory. Annexation of Burma | |
| Medals: India General Service medal, Burma 1885-87 clasp | |
| Links: | |
| Category: 3rd Burma War | |
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See our interactive map of 3rd Burma War 1885 locations and routes on Google Maps | |
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Summary
In the 1880s British concerns were raised by contacts between the Burmese and the French whose colonial expansion in Indo-China had reached the Burmese border. When a British company was fined by the Burmese for contraventions of its teak extraction contract, the British demanded arbitration and, when that was refused, issued an ultimatum which would have reduced Burma to a vassal state. When this was not accepted on 9 November 1885 an invasion force under Maj-Gen Harry North Dalrymple Prendergast was sent up the Irrawaddy. By 26 November the envoys from King Thibaw offered to surrender. Thibaw was taken into exile in India and the British annexed the remainder of Burma on 1 January 1886. Increasing numbers of troops were required to counter the resistance campaign which continued into 1889. Unrest continued in the northern tribal areas. See Chin Lushai Expedition 1889, Chin Hills Expedition 1892, Kachin Hills Expedition 1892 & Kachin Hills Expedition 1895.
Upper Burma Field Force
Expeditionary Force
9,034 fighting men, 2,810 native followers and 67 guns under Maj-Gen Harry North Dalrymple Prendergast
Artillery
- Q-1 Royal Artillery
- 9-1 Cinque Ports Division (Mountain)
- 3-1 Scottish Division
- 4-1 North Irish Division
Sappers and Miners
- 4th & 5th Coys Bengal Sappers and Miners
- 2nd Coy Bombay Sappers and Miners
- 1st Madras Pioneers
1st Infantry Brigade
Brig-Gen H H Foord commanding
2nd Infantry Brigade
Brig-Gen G S White CB VC commanding
3rd Infantry Brigade
Brig-Gen F B Norman CB BSC commanding
Mounted Infantry
Maj E C Brown, Scots Fusiliers commanding
- 31 Royal Scots Fusiliers
- 15 Rangoon Volunteers
- 52 Police
Reinforcement Spring 1886
Infantry
Reinforcement Sept 1886
Infantry
- 2nd Btn Royal West Surrey Regiment
- 1st Btn South Yorkshire Regiment
- 1st Bengal Infantry
- 5th Bengal Infantry
- 17th Madras Infantry
- 3rd Infantry, Hyderabad Contingent
- 1st Btn The Rifle Brigade
- 2nd Btn Royal Munster Fusiliers
- 27th Bombay Infantry
Cavalry
Sappers & Miners
- Part 2nd Coy Bengal Sappers and Miners
Artillery
- 9-1 (Mountain) Northern Div Royal Artillery
- 1-1 (Mountain) Eastern Div Royal Artillery
At the end of October 1886 the force totalled 31,653 fighting men
Other units deployed during the campaign
- 2nd Squadron 2nd Madras Cavalry
- 12th Bengal Infantry
- 13th Bengal Infantry
- 15th Bengal Infantry
- 16th Bengal Infantry
- 18th Bengal Infantry
- 27th Bengal Infantry
- 44th Bengal Infantry
- 3rd Madras Infantry
- 13th Madras Infantry
- 15th Madras Infantry
- 27th Madras Infantry
- 1st Madras Pioneers
- 1st Bombay Infantry
- 7th Bombay Infantry
- 27th Bombay Infantry
- 3rd Goorkhas
- 2nd Infantry, Hyderabad Contingent
- 1st, 3rd, 4th & 6th Coys Madras Sappers and Miners
External Links
Third Anglo-Burmese War Wikipedia
Naval Brigade in Upper Burmah by W L Clowes www.pdavis.nl
Annexation of Burma War Medals and Their History - Google Books
Map of British Conquest of Burma Google Books
King Thibaw of Burma Wikipedia
Thibaw's palace in exile www.deccanherald.com
Drawings of an Elephant Battery at Tongo, Burma 1885 CQout.com
Historical Books on-line
- Frontier and Overseas Expeditions from India Vol V - 3rd Burma War archive.org
- "Notes on Cavalry Employed in Upper Burma From October 1886 to October 1887". Originally from History of the Third Burmese War 1885, 1886 and 1887 (1889) Reprinted in SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol 2, No 1, Spring 2004. Archive.org
- "Mandalay in 1885-1888: The Letters of James Alfred Colbeck" “The present letters include the years 1885-1888, when Colbeck returned to Upper Burma with British forces and served as both mission priest and as acting chaplain for British forces”. Originally from Letters from Mandalay, A Series of Letters For the Most Part Written From the Royal City of Mandalay During the Troublous Years of 1878-79; Together with Letters Written During the Last Burmese Campaign of 1885-88 (1892). Reprinted in SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol 2, No1, Spring 2004. Archive.org