season of 1775. A combined force of 35000 was raised for the Siamese theater. In November, Maha Thiha Thura's main army invaded by the southern route from Martaban, and Ne Myo Thihapate's army from Chiang Saen in northern Lan Na, (which was still under Burmese control). From the start, the invasion was fraught with multiple issues. First, the invasion force of 35000 was too small to be effective whereas the 1765 invasion force consisted of at least 50,000 troops. More importantly, the Burmese command was in disarray. With the king on his deathbed, insubordination became increasingly rampant. Indeed, the second-in-command of the southern army, Zeya Kyaw, disagreed with Maha Thiha Thura on the invasion route, withdrew with his troops, leaving Maha Thiha Thura with a portion of the troops. (This kind of insubordination would have been unimaginable only a couple years back when the king was in full control. Amazingly, Zeya Kyaw was never punished after the war.) The remaining Burmese armies fought their way into Siam, facing fierce Siamese resistance along the way. Thihapate's army managed to capture Chiang Mai and Maha Thiha Thura's army fought its way down to Phitsanulok and Sukhothai provinces in central Siam,destroying the two cities similar to Ayutthaya in 1767. But the invasion force was unable to continue down the Chao Phraya Plain due to a food shortage. Then, Hsinbyushin died on 10 June 1776 at age 39. Maha Thiha Thura decided to call off the invasion, and rushed back to Ava to ensure that his son-in-law Singu could ascend to the throne without incident. Ne Myo Thihapate also withdrew from Chiang Mai back to safer Chiang Saen. Had Hsinbyushin lived longer, it's possible that Maha Thiha Thura's army could have successfully marched down through central Siam and destroyed the new Siamese capital at Thonburi. Manipur, Cachar, Jaintia (1775–1776) At Manipur, the Burmese expedition force again managed to drive out the pesky Manipuri raja, who again fled into neighboring Cachar and Jaintia. This time, Hsinbyushin ordered the army to chase into these tiny kingdoms to capture the raja. Hsinbyushin died soon after. Even after the king's death, the Burmese continued to operate in Cachar and Jaintia. The raja of Cachar finally submitted but the Burmese still could not catch the Manipuri raja. The nominal suzerainty of Cachar and Jaintia came at a heavy price: the Burmese army had suffered heavy casualties. Epilogue Hsinbyushin was