In 1277, the Battle of Ngasaunggyan was fought between the Mongols under Nasr-Uddin against the Burmese under Narathihapate during the Wars of Kublai Khan.
Why did it happen?
Following the successful Siege of Xiangyang in 1273, Kublai Khan decreed that the neighbouring kingdoms of Pagan and Pegu in Burma owed him tribute. When the Mongol viceroy of Yunnan sent emissaries to these two kingdoms, they were sent back by Buddhist authorities. In response, Kublai Khan sent two personal envoys from Beijing itself, only for King Narathihapate to execute the envoys on the spot for failing to show respect to the king by taking off their shoes. Furious, Kublai Khan decided to exact a fearful vengeance upon the Burmese and declared war upon Pagan. However, before his preparations were complete, he was forestalled by King Narathihapate, who invaded southern China in 1277. The Mongol Viceroy of Yunnan, Nasr-Uddin, eventually drove him out of Yunnan and invaded Burma that same year, meeting the Burmese army on the border between China and Burma.
Who was involved?
The Mongol army at Ngasaunggyan numbered 10,000 cavalry and 2,000 archers. Most of the Mongol cavalry consisted of Turkish horse archers recruited from China’s Yunnan Province. The cavalry was positioned in the frontline with the archers arrayed on the flanks and rear. The Burmese army at Ngasaunggyan numbered 20,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry and 80 war elephants. Marco Polo claimed that the Burmese army numbered 40,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry and 2,000 war elephants, but modern historians believe this to be an exaggeration due to the limited resources of the Pagan kingdom. The Burmese army was arrayed into three lines, with the war elephants in the vanguard, cavalry behind them and infantry in the rear.
What happened?
As the Burmese war elephants advanced, the Mongol horses caught the scent of the animals and became unmanageable. Nasr-Uddin rallied his horsemen at the far end of the valley and ordered his men to dismount and tether their horses to the trees inside the forest. After this, the Mongol archers crept back to the forest's edge on foot and fired arrows at the advancing war elephants, who panicked and fled, trampling the advancing Burmese army. With the Burmese lines thrown into disorder, the Mongols remounted their horses and charged the Burmese army, striking out with sword and mace. As the greater part of the Burmese army, 20,000 in number, was killed, King Narathihapate fled. Throughout the battle, the Mongols lost an estimated 700 men.
What changed as a result?
The Battle of Ngasaunggyan was a Mongol victory. However, Nasr-Uddin had suffered irreplaceable casualties during the battle, which stopped him from pursuing the routed Burmese forces. In 1283, the Mongols captured Bhamo, which opened the Irrawaddy River valley to invasion. In 1287, Pagan was captured, and King Narathihapate fled south to Bassein, where he decided to become a Mongol vassal before being captured and assassinated the same year. With Burma conquered as far south as Pagan, the Mongols installed a puppet government over the country in 1289, which destroyed the alliances between the Burmese kingdoms until the establishment of the Toungoo Dynasty in 1510.
Bibliography
Bloodsworn: A Burmese Historian. “Mongol arrows versus Elephants: First Battle of Ngasaunggyan (1277) - First Mongol Invasion of Burma.” YouTube video, 12:05. June 8, 2022. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT3J-LqwTyE
Chandler, David G. The Art of Warfare on Land. Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, 2000.
Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Battle of Ngasaunggyan.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Last revised December 4, 2014. www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Ngasaunggyan
Grant, R.G. Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years of Combat. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2005.