The famous general of the Qianlong Dynasty, Ming Rui, conquered Burma. Through interrogation of the captives, Ming Rui learned that the main force of the Burmese army was in Manjie, so he immediately led his troops to advance into Manjie.
In Manjie, the Burmese army built 16 wooden villages in each key pass, thus constituting 16 military camps. The wooden villages in these barracks are arranged in alternating wet logs nearly seven meters high, and then built with earth masonry, and deep ditches are dug inside and outside the wooden villages, and sharp bamboo sticks are inserted next to the ditches. When the Qing army first arrived, it was really difficult to conquer it immediately, and at the same time, because there was no danger outside the enemy camp for the time being, they were also facing the danger of being attacked or even overwhelmed by the opponent.
The Burmese army refers to the royal guards as the victorious soldiers and the Tusi soldiers as the troops, and usually, the troops are always in front and the victorious soldiers are in the rear. The infantry cavalry also pays attention to the infantry, with the infantry in the center and the cavalry as the two wings, and the cavalry is ready to "divide and advance" from the two wings at any time during the battle to outflank. If the troops are regarded as the green battalion of the Qing army, and the winning soldiers are regarded as the eight banners of the Qing army, this way of arranging troops is actually very similar to the Qing army.
The next day, Mingrui responded in the center, and his subordinates occupied the east and west mountain beams near the enemy camp. Seeing this, the Burmese army could not hold back, and sent troops to attack the west mountain beam where the leader Guanyin Bao was based, Guanyin Bao led his troops to rush and kill, Mingrui also divided his troops from the middle to respond, and the Qing and Burmese sides launched a fierce battle in the field.
In the first two wars of conquest of Burma, the Qing and Burma had fought each other repeatedly, but the Burmese army had never met with the Manchurian cavalry. On the plains, the heavy cavalry launched an attack like a torrential wind, and the Burmese army's weapons were mainly firearms, darts, and short knives, and they were not equipped with armor, bows and arrows, so they could not withstand this kind of impact at all. The identity of the Burmese army is easy to identify, the leaders are all wearing red clothes, the soldiers are wearing green clothes, and the arrows of the Manchurian cavalry are like having eyes, and whoever they like to fall on will fall first, and the fierce battle is late, and the Burmese army was annihilated on the spot up to more than 200 people.
This battle made a deep impression on the Burmese army, so much so that when they saw the Manchurian cavalry later, they trembled and said: "The soldiers of the Celestial Empire who ride on horses with cut noses and arrows are the most powerful, brave and terrible." There is even a legend within the Burmese army: "The rockets used by the GIs (referring to the Qing army) are very good, when the rockets come, the people go fast, the arrows are also fast, and the people go slowly, the arrows are also slower." After hearing these statements and rumors, even the Burmese officers and soldiers who had not yet fought the Qing army were very afraid.
After suffering defeat, the Burmese army hurriedly retreated under the cover of a series of guns. Serial guns, also known as serial guns, were a commonly used method of firearms at that time, that is, guns and artillery were lined up, taking turns to relay, in the face of the continuous guns and artillery fire of the Burmese army, the Qing army had to slow down the pursuit in order to avoid excessive casualties, and until the smoke of gunfire dispersed, it was found that the other side had drilled into the wooden fence.
The Burmese army is good at defense, around the wooden village, in the ditch twenty or thirty steps densely erected countless wooden fences up to more than two meters high, outside the fence and set up wooden platoons, the guns of the Qing army are difficult to hurt the Burmese army, but the Burmese army hiding inside can through the gap in the wooden fence, with flintlock pistols to shoot at the Qing army.
The Burmese army's technical proficiency in the use of firearms was still above that of the Qing army, and the soldiers' marksmanship was accurate, and the hit rate was extremely high, and even the Jianrui battalion, which claimed to be the best at firearms in the Qing army, had to admit that "this thief's skill is also very good." Under such circumstances, the Qing army's offensive had little effect.