Hsinbyushin - Military Commander (1752–1760)

Military Commander (1752–1760)

On 29 February 1752, three weeks before the fall of Ava, Aung Zeya founded the Konbaung Dynasty to resist the upcoming Hanthawaddy rule, styling himself King Alaungpaya. The Konbaung resistance was just one of many resistance forces that had sprung up across Upper Burma (mostly by panicked ethnic Burmans but also by ethnic Shans). Many young men from 46 villages in the Mu valley, who longed to redress the humiliations of the previous decades, answered Alaungpaya's call. The 15-year-old Ywa enthusiastically joined his father's call. (He would later prove to be the most militaristic of all Konbaung kings).

Ywa, now styled as Thado Minsaw, quickly proved a capable military commander—certainly, the most capable of Alaungpaya's sons, and became a top commander in his own right. By December 1753, the Konbaung forces had driven back Hanthawaddy invasion forces back to Ava, the fallen capital. The 17-year-old prince was given the overall command to recapture Ava. The prince's assault on 3 January 1754 succeeded, forcing Hanthawaddy troops to withdraw in disarray. Pleased, Alaungpaya made his second son the governor of Ava, (which had been totally sacked by the retreating Hanthawaddy forces).

Just three months later, the Hanthawaddy invasion forces were back, this time in their full might. Konbaung forces led by Hsinbyushin and his elder brother Naungdawgyi were badly defeated at present-day Myingyan District. Hsinbyushin fell back to Ava, and had to defend the city against a siege by the invaders. Hsinbyushin's defenses held. Other Hanthawaddy armies also advanced up to Mu valley, the Konbaung homeland, but were driven back. In April 1754, Hsinbyushin also broke the siege of Ava, and pursued the retreating Hanthawaddy armies down to Minbu. Alaungpaya granted Hsinbyushin the town of Myedu in fief, for the latter's successful defense of Ava. He would be known as the Prince of Myedu from then on.

Indeed, throughout the rest of the 1750s, Hsinbyushin was a key top commander in Alaungpaya's campaigns which by 1759 had reunited all of Burma (and Manipur), and driven out the French and the British who had provided arms to Hanthawaddy. Hsinbyshin was second-in-command of the Burmese forces in Alaungpaya's invasion of Siam (1759–1760), which overran the Siamese defenses and reached the gates of Ayutthaya in April 1760. But the Burmese forces had to retreat hastily as Alaungpaya suddenly fell ill from scrofula. Hsinbyushin retreated back alongside his father's litter, and was by the his father's bedside when the king died near a small village in Martaban (Mottama).