British ship which was used to bombard Burmese positions. But the Burmese defenses held, and the Siamese retreated. The British ship fled to the sea. The Burmese army then marched north and was met by a Siamese force of 60,000 near west of the city. Outnumbered 3 to 1, the more experienced Burmese army nonetheless routed the much larger Siamese army, which according to the Burmese, was "chopped to pieces", forcing the remaining Siamese troops to retreat to the capital. Maha Nawrahta had now arrived at Ayutthaya as planned, in record time. ("It took Alaungpaya's 40,000 men about three and a half months to arrive at Ayutthaya in 1760 whereas it took Maha Nawrahta's 20,000 plus army just about two months"). But he pulled back to the northwest of the city because he did not see Thihapate's northern army, and because he did not want to take on another major battle with his depleted army. He fixed his headquarters near the Pagoda built by Bayinnaung two centuries before. He used the hiatus to refill the ranks with Siamese conscripts. Northern operations (November 1765 – January 1766) Meanwhile, Ne Myo Thihapate's northern army was still stuck in northern Siam although the pace of his advance had improved considerably since the end of the rainy season. After taking Kamphaeng Phet, Thihapate turned northeast, and captured the main northern cities of Sukhothai and Phitsanulok. At Phitsanulok, he paused to refill the ranks because in about 4 months, he had already lost many men to the grueling campaign and to "preventable diseases". The local chiefs were made to drink the water of allegiance and provide conscripts to the Burmese army. (Outside Ayutthaya, Maha Nawrahta too was collecting local levies.) While the Burmese refilled their ranks, the Siamese command belatedly sent another army to retake Phitsanulok. But the Siamese army was driven back with heavy losses. It was the last major stand by the Siamese in the north. The Siamese defense collapsed afterwards. The Burmese army then moved by boat down the Nan River, taking Phichai, Phichit, Nakhon Sawan, and down the Chao Phraya, taking Ang Thong. They reached the environs of Ayutthaya on 20 January 1766, making contact with Maha Nawrahta's army. Battle of Bang Rachan According to Thai tradition, Ne Myo Thihapate's northern army was held up for five months at Bang Rachan, a small village northwest of Ayutthaya by a group of