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Lampang: the three months Chao Kawila held the town against a Burmese army of 30,000

In December 1785 Burma's 3rd army, 30,000 men, marched down from Chiang Saen and laid siege to Lampang. Chao Kawila, its ruler, held the town for about three months, until the army from Bangkok, fresh from its victory at Pak Phing, came up to relieve it in March 1786 and 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

What happened here

December 1785 – March 1786Stop 2 of 5

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.

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Why Lampang mattered

At that time Chiang Mai had been a deserted town since the wars at the end of the Thonburi period, so Lampang was Siam's northernmost frontier town. Had Lampang fallen, the whole 3rd army could have come down to Sawankhalok, Sukhothai and Phitsanulok with nothing in its way. Because Chao Kawila pinned down the main Burmese army, the column that broke away and reached Pak Phing numbered only about 3,000.

After the war Chao Kawila enjoyed even greater royal trust. He was later commissioned to go north and revive Chiang Mai, and he played a leading part in driving the Burmese out of Chiang Saen in 1804.

The place today

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 and eat near Lampang

Places to visit nearby

Directions on Google Maps ↗Back to the route map

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