ไทย

Home › Campaign routes › The northern campaign: Lampang and Pak Phing

The northern campaign: Lampang and Pak Phing

Burma's 3rd army had 30,000 men, the second largest after the royal army. It set out from Chiang Saen, meaning to take Lampang and then follow the rivers south to join the royal army at Bangkok. But it was held up before the walls of Lampang for three months. The column that did break away southwards numbered only about 3,000, and it was broken at Pak Phing, below the town of Phitsanulok.

Phitsanulok – Pak PhingLampangChiang SaenSawankhalokBangkokKanchanaburiRatchaburiPhetchaburiChiang RaiSukhothaiTakKamphaeng PhetNakhon SawanNakhon RatchasimaMyanmarThailandLaos123
  • Enemy army
  • Siamese army
  • 1Stops, numbered as in the list below
  • 2Clash with the Burmese
  • 2Main battlefield
  • 1–3Several stops close together: tap to zoom in
  • ≈ approximate position

Press + to zoom in, then drag to move the map; on a phone you can pinch. Tap a number to read about that stop.

The mark ≈ means an approximate position. Borders on the map are present-day borders, shown only to help you find places. The routes are approximate lines drawn from the chronicles and later studies, not the actual path step by step. Dashed lines are enemy armies; solid lines are Siamese armies.

Towns without people

Ten years earlier, Maha Thiha Thura's invasion (known in Thai as the Azaewunky war) had left Phitsanulok, Sukhothai and Sawankhalok burned, with many of their people dead or carried off. When the Burmese came again in late 1785, the governors of the three towns could not gather enough men to hold them, and chose to lead their people into the forest.

Bangkok sent no army up to hold these towns. Instead Prince Anurak Thewet was posted with 15,000 men at Nakhon Sawan, where the Ping and Nan rivers meet, to block both the 3rd army coming down the Nan and Yom and the 9th army coming by way of Tak.

Lampang pins the main army, Pak Phing cuts off the vanguard

Chao Kawila held Lampang for the whole three months, which kept most of the 3rd army stuck there. Only Nemyo Sithu's column broke away and came down to camp at Pak Phing. The Siamese army at Phichit and the Burmese at Pak Phing watched each other for a long time, neither side attacking.

When the fighting on the Kanchanaburi front was over, King Rama I brought the royal army north in person to support them, and gave a firm order that the camp at Pak Phing be taken in a single day. On Saturday 18 March 1786 the Burmese camp fell. The Siamese then marched on to Lampang, and the Burmese besieging the town fell back to Chiang Saen. After the war Prince Anurak Thewet was raised to the Rear Palace (Krom Phra Ratchawang Bowon Sathan Phimuk).

The route in 5 stops

Dates on this page are in the Common Era. Thai sources date the war in the Buddhist Era, and old documents began the new year around April, so they count the events of January to March 1786 (BE 2329) as still falling in BE 2328. That is why many Thai books place the whole Nine Armies' War in BE 2328 (1785).

  1. 1

    Chiang Saen (base of the 3rd army)

    Late 1785Chiang Rai20.274, 100.080

    The 3rd army of Thado Thiri Maha Uzana, lord of Toungoo, 30,000 men, was based at Chiang Saen, a town still in Burmese hands. It was the second largest army after the royal army, with orders to take Lampang and then follow the Yom and Nan rivers south to join the royal army at Bangkok.

    A black metal monument in front of a bell-shaped brick chedi, under large trees
    Wat Chedi Luang in the ancient town of Chiang Saen · Photo: Chainwit. · CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    Chiang Saen, on the Mekong River, was Burma's stronghold in Lanna until 1804. Today it is an ancient town that still has its walls, moat and many old temples, such as Wat Chedi Luang. It has Chiang Saen National Museum and is close to the Golden Triangle.

    Where to eat nearby

    Directions ↗

  2. 2

    Lampang town (Nakhon Lampang)

    December 1785 – March 1786Lampang18.307, 99.512

    Lampang was Siam's northernmost frontier town, because Chiang Mai was still deserted. The 3rd army therefore had to take Lampang before it could go south.

    Clash with the Burmese army
    Against
    Almost the whole of Burma's 3rd army
    Where
    The town of Lampang, on the north bank of the Wang River
    How
    Chao Kawila shut the gates and held the walls, refusing battle in the open. The Burmese besieged the town for about three months but could not get in.
    Outcome
    In March 1786 the army of Prince Chakchetsada and Chaophraya Maha Sena arrived and attacked the besiegers. The Burmese fell back to Chiang Saen.
    A stretch of old brick city wall overgrown with trees, in a black-and-white photograph
    The old city wall of Lampang, near the Ma Gate (Pratu Ma) · Photo: Chit130512(chitpron) · CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    Old Lampang lies on the north bank of the Wang River. A stretch of the brick town wall and the gate called Pratu Ma can still be seen, with Wat Phra Kaeo Don Tao Suchadaram close by. Across the river is Kat Kong Ta, a street of old buildings that becomes a walking street on Saturday and Sunday evenings.

