Siamese–Vietnamese War (1831–1834)

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Siamese–Vietnamese War (1831–1834)
Part of Siamese–Vietnamese Wars and Vietnamese invasions of Cambodia
Siamvietnam1.jpg
Red represents Siamese army routes.
Yellow represents Vietnam and Cambodia.
Date1831–1834
Location
Cambodia, Southern Vietnam
Result Vietnamese victory
Belligerents
Nguyen monarchy (Vietnam) Rattanakosin Kingdom (Siam)
Commanders and leaders
Minh Mạng
Trương Minh Giảng





Nguyễn Văn Xuân
 Chao Phraya Bodin Decha
Chao Phraya Phraklang
Phra Mahathep Pom
Phra Ratchawarin Kham
Units involved
Vietnamese Army Siamese Army
Strength
~13,000 troops
~35-40 warships		 ~50,000 troops
~100 warships
Casualties and losses
unknown unknown

The Siamese-Vietnamese War of 1831–1834 (Thai: อานัมสยามยุทธ (พ.ศ. 2374 – พ.ศ. 2377), Vietnamese: Chiến tranh Việt–Xiêm (1831–1834)), also known as the Siamese-Cambodian War of 1831–1834, was sparked by a Siamese invasion force under General Bodindecha that was attempting to conquer Cambodia and southern Vietnam. After initial success and the defeat of the Khmer Army at the Battle of Kompong Cham in 1832, the Siamese advance was repelled in southern Vietnam in 1833 by the military forces of the Nguyễn monarchy. Upon the outbreak of a general uprising in Cambodia and Laos, the Siamese withdrew, and Vietnam was left in control of Cambodia.[1][2][3][4]

Background[]

Both Siam and Vietnam emerged as the primary powers in Indochina[5] by the early 19th century and increasingly sought to dominate Cambodia and Laos in their effort to gain hegemony over the Lower Mekong Basin. The internal struggles between factions of the Cambodian royal families during the Cambodian Dark Ages had Siam and Vietnam aggressively intervene on opposite sides to maximize their influences over Cambodia. They adopted the tradition of taking members of the Cambodian royal family hostage, interfered in marriage policies, influenced and orchestrated their protégés, and demanded loyalty.[6]

In 1806, Ang Chan II was crowned King of Cambodia by the Siamese, but he eventually became pro-Vietnamese. He did not attend the funeral of Siamese King Rama I in 1809[7] and sent his younger brothers Prince Ang Snguon and Prince Ang Em to Bangkok in his stead. King Rama II then made Prince Ang Snguon the Uprayorach (viceroy) and Prince Ang Em the Ouparach (deputy viceroy), thus placing the two princes under Siamese overlordship. In 1811, Prince Ang Sngoun rebelled against his brother Ang Chan. That led to a nation-wide rebellion. The Siamese court sent Chao Phraya Yommaraj Noi to lead an army to Oudong and settle the issues. Upon the arrival of a Siamese army in support of Prince Ang Sngoun, King Ang Chan fled to Saigon[8] under the protection of Vietnam. Prince Ang Em and Ang Duong, the younger brothers of King Ang Chan, also joined the Siamese. Yommaraj Noi burnt down Oudong and Phnom Penh[9] and took with him Princes Ang Sngoun, Ang Em, and Ang Duong to Bangkok. Emperor Gia Long ordered Lê Văn Duyệt to restore King Ang Chan at Phnom Penh in 1813.[10] Cambodia had thus moved towards Vietnamese domination. Prince Ang Sngoun died at Bangkok in 1816 and left only his younger brothers: Prince Ang Em and Ang Duong[11] as the Cambodian princes in Bangkok.

After his initial defeat in the Lao rebellion in 1827, King Anouvong of Vientiane fled to the Nghệ An Province in Vietnam.[12] Emperor Minh Mạng accommodated the Lao king and sent his envoys to bring King Anouvong back to Vientiane to negotiate with the Siamese. However, Anouvong later ambushed the Siamese garrisons at Vientiane, and Siam was convinced that Vietnam was supporting King Anouvong in his resistance to Siamese domination.[13]

When Anouvong was defeated again in 1828 and fled to Xiangkhouang, Chao Noy, the ruler of Muang Phuan, a former vassal to Anouvong that later became a vassal of Vietnam,[14] revealed the whereabouts of Anouvong to Chao Phraya Bodindecha, which led to the capture of Anouvong. Emperor Minh Mạng then summoned Chao Noy to Huế and had him executed. Emperor Minh Mạng later annexed the Kingdom of Muang Phuan to direct rule of Vietnam, and it became the province of Trấn Ninh.[11]

Lê Văn Duyệt had been a powerful mandarin of southern Vietnam and exerted his influence over Cambodia. After his death in 1832, Emperor Minh Mạng condemned Lê Văn Duyệt to the charge of treason and prosecuted his associates. Lê Văn Khôi, the adoptive son of Lê Văn Duyệt, led the Lê Văn Khôi revolt in May 1833 and took Saigon. King Rama III then took thw opportunity to end the Vietnamese influence in Cambodia and in the region. Rama III initiated the Siamese campaign to bring Prince Ang Em to the Cambodian throne and to take Saigon.[2][15][11]

