Burmese army camps around Ayutthaya

Where: East of the city island, on the far side of the Pa Sak River

In the war that ended with the first fall of Ayutthaya, Bayinnaung set up his royal camp and a pavilion inside Wat Maheyong. When the city fell in August 1569, King Mahinthrathirat went to the pavilion to submit to the King of Pegu. Earlier, in the White Elephant War, a Siamese force camped on the Hantra fields broke and fled across the canal towards this temple.

Today: The ruins of Wat Maheyong with its elephant-supported chedi, next to a meditation centre.

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Where: Ban Pak Khu, Ban Mai, on Khlong Maha Phram north of Wat Khanon, west of the city (customs-post location per ayutthaya-history.com) approximate

In Nanda Bayin's siege of 1586–87 the Luang Prasert chronicle says the King of Pegu camped at the Pak Khu customs post (khanon) and his Uparaja at Khanon Bang Tanao. During a siege of about five months Naresuan raided the enemy camps by day and night. One night he routed the vanguard camp and pursued the enemy to the royal camp, where he climbed the palisade with his sword between his teeth until he was speared and fell; the sword became known as Phra Saeng Dap Khap Khai, 'the sword carried in the mouth up the stockade'. According to ayutthaya-history.com, Naresuan and Ekathotsarot later fired the great gun Phra Maha Maruttayurat at the royal camp at Pak Khu and the king withdrew to Pa Mok Yai. In the White Elephant War, King Chakkraphat had also hauled a cannon to Pak Khu to fire at Bayinnaung's royal camp at Kum Dong.

Today: The old Pak Khu customs post lies in a canal-side neighbourhood; no remains of the royal camp have been reported. Nearby Wat Khanon takes its name from the customs post.

Still debated: The location of Khanon Pak Khu is uncertain. ayutthaya-history.com places it west of the city, a Silpa Wattanatham summary says the Burmese camps lay north and east, and the Rattanakosin chronicle mentions several camps including Bang Pahan and Kum Dong. The map point is an estimate.

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Where: Phut Lao, Bang Pahan district, north of the city, next to Pho Sam Ton approximate

During Nanda Bayin's siege, at five in the morning on the 10th waning day of the third month, Naresuan raided Phraya Nakhon's camp at Pak Nam Phutthalao; the enemy fled and he had the camp burned before returning to the city (Prince Damrong's biography of King Naresuan). The Phutthalao fields had earlier held Bayinnaung's royal camp in the White Elephant War, after cannon fire from Pak Khu forced him out of Kum Dong.

Today: Villages and rice fields in Bang Pahan district; no remains of the camp have been reported.

Still debated: The exact site of Pak Nam Phutthalao is unknown; the map point is placed in Phut Lao subdistrict.

Google Maps ↗7.9 km from Ancient Royal Palace (straight line)

Where: Hua Ro, on the Phaniat peninsula north of the city island, on Khlong Bang Khuat (the old Lopburi River), facing the line of Maha Chai Fortress

In the White Elephant War of 1563–64 the Pegu army crossed the Pho Sam Ton fields and stationed troops at this temple before attacking the capital. In the 1767 siege the chronicles list Wat Sam Wihan among the Burmese fighting camps: Ne Myo Thihapate's men built a stockade in front of the temple, raised bastions inside it and fired cannon into the city towards Maha Chai Fortress.

Today: An active temple with a boat-shaped vihara holding a large reclining Buddha, a big bell-shaped chedi visible across town, and an ordination hall with its full set of boundary stones.

Still debated: An early version of the ayutthaya-history.com research placed a Burmese bridge and tunnels in front of this temple; a later correction puts the tunnelling west of Wat Mae Nang Plum. The stockade in front of the temple itself is not in doubt.

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Where: Hua Ro, on the Phaniat peninsula north of the city island, on Khlong Hua Ro and Khlong Daeng

After the Burmese burned the royal pavilion at the elephant kraal, Ne Myo Thihapate had stockades built at Wat Chedi Daeng, Wat Sam Wihan and Wat Monthop, with bastions from which they bombarded the city until it fell. Around 1750 King Borommakot had stationed a Siamese army of 10,000 men at this same temple.

Today: An active temple where locals come to have their vehicles blessed. There is no red chedi despite the name, but a red bell tower stands by the canal and a Late Ayutthaya redented chedi rises behind the sermon hall.

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Where: Hua Ro, on Ko Loi on the east bank of the Front City Canal, opposite Hua Ro market and Chan Kasem Palace

The chronicles name this temple among Ne Myo Thihapate's stockades set up after the burning of the kraal pavilion. These camps bombarded the city while the main Burmese effort targeted the Hua Ro weir, where tunnels were dug and fired under the wall until it collapsed.

