History of the Thai armed forces before 1852
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The Royal Siamese Armed Forces (Thai: กองทัพหลวง) were the armed forces of the Thai monarchy from the 12th to 19th centuries. The term refers to the military forces of the
Sukhothai Kingdom The Sukhothai Kingdom ( th, สุโขทัย, , IAST: , ) was a post-classical Thai kingdom (mandala) in Mainland Southeast Asia surrounding the ancient capital city of Sukhothai in present-day north-central Thailand. The kingdom was fo ...
, the
Ayutthaya Kingdom The Ayutthaya Kingdom (; th, อยุธยา, , IAST: or , ) was a Siamese kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. The Ayutthaya Kingdom is conside ...
, the Thonburi Kingdom and the Early Rattanakosin Kingdom in chronological order. The army was one of the major military forces of Southeast Asia. With a reform into a new Western-style army in 1852, the Royal Siamese Army became a new European-trained military force. The Royal Thai Armed Forces are the contemporary military of Thailand.


Organization

The Royal Siamese Army was organized into three general tiers: the
Palace Guards A royal guard is a group of military bodyguards, soldiers or armed retainers responsible for the protection of a royal person, such as the emperor or empress, king or queen, or prince or princess. They often are an elite unit of the regular arm ...
, the Capital Defense Corps, and the field levies. Only the first two were the standing military. They protected the sovereign and the capital region, and formed the nucleus of the armed forces in wartime. The third, the field levies or conscripts, were usually raised just prior to or during wartime, and provided manpower to resist attacks and project power beyond the boundaries of the empire. Most of the field levy served in the infantry but the men for the
elephantry A war elephant was an elephant that was trained and guided by humans for combat. The war elephant's main use was to charge the enemy, break their ranks and instill terror and fear. Elephantry is a term for specific military units using elephan ...
,
cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
, artillery and
naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
corps were drawn from specific hereditary villages that specialized in respective military skills.


Special branches

The infantry was the backbone of the wartime Siamese army, and was supported by special branches—the elephantry, cavalry, artillery, and naval corps. These special branches were formed by the men from certain hereditary villages that provided the men with specialized skills. In a typical Ayutthaya or Rattanakosin formation, a 1000-strong infantry regiment was supported by 100 horses and 10 war elephants.


Elephantry

The main use of war elephants was to charge the enemy, trampling them and breaking their ranks. Although the elephantry units made up only about one percent of the overall strength, they were a major component of Siamese war strategy throughout the imperial era. The army on the march would bring expert catchers of wild elephants. Image:War elephant in national museum Bangkok.jpg, War elephant and traditional Thai weapons in Bangkok National Museum. Image:Queen Suriyothai elephant combat.jpg, A Thai painting depicting
Queen Suriyothai Suriyothai ( th, สุริโยทัย, , ; Burmese:သူရိယထိုင်း) ), date=June 2019 was a royal queen consort during the 16th century Ayutthaya Kingdom, Ayutthaya period of Siam (now Thailand). She is famous for havi ...
(center) on her war elephant putting herself between King
Maha Chakkraphat Maha Chakkraphat ( th, มหาจักรพรรดิ, ; lit.: 'The Great Emperor'; 1509 – 1569) was king of the Ayutthaya kingdom from 1548 to 1564 and 1568 to 1569. Originally called Prince Thianracha, or Prince Tien, he was put on the t ...
(right) and Viceroy of Prome (left). Image:WatSuvandaramMural.jpg, Elephant battle between Naresuan and Mingyi Swa as wall murals in Phra Ubosot, Wat Suwan Dararam,
Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to: * Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767 ** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom * Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locally ...
. Image:Army-of-Yamada-Nagamasa-in-Ayutthaya-Kingdom.png, Pictured in this contemporary Siamese painting, the mercenary army of Japanese adventurer Yamada Nagamasa played a pivotal role in court intrigue during the first half of the 17th century.


Cavalry

From the 17th century onward, cavalry troops made up about 10% of a typical regiment. The men of the cavalry were drawn mainly from hereditary villages. Image:Naresuan_life_-_Wat_Suwan_Dararam_-_Section_09_(2129_BE).jpg, Naresuan, the Crown Prince of
Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to: * Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767 ** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom * Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locally ...
, defeating Lak Wai Tham Mu (ลักไวทำมู), a military general of Taungoo, during a battle in 1586/87.


Artillery

During the 16th century, the Siamese artillery and musketeer corps were originally made up exclusively of foreign (European and Muslim) mercenaries.


Navy

The naval arm of the army consisted mainly of river-faring war boats. Its primary missions were to control the Chao Phraya River, and to protect the ships carrying the army to the front. The major war boats carried up to 30 musketeers and were armed with 6- or 12-pounder cannon. By the mid-18th century, the navy had acquired a few seafaring ships, manned by European and foreign sailors. Image:Naresuan life - Wat Suwan Dararam - Section 02 (2116 BE).jpg, An Ayutthaya era war boat


Military history of Thai armed forces


Reform

In 1852, the Royal Siamese Armed Forces came into existence as permanent force at the behest of King Mongkut, who needed a European trained military force to thwart any western threat and any attempts at colonialisation. By 1887, during the next reign of King Chulalongkorn, a permanent military command in the Kalahom, ''Kalahom'' Department was established. However the office of ''Kalahom'' and the military of Siam had existed since the days of the
Sukhothai Kingdom The Sukhothai Kingdom ( th, สุโขทัย, , IAST: , ) was a post-classical Thai kingdom (mandala) in Mainland Southeast Asia surrounding the ancient capital city of Sukhothai in present-day north-central Thailand. The kingdom was fo ...
in the 13th entury.The Royal Thai Army. Brief History
rta.mi.th{{failed verification, date=November 2020


Types of uniforms

File:Siamese General Uniform.png, Siamese general uniform File:Siamese infantry uniform.png, Siamese infantry uniform File:Wat Suwan Dararam wihan - inside - 2017-02-13 (030).jpg, Siamese infantry during Naresuan's reign, depicted in a mural painting in the wihan of Wat Suwan Dararam


See also

* Military history of Thailand * History of Thailand * Burmese–Siamese wars * Siamese–Vietnamese wars


References

Military history of Thailand, Royal Siamese forces 1238 establishments in Asia 1852 disestablishments in Siam