Siamese preparations[]

King Rama III arranged the Siamese forces into the following routes:

  • Chao Phraya Bodindecha would lead[16][17] a land army of 40,000 men to bring Prince Ang Em and Ang Duong to Cambodia and to proceed to take Saigon.
  • Chao Phraya Phraklang would lead a galley fleet of 10,000 men to attack Hà Tiên and to converge with the land army at Saigon.
  • Phra Mahathep Pom and Phra Ratchawarin Kham would attack Xiangkhouang and Nghệ An Province through Isaan and Laos.[2][18]

Military campaigns[]

Siamese invasion of Cambodia, Hà Tiên, and An Giang[]

The Vĩnh Tế Canal in Châu Đốc, An Giang Province
The modern Vàm Nao River in An Giang Province, where the battle of January 1833 took place.
Chaophraya Bodindecha, the Siamese commander-in-chief

All three Siamese armies left Bangkok on the same day in November 1832. King Ang Chan and his court immediately fled to Long Hồ, in Vĩnh Long Province. The main column of Chao Phraya Bodindecha marched from Battambang on the eastern bank of the Tonle sap lake to seize Pursat and Kampong Chhnang. The second column advanced on the western bank of the lake. Bodindecha left Princes Ang Em and Ang Duong at Phnom Penh and proceeded to Ba Phnum. The fleet of Phraklang reached Hà Tiên in January 1833. The Vietnamese, who had been preoccupied with Lê Văn Khôi's rebellion, were caught unprepared, and the Siamese quickly took Hà Tiên.[19] Phraklang then sailed his fleet upstream the Vĩnh Tế Canal and also quickly took Châu Đốc in the An Giang Province. Bodindecha, who had reached Ba Phnum, sent his brother-in-law Chao Phraya Nakhon Ratchasima to bring 7,000 men eastwards through Ba Phnum district directly to Saigon Bodindecha himself joined Phraklang at Châu Đốc. Emperor Minh Mạng then ordered Trương Minh Giảng and Nguyễn Xuân to counter the Siamese offensives in An Giang.[2][20][18]

Battle of Vàm Nao[]

To reach Saigon from Châu Đốc, the Siamese fleet had to cross from the Bassac River to the Mekong via the Vàm Nao Canal. Chao Phraya Bodindecha merged his army into Phraklang's fleet and the massive Siamese fleet proceeded along the Bassac River and reached the Vàm Nao Canal or Thuận Cảng Canal in January 1833, where they met the Vietnamese fleet. The Battle of Vàm Nao ensued, and the Siamese initially prevailed. The Vietnamese retreated towards the Mekong, and the Siamese pressed on the attack. Bodindecha ordered his fleet to disembark and attack the Vietnamese on land but was repelled by Vietnamese General Phạm Hữu Tâm. The admirals of Phraklang's fleet, however, refused to engage with the Vietnamese fleet. Phraklang himself had to board a small boat to encourage his admirals to attack but to no avail. Vietnamese reinforcements, including more than 100 battle junks, led by Tống Phước Lương, arrived, and the overwhelming number of the Vietnamese engaged Bodindecha's armies. The Siamese were unable to withstand the Vietnamese, and both Bodindecha and Phraklang decided to retreat in February 1834.[2][18]

Siamese retreat and Vietnamese offensives[]

After the Battle of Vàm Nao, the Siamese retreated to Châu Đốc in January 1833. Trương Minh Giảng capitalized on the victory by sending a fleet to follow the Siamese and attack Châu Đốc. Chao Phraya Bodindecha ordered the Siamese to fire upon the disembarking Vietnamese, which resulted in bodies piling on the river bank. Phraklang then retreated further to Hà Tiên through the Vĩnh Tế Canal and carried off the local population of Banteai Meas, Kampot, and Kampong Som to be resettled in Chanbury. The water of the Vĩnh Tế Canal was too shallow for the galleys to proceed.

Phraklang then ordered some of the galleys to be pulled by elephants to Kampot. However, the Cambodians revolted and murdered the mahouts, taking all of the elephants. As the Vietnamese kept attacking Châu Đốc, Bodindecha decided to abandon Châu Đốc, retreat from Cambodia to Chantaburi, and take along as much of the local population as he could find on the way back.[18]

Trương Minh Giảng reconquered Châu Đốc and Hà Tiên. Bodindecha instructed Princes Ang Em and Ang Duong at Phnom Penh to destroy the citadel, burn the city, and march all inhabitants to Battambang. However, revolts against the Siamese invaders broke out in Phnom Penh and the rest of Cambodia under the co-ordinated leadership of two Khmer magistrates, Chakrey Long and Yumreach. All further hostile acts of Siam met massive resistance.[21] Bodindecha and the two princes then retreated towards Siam.[11]

