While the main Burmese armies were massed at the Siamese border, a rebellion broke out in Manipur. Characteristically, Hsinbyushin did not recall the armies. Instead, he led an expeditionary force to put down the rebellion in December 1764. Having arrived back at Ava in April 1765, the Burmese king then sent 10,000 men to reinforce the southern army, which now numbered 30,000.Harvey, p. 248 The Burmese army now had mobilized 50,000 men. (This likely represented the largest mobilization of the Burmese army since Bayinnaung's 1568–1569 invasion.Harvey, pp. 333–335). The Burmese artillery corps were led by a group of about 200 French soldiers who were captured in the Battle of Syriam in 1756 during the Burmese civil war of 1752–1757.
