the strength of the enemy forces they would have to face. There was much raiding of the surrounding countryside as well as a policy the Burmese had implemented where they had taken all the rice paddies from the villages to feed their armies and demanded all the women from the villages they raided, thus eventually a policy which provoked the Siamese people into resistance. The beginning of the resistance and the first notable accounts of Bang Rachan occurred when a group of Siamese Warriors from various villages—notably Sibuathong, Pho Krap and Pho Thale—led by Nai Ten, Nai Chote, Nai In, Nai Muang, Nai Thong Kao and Nai Dok Mai, who regularly lured a group of Burmese soldiers into the forest with the promise of rescuing women who were held captive and then eventually turning upon them, killing most of the Burmese soldiers along the way. After their tactics and strategies were eventually predicted by the remaining Burmese soldiers at their camps, they retreated to Bang Rachan, where most of the population of the villages of Mueang Wiset Chaichan, Mueang Sing and Mueang San had fled. Bang Rachan is described as being ideally a defensible village. A place where foodstuffs were plentiful, a village on high ground and difficult for the enemies to raid. In addition to its ideal position and its swelling numbers of warriors, Bang Rachan had at this point approximately 400 warriors. They had eleven leaders (Nai Thong Min, Nai Panreuang, Nai Thong Saeng Yai, Nai Chan Nuad Keao, Nai Ten, Nai Chote, Nai In, Nai Muang, Nai Thong Kao, Nai Dok Mai and Nai Khun Sun) and had worked together on making fortifications for the village. A Buddhist monk called Thammachote had also been invited into the village monastery where he was held in great respect by the villagers. The villagers believed him to have great powers and knowledge of spells, charms, and incantations. The Burmese leaders camped at Mueang Wiset Chaichan, which they had set up their main camp, were aware of the slaughter of their men by Bang Rachan and had earlier sent a small force of about 100 men to capture them which they were unsuccessful. During the raid, the Burmese were taken by surprise when they were attacked while resting and were almost entirely wiped out by the force led by Nai Ten, who had been elected the main leader. News of their