    Places to visit nearby

    Read more →Directions ↗

  3. 3

    Sawankhalok and Sukhothai

    Early 1786Sukhothai17.316, 99.832

    Nemyo Sithu took about 3,000 men from Lampang down the Yom River. The towns of this region had had very few people left since Maha Thiha Thura's invasion ten years before. The governors of Sawankhalok and Sukhothai could not gather enough men, so they abandoned their towns and fled into the forest.

    Sawankhalok and Sukhothai were northern towns in the Yom River basin, very thinly peopled after Maha Thiha Thura's invasion in the Thonburi period. Today Sawankhalok has the Sawankhaworanayok National Museum and lies between Si Satchanalai Historical Park and Sukhothai Historical Park.

    Where to eat nearby

    Directions ↗

  4. 4

    Phitsanulok town

    Early 1786Phitsanulok16.822, 100.261

    The governor of Phitsanulok abandoned his town too. The Burmese marched past it and built a camp at Pak Phing, on the east bank of the Nan River, watching the Siamese armies at Phichit and Nakhon Sawan.

    The brown Nan River flowing through the middle of the town, with a bridge and buildings on its banks
    The Nan River at Phitsanulok; Pak Phing lies further downstream · Photo: Christophe95 · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    Phitsanulok, on the Nan River, was once the largest of the northern towns, but it was burned in Maha Thiha Thura's invasion in 1776 and ten years later had still not recovered. The main sights are Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat, home of the Phra Phuttha Chinnarat image, and Chan Palace.

    Directions ↗

  5. 5

    Pak Phing

    Saturday 18 March 1786Phitsanulok≈ approximate position16.705, 100.265

    Prince Anurak Thewet had been posted at Nakhon Sawan with 15,000 men since the start of the war. When the fighting on the Kanchanaburi front was over, King Rama I brought the royal army up as far as Phichit in support and ordered the attack on the camp at Pak Phing.

    Main battlefield of this campaign
    Against
    The force of Nemyo Sithu, about 3,000 men
    Where
    The camp at Pak Phing, on the east bank of the Nan River below Phitsanulok
    How
    Prince Anurak Thewet and Chaophraya Maha Sena marched up from Phichit and attacked the camp, under orders to take it in a single day. The fighting lasted from morning until dusk.
    Outcome
    The Burmese camp fell. The Burmese soldiers fled across the Nan River, and about 800 died in the water. On hearing the news, the 9th army at Tak withdrew.

    Today Pak Phing is a farming community on both banks of the Nan River. The east bank is in Wang Nam Khu subdistrict and the west bank in Ngio Ngam subdistrict, Mueang Phitsanulok district, with Wat Pak Phing Tawan Ok and Wat Pak Phing Tawan Tok as landmarks. Pak Phing had been a battlefield once before, in Maha Thiha Thura's invasion of 1775–1776.

    Position on the map: Approximate coordinates of the mouth of Khlong Phing on the Nan River, about 12 km south of Phitsanulok town. Present-day writers place the Burmese camp on the east bank, in Wang Nam Khu subdistrict.

    Places to visit nearby

    Where to eat nearby

    Read more →Directions ↗

Travel guides for the provinces on this route

Things to do and where to eat in each province, from songkran.com, our sister travel site

Where historians still disagree

  • How long Lampang was besieged: Thai sources say about three months, some studies four, depending on whether one counts from the day the Burmese left Chiang Saen or the day they reached the town.
  • The number of Burmese at Pak Phing: most accounts say 3,000, some versions 5,000.
  • The site of the Pak Phing camp: the chronicle places it on the east bank of the Nan River. Present-day writers identify it with Wang Nam Khu subdistrict. No archaeological survey has yet confirmed the position of the camp.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Pak Phing?

On the Nan River, about 12 kilometres south of Phitsanulok town, in Wang Nam Khu and Ngio Ngam subdistricts of Mueang Phitsanulok district.

Who defended Lampang?

Chao Kawila, the ruler of Lampang, the eldest of the Chao Chet Ton, the “seven princes”, who later became king of Chiang Mai.

When was the Battle of Pak Phing?

On Saturday, the 4th day of the waning moon of the 4th lunar month, which works out as 18 March 1786.

Sources
  1. Nine Armies' War – Thai Wikipedia, citing the Royal Chronicle of Rattanakosin, First Reign, and Thai Rop Phama (in Thai)
  2. Burmese–Siamese War (1785–1786) – Wikipedia

Last updated 14 November 2026