ไทย

Home › Campaign routes › The breakout through the Burmese siege: from Wat Phichai to Rayong › Ban Hantra

Ban Hantra (the Hantra plain)

The Hantra plain lies a few kilometres north-east of Wat Phichai. It was the first place where Phraya Tak's force had to fight the Burmese troops who came after it from the siege lines, on the evening of Saturday 3 January 1767.

What happened here

Evening of Saturday 3 January 1767Stop 2 of 15

Not long after leaving Wat Phichai, the Burmese besieging the city caught up with the force. This was the first fight on the route.

Clash with the Burmese army
Against
Burmese troops pursuing from the siege lines; the chronicles give no number
Where
The Hantra plain, north-east of Wat Phichai. Research places the battlefield across from Wat Hantra. The Royal Autograph version of the chronicle writes the village's name in an older spelling.
How
The chronicle says only that they "fought the Burmese hard", that is, with all their strength. It does not describe the tactics.
Outcome
The Burmese could not hold them and fell back. The force marched on at once, that same night.

See the whole route on the map →

What each chronicle says

The Phan Chanthanumat (Choem) version says the force left Wat Phichai at the striking of the evening gong on Saturday, about six o'clock, and then fought the Burmese hard; the Burmese could not hold them and fell back. It does not name the village. The version that does is the Royal Autograph version, which writes the name in an older spelling that matches today's Ban Hantra.

The research team writing in the Thammasat Journal of History says the battlefield is now rice fields, across from Wat Hantra and Hantra village, Village 2, Hantra subdistrict, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya district.

How to visit

Hantra subdistrict is about 3 kilometres north-east of Wat Phichai Songkhram. Set Wat Hantra as your destination in a navigation app, then carry on to Ban Khao Mao and Ban Sam Bandit, in the order of the route.

The place today

A community and rice fields in Hantra subdistrict, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya district, with Wat Hantra as the landmark. There is no memorial or sign marking the battlefield. You can stop here on the drive from Wat Phichai to Ban Khao Mao.

Position on the map: Approximate coordinates, around Wat Hantra in Hantra subdistrict

Places to visit and eat near Ban Hantra

Places to visit nearby

Where to eat nearby

Directions on Google Maps ↗Back to the route map

Sources
  1. King Taksin the Great's First Step towards Regaining Independence: From Wat Phichai to Ban Phran Nok – Thammasat Journal of History (in Thai)
  2. Royal Chronicle of Thonburi, Phan Chanthanumat (Choem) version – Collected Chronicles, Part 65 – Thai Wikisource (in Thai)

Last updated 13 November 2026