Young Major Tin Aung Myint Oo, formerly the First Secretary of State Peace and Development Council and now the First Vice President of Union of Burma, was awarded the Thiha-Thura medal, the second highest medal of valor in Burma, in 1989 for his 1988 heroic role as the Deputy Battalion Commander of IB-11 defending the border town of Maing-yang from numerically superior forces of Communist Party of Burma.
(Concise translation of Chapter-2 from Thaung Wai Oo’s “Battles of Maing-yang”.)
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| Tin Aung Myint Oo. |
“Democracy is brutally terminated. Pick up any weapon and fight against the military government. Follow the Chairman Mao’s teachings and grab the power by force,” broadcasted constantly by the CPB Radio.
“We shouldn’t be waiting too long. Before too late, with the forces already gathered we must attack a winnable place and take hold of it,” directed Ba Thein Tin to his Communist cadres and officers.
Even though he had been in Mone-koe directing the UG operations since early September 1988, once the army has taken over the country Ba Thein Tin rushed back from Mone-koe to Pang-sang. And as soon as he was there he ordered the CPB Central War Commission to launch the battle.
CPB War Commission already had a detail plan to attack Maing-yang the nearest town from their Pang-sang and they’d been waiting for the green light from Chairman Ba Thein Tin. Thus the Second Battle of Maing-yang began in the early morning of September 23, 1988 when more than 2,000 strong CPB forces came into Maing-yang.
Geographical Location of Maing-yang
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| Maing-yang Location Map. |
The little town Maing-yang was located roughly between the Latitude 99 and 100 degrees and between the Longitude 21 and 22 degrees in the Eastern Shan State. It is at the North of Kengtung the capital of Eastern Shan State and 65 miles away from Kengtung. It is only 30 or 40 miles away from the People Republic of China.
During the old feudal times Maing-yang was ruled by a Town-Lord (Phayar-Yang) under the Sawbwa (Saopha) of Kengtung (Kyaing Tong). The populace of Maing-yang consists mainly of Li-shan, Gon-shan, Akha-lahu, Lishaw, and Wa people.
Maing-yang is the most northern town of Eastern Shan State. Even though it was only 65 miles away from Kengtung, to reach there was extremely difficult as the roads were bad. By car it normally took 4 to 5 hours from Kengtung. The Kengtung-Maingyang vehicular road passes through Wanterpun, Maing-khat, and Maing-lway.
The town basically is on a small valley plain surrounded by high mountains with the soaring heights of 3, 4, and 5,000 feet. In Shan language Yang is a plain and Maing-yang basically means a town built on the plain land. But there are small hillocks at the western outskirt of the town.
At the north of Maing-yang were Ho-tong and Maing-phyan and at the west is Maing-pauk all of which were Brown Territories (Insurgent-controlled areas). At the east is Si-loo also a CPB-controlled area. At the south are Main-khat and Kengtung.
Maing-yang basically was a sweet fruit surrounded by thorny bushes and CPB picked the small town many times to test our troops garrisoned there. And in the early morning on 19 April 1980 nearly 1,500 strong CPB forces attacked the three army companies from the First Column of LIB-108 (Light Infantry Battalion-108) on the garrison duty at Maing-yang.
The battle lasted more than six hours that day, but the numerically superior CPB forces couldn’t overrun our strong defense and finally had to withdraw. The casualties from both sides were 79 from the army and 194 from the CPB for that First Maing-yang Battle.
Now the CPB was preparing again for the Second battle of Maing-yang and their last major battle on our Burmese soil.
Enemy’s Dispositions
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| CPB War Commission meeting for Maing-yang Attack. |
That meeting had decided to attack Maing-yang and formed the eleven person supervising committee headed by Lin Htin (a) Yebaw Soe Thein for the battle. And the following CPB troops were assigned for the battle.
Battalion-4048 of the First Brigade.
Battalion-501 of the Third Brigade.
Battalion-081, 085, and 087 of the Fifth Brigade.
Battalion-503 of the Seventh Brigade.
Battalion-083 of the Eighth Brigade.
Battalion-3, 6, and 9 of Brigade-815.
Troops extracted from Brigade-851 aka the Guard Brigade, CPB Central.
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| Ethnic Wa Soldiers of CPB. |
Their strategic dream was to set up the Maing-yang based Provisional People’s Government once they got hold of the town and then to expand their so-called liberated area of Burma form there.
The only obstacle for those more than 2,000 strong Communist forces to successfully implement their grand plan was the less than 400 strong troops of Burmese Army Frontline Infantry Battalion-11 on the garrison duty then at Maing-yang.
Army’s Dispositions
Burmese Army then had following units inside the Sector north of Kengtung covering a very large area.
At Maing-yang (Frontline IB-11 under Tactical Operations Command-881)
The HQ and the Heavy-weapon company of frontline IB-11’s First Column was on the garrison duty in Maing-yang Town. Their fortified base was on the Aung-da-ghun Hill inside the town.
Another rifle company of frontline IB-11’s First Column was active as a mobile column between Maing-yang and Si-loo.
