Page 257 - A History of Siam

A HISTORT OF SIAM
241
for several with the sea to the and a
days right high
of mountains to the left. for the
range Fortunately
Burmese, the Siamese expected the main enemy attack
to be made by one of the usual frontier routes, and
three armies were sent to guard the vulnerable points
on the western border. An army of 20,000 men, under
P'ya Yomarat, was, however, sent down the Peninsula,
and ought to have b,een able to keep back the Burmese.
It was defeated near Kuiburi, and, almost before the
danger was realised, P'etchaburi and Ratburi had been
captured, and Alaungpaya was encamped within forty
miles of the
capital.
The ease with which this invasion was carried out was
due to the mistakes of those in and
partly power partly
to the fact that the Siamese had become unused to war-
fare. There had been no serious since the
fighting
somewhat invasion of Cambodia in
inglorious 1717.
Consternation reigned at Ayut'ia. The King was
blamed for his lack of foresight and was urged to abdicate.
The Priest-King, Ut'ump'on, was recalled from his
temple and reassumed the reins of power ; but it was
too late to do anything but make hurried preparations
to prepare the city for a siege.
The first Burmese attack was but in
repulsed, April
1760 Alaungpaya had received reinforcements and was
able completely to invest the city. He tried to induce
the Siamese to surrender by asserting that he was a
Bodisatra, or embryo Buddha, ordained by Heaven to
reform the Buddhist His
religion. impious pretensions
were laughed to scorn.
The siege continued for a month. In May 1760
a large cannon was placed by the Burmese on a mound,
for the of into the of Siam's
purpose shooting King
palace. Alaungpaya himself superintended the loading