Today: A temple on a small island created by later canal digging, with an ordination hall, a vihara and a bell tower, a short walk from Hua Ro market and the long-tail boat landing.

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Where: Hua Ro, on the east bank of the Front City Canal opposite Ko Loi, at the mouth of Khlong Wat Pradu and Khlong Sai approximate

The chronicles list Wat Krajom (the 'Monastery of the Tent') among the temples where Ne Myo Thihapate's forces built stockades with bastions and placed large and small guns to fire into the capital before it fell in April 1767.

Today: Nothing of the temple or the camp is visible above ground; houses now cover the site. The map point marks the former temple.

Show on the mapGoogle Maps ↗2.5 km from Ancient Royal Palace (straight line)

Where: Suan Phrik, on the Phaniat plain north of the city island; the map point is the elephant kraal approximate

Burmese armies camped on the Phaniat plain in 1563–64 and again in 1568–69. In 1767 Ne Myo Thihapate's men burned the royal pavilion at the elephant kraal, and the Burmese commander Letwe Nawrahta, who took part, records a camp built close to the kraal. After the city fell, Phraya Tak attacked the Pho Sam Ton camp from the east, fighting his way through Phaniat.

Today: The elephant kraal seen today was restored in the Rattanakosin period and can be visited from the Phukhao Thong–Phaniat road.

Still debated: No source fixes where each army's camp stood on the plain, so the map uses the kraal as a reference point.

Show on the mapGoogle Maps ↗2.3 km from Ancient Royal Palace (straight line)

Where: In front of Wat Mae Nang Plum, Hua Ro, on the south side of the road, near the Lopburi River and the Hua Ro weir

Late in the 1767 siege Ne Myo Thihapate's troops built an earth-and-timber stockade on the river bank in front of the temple, on both sides of the point where they planned a bridge towards Maha Chai Fortress, and used it to bombard the city. It was one of the camps closest to the wall at Hua Ro.

Today: Two earthen mounds survive on the south side of the road, known locally as Khok Phama (the Burmese mounds); Chinese residents later used them as a burial ground. The temple is still active.

Still debated: Identifying the surviving mounds as the stockade rests on the ayutthaya-history.com research and local tradition.

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Where: North-eastern corner of the city island at Hua Ro market, on U-Thong Road near Chan Kasem Palace approximate

In late March 1767 Ne Myo Thihapate built three stockades on the Hua Ro side, bridged the river opposite the Hua Ro weir and dug five tunnels under the foundations of the wall. A Siamese sortie against the camps cost about 800 men. A Burmese commander's account says dry grass and branches were packed into the tunnels, soaked with oil and fired until the wall collapsed; the Burmese stormed in and the city fell in April 1767.

Today: The Hua Ro market area, with a memorial wall on U-Thong Road.

Still debated: Sources differ by a few days on when the tunnels were fired; Thai sources date the fall to 7 April 1767.

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Where: The Phukhao Thong fields, outside the city island to the north-west

In late January 1766, when the Burmese reached the outskirts, Phraya Phetchaburi and Phraya Tak fought them on the Phukhao Thong fields and were driven back. According to work based on the Burmese chronicles, Maha Nawrahta moved his camp to the Phukhao Thong area in September 1766 and placed his vanguard at Wat Tha Ka Rong. The Thai chronicles also count Wat Phukhao Thong among the Burmese fighting camps.

Today: The Golden Mount chedi still dominates the fields, close to the King Naresuan the Great monument on Thung Phukhao Thong.

Show on the mapGoogle Maps ↗1.9 km from Ancient Royal Palace (straight line)

Where: North of the city island, across the city canal from the Grand Palace

The Thai chronicles count Wat Na Phra Men among the Burmese fighting camps of 1767. Tradition holds that the Burmese used the temple grounds as a base to bombard the palace, which is why the temple was not burned. In 1760 King Alaungpaya's army had already mounted cannon here to fire at the palace.

Today: An Ayutthaya-period ordination hall that escaped the fire, with a large crowned Buddha image. The temple is active and open to visitors.

Still debated: That the Burmese spared the temple because they camped there is tradition; no Burmese source confirms it directly.

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Where: West bank of the Chao Phraya, opposite the north-western corner of the city island

According to work based on the Burmese chronicles, Maha Nawrahta placed his vanguard at Wat Tha Ka Rong, about 500 metres from the city wall. The Thai chronicles say the Burmese set up a camp with cannon here; a Siamese volunteer boat force attacked it without success.

Today: An active riverside temple with a weekend floating market.

Still debated: Some tourist material also places a Burmese camp here in the White Elephant War of 1563–64, but researchers checking the chronicles have found no text to support it.