A rifle company of frontline IB-11’s Second Column was on the garrison duty at the Aung-tha-byay and Aung-myay Hills on the eastern outskirt of Maing-yang Town.
Another rifle company of frontline IB-11’s Second Column was active as a mobile column near those Aung-tha-byay and Aung-myay Hills.
All together 4 companies of IB-11 were in the Maing-yang Town while another rifle company of frontline IB-11 was on the garrison duty in nearby Maing-lway between Maing-khat and Maing-yang.
At Maing-khat (Tactical Operations Command-881 under LID-88)
The HQ of Tactical Operations Command 881 (TOC-881) and three rifle companies of frontline Sixth Burma Rifles Battalion’s First Column were at Maing-khat.
Another rifle company of frontline Sixth Burma Rifles Battalion’s Second Column was active as a mobile reserve column in the areas of Lwe-yote, Lwe-mee, and Wanterpang.
The HQ and a rifle company of frontline First Kayah Rifles Battalion’s First Column were on the Kyat-u-taung (Egg Mountain).
Another rifle company of frontline First Kayah Rifles Battalion’s First Column was active as a mobile column in the area north of Kyat-u-taung (Egg Mountain).
At Kengtung (LID-88)
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| LID-88. |
Organization wise, LID-88 had 3 Tactical Operations Command, TOC-881 and 882 and 883, and each TOC had 3 infantry battalions. With one reserve battalion the LID-88 had 10 infantry battalions in total. Back in 1988 the three rifle battalions of TOC-881 were IB-11 in Maing-yang and Sixth Burma Rifles Battalion and First Kayah Rifles Battalion both in Maing-khat. The LID-88’s reserve battalion then was IB-14 in Kengtung.
Beginning of the Battle
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| Battlefield at Maing-yang (Sept 23-30, 1988). |
Accordingly the LID-88 HQ in Kengtung sent up two companies from IB-19 which arrived in Kengtung just two days before the Maing-yang Battle to the Maing-yang area. Unfortunately that IB-19 column was ambushed by the CPB advanced forces just before Mine-lway and their Battalion CO was killed and the column could not reach the target.
Since early September even before the actual Battle broke out CPB forces were testing our forces at Maing-yang. By frequent engagements with the army patrols they were gradually closing onto the town. Three enemy columns were seen approaching Maing-yang from both east and west of the town.
Daily Stages of the Battle inside Maing-yang
September 14
The mobile company there had repelled the CPB attackers and chased them but another CPB unit 100 strong was waiting for them at the Wan-kyone Monastery south of Aung-tha-byay Hill. The battle ensued and the army company had to withdraw back to the Aung-tha-byay Hill.
Another 100 more CPB troops arrived at the monastery and with the heavy-weapon support they attacked the Aung-tha-byay hill again. The ensuing battle lasted whole day and only at night the enemy withdrew as they couldn’t overrun the army’s strong defense positions.
CPB seemed to be just testing the strength of IB-11 Second Column as their preliminary attack before the arrival of their main forces. That day DCO Major Tin Aung Myint Oo was hit on his right wrist by a heavy-weapon shell’s shrapnel and severely wounded with his right hand broken.
September 17
After being completely quiet for two days on September 15 and 16 the enemy shelled our positions with 82mm Mortars and .50 heavy machine guns from morning to midday on September 17 as more than 1,000 strong Communist forces from their brigade-768 and 815 finally arrived at West Maing-yang.
Only when IB-11 responded with heavy-weapons CPB stopped shelling and withdrew back to the west of the town. Next 4-5 days CPB forces had waited for the arrive of more troops and heavy-weapons and by September 22 the CPB strength in the vicinity of Maing-yang reached to more than 2,000.
September 23
In the morning of September 23 about 200 strong CPB force charged at the La-min Hill. Their four bayonet charges were repelled by the two army platoons on the hill with the help of our heavy-weapon fire from the main Aung-da-ghun Hill.
But the enemy had reinforced their attacking force with 200 more men and kept on charging at the hill. Outnumbered and outgunned our units finally abandoned the La-min Hill and withdrew back to the main Aung-da-ghun Hill.
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| Battlefield at Maing-yang (Sept 23-30, 1988). |
Once the enemy had occupied the La-min and Yan-shin hills they brought their 57mm recoilless guns and .50 caliber heavy machine guns onto the hill and started their heavy-weapon assault on the Aung-da-ghun Hill where the IB-11’s HQ and its First Column was.
They also shelled the nearby Pha-yar Hill. At about 11 in the late morning at least 400 of them had bayonet-charged the Pha-yar Hill repeatedly for six times. During the sixth charge our Lieutenant Thant Zin the post in-charge was severely wounded and the army unit there had to abandon the hill and withdrew back to the main Aung-da-ghun Hill.
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| 84mm Carl-Gustav Rocket Launcher. |
Enemy’s 500 strong infantry under the protection of their heavy-weapon support then bayonet-charged the Aung-da-ghun Hill from all possible directions. IB-11 CO Major Soe Lwin ordered his men to fire at the charging enemy with 84mm Carl-Gustav launcher.
That launcher was a very effective weapon but the CO himself was required to supervise the firing. Knowing that fact the enemy had immediately responded by firing all their straight-shooting 57mm small recoilless guns together at our launcher site.
