On 1 January 1886, the Royal Burmese Army was formally disbanded by the British government. While it defeated the Portuguese and French intrusions in the 17th and 18th centuries respectively, the army proved unable to match the military strength of the British Empire in the 19th century, losing the First, Second and Third Anglo-Burmese Wars.
While the army had held its own against the armies of the kingdom's neighbours, its performance against more technologically advanced European armies deteriorated over time. As the technological gap between European powers widened in the 18th century, the army was dependent on Europeans' willingness to sell more sophisticated weaponry.
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Outside the special firearm units, there was no formal training program for the regular conscripts, who were expected to have a basic knowledge of self-defence, and how to operate the musket on their own. The first special musket and artillery units, equipped with Portuguese matchlocks and cannon, were formed in the 16th century. The wartime army also consisted of elephantry, cavalry, artillery and naval units.įirearms, first introduced from China in the late 14th century, became integrated into strategy only gradually over many centuries. Conscription was based on the ahmudan system, which required local chiefs to supply their predetermined quota of men from their jurisdiction on the basis of population in times of war. The army was organised into a small standing army of a few thousand, which defended the capital and the palace, and a much larger conscription-based wartime army. The army was one of the major armed forces of Southeast Asia until it was defeated by the British over a six-decade span in the 19th century. It refers to the military forces of the Pagan Dynasty, the Ava Kingdom, the Toungoo Dynasty and the Konbaung Dynasty in chronological order. The Royal Armed Forces was the armed forces of the Burmese monarchy from the 9th to 19th centuries. 10.2 House of Representatives ( Pyithu Hluttaw).10.1 House of Nationalities ( Amyotha Hluttaw).10 Political representation in Burma's parliament.5.4 Myanmar Police Force ( Myanmar Ye Tat Hpwe).4 Organisational, command and control structure.3.2 Kuomintang invasion/Burma Socialist Programme Party era (1958–1988).The NDSC serves as the highest authority in the Government of Myanmar.
The NDSC is an eleven-member national security council responsible for security and defence affairs in Myanmar. Īccording to the Constitution of Myanmar, the Tatmadaw directly reports to the National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) led by the President of Myanmar. The Tatmadaw has been widely accused by international organizations of human rights offenses including ethnic cleansing, torture, sexual assault and massacre of civilians. Political reforms over the next half-decade culminated in a sweeping NLD victory in the 2015 election after the USDP lost another election in 2020, the Tatmadaw annulled the election and deposed the civilian government. In 2008, the Tatmadaw again rewrote Myanmar's constitution, installing the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Party(USDP) in 2010 elections boycotted by most opposition groups. The 1990s also saw the escalation of the conflict between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State due to RSO attacks on Tatmadaw forces.
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Following the violent repression of nationwide protests in 1988, the military agreed to free elections in 1990, but ignored the resulting victory of the National League for Democracy and imprisoned its leader Aung San Suu Kyi. General Ne Win took control of the country in a 1962 coup d'état, attempting to build an autarkic society called the Burmese Way to Socialism. Since independence, the Tatmadaw has faced significant ethnic insurgencies, especially in Kachin, Kayin, Kayah, and Shan states.
Auxiliary services include the Myanmar Police Force, the Border Guard Forces and the People's Militia Units. It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. 'Armed Forces') is the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar (Burma). The Tatmadaw ( Burmese: တပ်မတော် MLCTS: tapma.tau, IPA:, lit. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Burmese script.