Chao Phraya Nakhon Ratchasima and Phraya Rachanikul, who had led the Siamese troops from Ba Phnum eastward to Saigon, were attacked by Cambodian insurgents and realized that the main Siamese forces had already retreated. They returned to the Mekong but found that all boats to cross the river had vanished and so built a pontoon bridge to cross. Internal dissent caused some contingent commanders to leave the army group and marched northwards along the Mekong, where they were massacred. Chao Phraya Nakhon Ratchasima and Phraya Rachanikul eventually crossed the Mekong and engaged the Cambodian insurgents. Chao Phraya Bodindecha ordered Chao Phraya Nakhon Ratchasima and Phraya Rachanikul to retreat to Nakhon Ratchasima. In 1834, Viceroy Trương Minh Giảng and his vassal king, Ang Chan, returned to Phnom Penh. Vietnamese rule in Cambodia had been established.[2]

Northern Fronts[]

Phra Mahathep Pom and Phra Ratchawarin Kham reached their respective destinations in January 1833. Phra Mahathep Pom stationed at Nakhon Phanom and Phra Ratchawarin Kham at Nongkhai. Phra Mahathep Pom led a Siamese army to attack the Lao city of Mahaxay, which had been under Vietnamese rule. He then proceeded to attack Phu Thai communities of modern Savannakhet Province including Muang Pong, Muang Phalan and Muang Champhone. The Siamese relocated the Phu Thai people to settle in what is now Nakhon Phanom Province and the surrounding areas.[11]

After the execution of Chao Noy of Muang Phuan at Huế, Emperor Minh Mạng appointed a new ruler to Muang Phuan in 1833. Phra Ratchawarin Kham and Phra Patumthewa the governor of Nongkhai sent messages to the ruler of Muang Phuan to defect to the Siamese side. The ruler of Muang Phuan decided to join the Siamese cause, and Phra Ratchawarin Kham led the Siamese army to capture Muang Phuan and defeated the Vietnamese forces. Muang Phuan, as a tributary state to Siam, was too far from Siamese influence and was hard to defend. Siam then decided to dissolve the Kingdom of Muang Phuan altogether. Nearly all of the Phuan people of Muang Phuan were forcibly relocated[22] to Nan, Sukhothai, Uttaradit, and Phitsanulok Provinces, and Muang Phuan was left largely deserted.

Aftermath and Prelude to 1841–1845 war[]

The Siamese armies had returned by May 1833. The Siamese retreat left Vietnam in full control of Cambodia. Vietnam, led by Trương Minh Giảng, established Nam Vang or Phnom Penh as headquarter. King Ang Chan of Cambodia died in January 1835. Ang Chan did not have a son but had four daughters; Ang Baen, Ang Mey, Ang Peou and Ang Sngon. Siam had Prince Ang Em, younger brother of Ang Chan, appointed as the governor of Battambang. With the Princes Ang Em and Ang Duong on the Siamese side, Trương Minh Giảng proposed to make Princess Ang Mey, Ang Chan's second daughter, the queen regnant of Cambodia. Princess Ang Baen, the eldest daughter, was surpassed for her sympathy with the Siamese cause and the fact that her mother was a daughter of Chao Phraya Abhaybhubet the Siam-appointed governor of Battambang. In 1836, Vietnam annexed Cambodia into direct rule as the Trấn Tây province with Trương Minh Giảng invested with the title Trấn Tây tướng quân (Hán tự: 鎭西將軍). Vietnamese governors and officials were installed in Cambodia and native Cambodian mandarins were left with minimal power.

Siam reinforced and prepared itself for future campaigns. Phraklang supervised the construction of larger galleys and the fortification of Chanthaburi. Samut Songkhram, Chachoengsao, Battambang and Siemreap were all fortified against possible incursions. In 1836, Manpower survey was made by Chao Phraya Bodindecha in Siam-controlled parts of Cambodia and Isan-Laos Region.[13]

Prince Ang Em, the governor of Battambang, decided to defect to the Vietnamese side in November 1838. He arrested Siamese officials in Battambang and, along with its inhabitants, deported them to join Trương Minh Giảng at Phnom Penh in hope that Vietnam would make him King of Cambodia. However, Trương Minh Giảng arrested Prince Ang Em and sent him to Huế. This incident initiated new conflicts. Chao Phraya Bodindecha hurriedly brought army to Battambang to placate the situation. In 1840, Princess Ang Baen was found collaborating with the Siamese. Minh Mạng completely lost his trust in the Cambodian princesses. Queen Ang Mey and her sisters were demoted in status. Ang Baen was sentenced to death by drowning at Long Hồ.[23] Ang Mey and her remaining sisters were carried off to Poulo Condore for imprisonment.[23]

In 1840, Cambodian native mandarins arose against their Vietnamese overlords and massacred many Vietnamese officials in Cambodian rebellion (1840). The Cambodian governor of Pursat approached Chao Phraya Bodindecha at Battambang asking for Siamese support against Vietnam.[13] This led to the new round of conflicts; the Siamese–Vietnamese War of 1841–1845.

See also[]

References[]

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  18. ^ a b c d Bun Srun Theam. "CAMBODIA IN THE MID-NINETEENTH CENTURY:A QUEST FOR SURVIVAL, 1840-1863" (PDF). Open Research. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
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External links[]