Page 153 - A History of Siam

A HISTORT OF SIAM 145
same time, he himself marched north at the head of
an army of 30,000 men.
in as to the
P'ya P'rak'lang, being equal ignorance
result of the attack on Tenasserim, raised at Tavoy a
fleet of about a hundred which he sent to assist
ships,
his in the south.
colleague
Chao P'ya Chakri's fleet fell in with and engaged a
Burmese fleet of two hundred which was trans-
ships,
an to Tenasserim. While this naval battle
porting army
was in fleet on the
progress, P'ya P'rak'lang's appeared
scene. The Burmese were
completely overpowered,
several and more than five hundred men were
ships
captured, and the rest escaped as best they could back
to the Irawadi.
The Siamese learned from their naval that
prisoners
a Burmese force was
strong advancing against Tavoy.
All the available men were therefore at once landed.
Chao P'ya Chakri had by this time arrived at Tavoy, and
a combined force of about men was thus
90,000 available,
some been left behind at Tenasserim.
only 10,000 having
With this the Siamese waited for the
strong force,
Burmese a little north of Tavoy, and completely routed
them.
Chao P'ya Chakri and P'ya P'rak'lang, together with
the other Generals under them, were held the
serving by
King to have purged their offences committed during
the last Burmese invasion. Their
expedition had,
indeed, been very successful. Tavoy and Tenasserim
remained in the hands of the Siamese. These two towns
were most important centres of foreign trade, which by
this time had reached considerable It was
proportions.
for in those of slow communi-
very necessary Siam, days
cations, to hold seaports on the Indian Ocean. Apart
from their value as doors of into these
ingress Siam,
Ks