Show on the mapGoogle Maps ↗1.5 km from Ancient Royal Palace (straight line)

Where: Ban Pom, on the Prachet fields west of the city island, around Wat Kasattrathirat and Wat Worachet outside the island approximate

The chronicles name the Wat Worachet or Prachet fields as a camp of the Pegu army in 1563–64. In late 1766 Po Suphla (the Thai chronicles' name for Ne Myo Thihapate) sent troops to camp at Ban Pom and bombard the city; nearby Wat Kasattrathirat was badly damaged and abandoned after the fall.

Today: The Prachet fields are still open land, with the prang of Wat Kasattrathirat on the river and Wat Worachet in the middle of the fields. No trace of the camps remains.

Show on the mapGoogle Maps ↗1.7 km from Ancient Royal Palace (straight line)

Where: Kamang, on the east bank of the Pa Sak River, on the island formed by Khlong Khao San and Khlong Khanom Tan approximate

In the siege of 1568–69 the Burmese built earthen causeways towards the Siamese lines at three points, one at the corner of Ko Kaeo, where ayutthaya-history.com says the King of Ava was posted. Supported by boats on the canals, they broke through the defences at the corner of the island, a loss that led to the first fall of Ayutthaya. The Thai chronicles also list Wat Ko Kaeo among the Burmese fighting camps of 1767.

Today: Wat Ko Kaeo is an active temple with a Late Ayutthaya-style ordination hall facing the Pa Sak River and a shrine to King Taksin.

Still debated: The source's coordinates contain an invalid seconds value, so the map point uses Wat Ko Kaeo's position on OpenStreetMap.

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Where: Pho Sam Ton, Bang Pahan district, on the old Lopburi River at the mouth of the Pho Sam Ton channel, across from Wat Woranayok Rangsan (Wat Khao Din)

The Burmese chronicle says that early in 1766 Ne Myo Thihapate defeated the Ayutthaya land and river forces sent north against him, reached Pak Nam Prasop north-east of the city and built nine large stockades on both banks of the Lopburi River. The Thai chronicles call the site 'Wat Pa Fai, Pak Nam Prasop'. Ayutthaya attacked twice and was driven back both times; on the second occasion townspeople who had followed the army to watch were cut down in large numbers. Before the floods Ne Myo Thihapate split his force and moved one army south to a new main camp at Pho Sam Ton.

Today: Wat Pa Fai is an abandoned temple on private land, with a pavilion sheltering Buddha images and fragments of Early Ayutthaya sandstone Buddhas; ask the owners before visiting. Only a short ditch remains of the mouth of the Pho Sam Ton channel near the bridge.

Still debated: Wat Pa Fai was once thought to have been absorbed into Wat Khao Din; later fieldwork found its ruins on the opposite bank. The Burmese camp covered a much wider area, including Wat Khao Din, Wat Krang and Wat Sop Sawan.

Google Maps ↗8.3 km from Ancient Royal Palace (straight line)

Where: Pho Sam Ton, Bang Pahan district, north of the city island, on both banks of the old Lopburi River above Wat Pho Sam Ton approximate

According to work based on the Burmese chronicles, Ne Myo Thihapate moved his main camp south to Pho Sam Ton in September 1766, walling it with bricks taken from nearby temples. After the city fell the camp held prisoners and members of the royal family who could not travel to Burma; King Ekathat died here. Suki, the Mon commander, later held the camp until Phraya Tak came up by river, attacked from the east and took it in November 1767.

Today: The camp area was dug up for bricks around the 1950s and is now a large pond with brick fragments in the soil and a shrine to King Taksin.

Still debated: Converting the dates of the fighting at Pho Sam Ton to the modern calendar gives different results, and Suki's identity is still debated.

Google Maps ↗6.2 km from Ancient Royal Palace (straight line)

Where: Wat Si Kuk, Bang Ban district, in the horseshoe bend where Khlong Bang Ban meets the Noi River, west of the city island

The Burmese chronicle says that after Maha Nawrahta took Suphan Buri, Ayutthaya sent Phraya Pala with some 60,000 men to hold Si Kuk. The Siamese army formed up outside the stockade and broke; the Burmese scaled the walls on all four sides and took the camp. Maha Nawrahta later kept his elephants and horses at Si Kuk through the flood season. This battle does not appear in Thai sources. Maha Nawrahta's river fleet, which had fought its way up the Chao Phraya, also camped at Bang Sai and Si Kuk as part of the siege.

Today: Wat Si Kuk has the ruin of a redented chedi and a shrine to Maha Nawrahta. A 1966 survey by N. Na Paknam described a brick wall the Burmese built across the neck of the bend, enclosing several dozen rai.

Still debated: Thai sources usually call Si Kuk Maha Nawrahta's main camp; Achirawit Anthaphan argues from the Burmese chronicle that his main camp lay elsewhere (Silpa Wattanatham, February 2021).

Google Maps ↗12.1 km from Ancient Royal Palace (straight line)