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River War Barges

When the city state of Sukhothai fell into decline, the state of Ayudhya assumed ower. After King Chairacha (1533 - 1546) laid siege to Chiang Kran, a former Thai vassal state that had been taken by Burmese, to successfully capture it back in 1538, a long and bitter war with Burma ensued. These river barges were used to carry troops for war. Early war barges were modified row boats (rua pie, rua jaew). Evidence shows that rua sae (a boat with a scorpion-like tail) was also used to carry food and troops. These barges required 20 oarsmen to maneuver.

During the reign of King Mahachakkraphat (1548 - 1568) several battles were fought with the Burmese. It was the King's idea to modify rua sae to be able to transport more troops for logistics duty. The modified version, rua chai, was a very long barge (around 40 meters long and 3 meters wide) requiring 60-70 oarsmen, with a faster speed than rua sae. During a battle in which Ayudhya was surrounded by Burmese troops, King Mahachakkraphat employed cannons stationed on rua chai to shoot at the Burmese until they retreated.

Around that time, King Mahachakkraphat also ordered the construction of war barges with animal figureheads. The barge was designed to be larger than rua chai with the bow to accommodate a cannon. Later another design for river barges was issued - rua krab made streamlined and smaller and faster than rua chai but it was not clear in which reign it was built.

During the Ayudhya period, these barges, rua sae, rua chai, rua krab, as well as animal figurehead barges, were used to fight wars to annex new territory, win back land and in the defence of the country. In peacetime, these barges were trained in formation in various ways. During flood seasons when no more agricultural work was required, the barges were called in for important state or religious ceremonies or to welcome important guests. In other seasons, the king would travel to various outposts using these barges in small or large formations.

The barges were constructed by carving whole trees into boats called 'mard' in various lengths as required. The barges would be intricately carved or decorated according to the rank of boats, such as rua ton (King's barge), rua ti nang (noble barge), rua phra ti nang (royal barge), rua phra ti nang rong (secondary or reserve royal barge), rua phra ti nang king (highest royal barge - used to carry robes or buddha images), rua phra ti nang eakchai (Eakchai class royal barge), rua phra ti nang sri (informal barge), rua phra ti nang krab (accompanying barge) etc. When the barges are travelling in formation, the rowing rhythm was controlled. For the royal procession, the rhythm was given by krab (striking two pieces of sticks together). For other barges, a single stick beating a rhythm on the boat was used in order to separate the royal procession from that of an official one. This system is still used to the present day.

One evidence of the beauty and characteristics of the barges was during the reign of King Narai the Great when a royal barge procession was organized to welcome Chevalier de Chaumont and delegates who represented King Louis XIV as ambassadors of the Kingdom of France, bearing the royal communique in 1684. In the late Ayudhya period, Chao Fah Dhammadhibeth, son of King Baromkhot (1732 - 1758), also wrote a Royal Barge Chant which is still famous till this day.

The barges employed in battle during the Ayudhya period numbered around 400. Those that were old and damaged were decommissioned and new barges constructed. Unfortunately these barges were all destroyed during the second Burmese seige of Ayudhya in 1767. During the Thonburi period, King Taksin the Great ordered new river barges built to replace those that were destroyed. However, these barges served mainly as vehicles of war to consolidate and expand the kingdom and thus were not intricately crafted as those of the Ayudhya period.

Later in Rattanakosin times, the kings of the Chakri Dynasty constructed new river barges for war and ceremonial use. The repair work during this period was more beautiful as carved details and decorations were added. These barges served to transport troops and supplies during wartime for most of the early Rattanakosin period until the reign of King Rama IV when peace arrived permanently. The barges slowly lost their importance as battle transport and the barges were instead used in elaborate processions in important royal and religious ceremonies.

Sea-going Battle Barges

Thai naval forces were formed at the same time as the Thai Kingdom was established at Sukhothai around mid-13th century. At that time, military forces were not separated into army, navy" or air force as today. If troops moved on land, they were called the "land forces" and when they travelled by water, they were known as "naval forces".

In mobilizing troops for warfare within the land or between kingdoms, ships were extremely important for troops and weapon transport. Apart from moving large amounts of supplies, ships could carry heavy armament over long distances much faster than overland. Thus troops were usually moved by waterways as far as possible before traveling to the destination on foot. Two types of traditional barges were used, river barges and sea-going barges. The location of the capital city which was surrounded by a river and intersected by waterways, and the close ties to water usage for consumption and agriculture would indicate that river boats were built before sea-going barges. Early wars were also fought with neighbouring countries, mostly Burma where sea barges were not required.

In the early days, sea-going barges were not as important as river barges because the capital city was not a seaport and was located further up the river. In peacetime, these sea-going barges were used for trading with neighboring city states. When wars erupted, the barges were fitted with cannons for battle. King Naresuan of the Ayudhya period, for example, ordered the battle barges to attack Tavoy in Burma in 1592 and King Rama III sent the fleet to take Ha-tien in Vietnam in 1841. There were no clear evidence as to the types of barges utilized but probably sailboats of several types were used. Large boats were usually junks and modified sailing ships. Smaller boats were modified sampans, Vietnamese-type boats, chalom boats, pedtalay boats and Indian-style boats.

In the Rattanakosin period, the capital city was moved closer to the Chao Phraya delta so trading with foreign countries, especially European countries, increased tenfolds. More ships of western design were built because the European-style sailing ships were bigger and had larger sails which made the ships easier to control and travel faster. King Rama III ordered a model of the junk built at Wat Yannawa, Bangkok to ensure that later generations would remember the important role of the junk in Thai trade.

Thai warships thus changed from Chinese-style junks to European-style sailing ships. Later, when the steam engine was invented in Europe and used in ships, Thai warships in the reign of King Rama IV also started using steam propulsion, first with side paddle wheels then with rear propellers. At first, steam propulsion was used, then diesel engines and later, gas turbine and steam engines were adopted. Eventually, the hulls were also changed from wood to iron.