Sam Sop, Sangkhla Buri: a Burmese camp in two wars, and the sunken town beneath the reservoir

The Battle of Lat Ya: the Burmese main force through Three Pagodas Pass

Stop 3 of 7

The 7th army of Prince Sagu, a son of King Bodawpaya, 11,000 men, camped at Sam Sop as the second line of support, passing supplies on from the royal army to the armies in front.

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The Tha Din Daeng campaign: Siam strikes at the frontier

About 21–23 February 1787Stop 5 of 6

The camp at Sam Sop lay upstream of Tha Din Daeng. It was the camp the Front Palace prince's vanguard was assigned to attack.

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Two wars at Sam Sop

From late 1785 to early 1786 the 7th army of Prince Sagu, 11,000 men, was camped here as the royal army's second line of support. When the vanguard was broken at Lat Ya in February 1786, the army at Tha Din Daeng passed the news to Sam Sop, and King Bodawpaya then ordered them all back to Martaban.

A year later the Burmese were back, camped at Sam Sop and Tha Din Daeng again, with granaries at intervals. This time the Siamese did not wait for the enemy to come down to the plain but marched up to attack the camps. After three days of fighting both Burmese camps fell.

The place today

The old town of Sangkhla Buri and the former Wat Wang Wiwekaram have lain beneath the reservoir of Vajiralongkorn Dam since about 1984. When the water is low the old ordination hall rises above the surface; people call it Mueang Badan, the sunken town. You can take a boat to it from the landing near the Mon Bridge. The Mon Bridge is a long wooden bridge across the Songkalia River, and a popular place to give alms to monks in the morning.

Position on the map: The coordinates are for the Sam Prasop area, where the Songkalia, Bikhli and Ranti rivers meet. The old camp site lies beneath the surface of the reservoir.