And at about 5 in the late afternoon of September 23 the battalion CO Major Soe Lwin was instantly killed by a shell fired from one of enemy’s 57mm recoilless guns.
Once the CO had fallen the Deputy CO Major Tin Aung Myint Oo who was severely wounded in the September 14 attack on his Aung-tha-byay Hill and brought back temporarily to Aung-da-ghun Hill had taken charge of the under-siege battalion and led the hand-to-hand battles against overwhelming CPB forces now surrounding the Hill and repeatedly bayonet-charging the defenders.
Once the CO had fallen the Deputy CO Major Tin Aung Myint Oo who was severely wounded in the September 14 attack on his Aung-tha-byay Hill and brought back temporarily to Aung-da-ghun Hill had taken charge of the under-siege battalion and led the hand-to-hand battles against overwhelming CPB forces now surrounding the Hill and repeatedly bayonet-charging the defenders.
September 24
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| Pilatus PC-7 Fighter-bomber Plane. |
From there they marched further into town towards the Aung-da-ghun Hill. At about 5:30 in the early morning of September 24 they engaged a more than 300 strong enemy units near the Aung-da-ghun Hill and a huge battle had ensued.
But the Company managed to forcefully penetrate through the enemy lines and merged with our forces on the Aung-da-ghun Hill at about 6:30 in the morning.
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| Battlefield at Maing-yang (Sept 23-30, 1988). |
But, about 8 in the morning our aerial support arrived in the form of four PC-7 fighter-bomber planes from our Air Force. The planes had arrived just in time as the CPB forces were on the verge of their final bayonet-charge to completely finish off the rapidly weakening defenders on the Aung-da-ghun Hill.
Because of our aerial bombardment the enemy charge had temporarily stopped. But once the airplanes departed after dropping all their bombs and firing their rockets CPB forces unleashed the second bayonet charge.
Our planes had come back again and launched the second aerial bombardment and that second assault took out so many of their men and stopped the enemy bayonet-charges for that day.
September 25
Between 7 and 9 in the morning that day they had bayonet-charged our Aung-da-ghun Hill eleven times. The fences were breached and hand-to-hand combats were all over the hill as enemy was able to reach inside the army camp.
But our air-support timely arrived at about 9:30 that morning and bombed the enemy just outside our camp. That aerial bombardment achieved so many direct hits and punished enemy so hard that they were forced to stop their brutal bayonet-charges for that day.
Casualties were high for both sides that day as almost everything on the hill was destroyed. Dead and dying from both sides filled the Hill and their blood had formed large pools on the Hill.
Enemy appeared to have used all available forces to overrun our forces on the Aung-da-ghun Hill that day. But because of our air-support the momentum of enemy attack was basically halted on that same day.
September 26
Enemy had reinforced their depleting forces on the recently occupied hills with new arrivals and started attacking our hills again. But at midday that day our air force planes came and repeatedly bombed enemy positions on the Yan-bauk Hill and On-lar-gyaw range.
The devastated enemy then carried their wounded and withdrew towards Wan-kyin-san-dauk. Like the day before enemy was severely beaten by aerial bombardment again that day and because of high casualties they couldn’t bayonet-charge as many times as yesterday.
September 27
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| Battlefield at Maing-yang (Sept 23-30, 1988). |
Finally they broke through the fences but our forces repelled them by blowing them up with controlled-mines. At dusk the enemy had bayonet-charged the hill again, but had to withdraw again after suffering heavy losses.
That evening LID-88 HQ had ordered the IB-11 Second Column at Aung-myay Hill to merge with IB-11 HQ and its First Column at Aung-da-ghun Hill. At 7 in the night of September 28 Major Phe Chit’s Company of IB-11 Second Column abandoned the Aung-myay Hill and marched towards Aung-da-ghun Hill.
That column was shot at by enemy from the Mon-ke-pha-yar Hill and On-la-gyaw Range at the east of Maing-yang Town. But the Second Column had successfully cleared the enemy along their way and reached Aung-da-ghun Hill in the morning of September 28.
September 28
By then CPB also had re-distributed their forces on various hills under their control. There were about 300 men each on Aung-myay and Aung-tha-byay hills, nearly 100 on the On-la-gyaw Range, and about 300 each on Pha-yar and La-min and Yan-shin hills. They were still shelling our Aung-da-ghun Hill with Heavy-weapons but not as frequent as before.
That day our air force planes showed up again. The PC-7 fighter-bombers then dropped bombs and fired rockets onto the enemy heavy-weapon positions. The results were so many direct hits on their heavy-weapon crews.
Later we heard that the enemy morale had completely collapsed after suffering heavy casualties from that aerial attack and they stopped the shelling of Aung-da-ghun Hill still standing after so many brutal, human-wave bayonet-charges.
September 29
There were no more enemy bayonet-charges onto the Aung-da-ghun Hill as our air force planes were constantly attacking the CPB positions on their hills. The news of massive CPB casualties including some of their top leaders had reached even to our forces on the Aung-da-ghun Hill. By the midnight of September 29 the Miang-yang Town was completely quiet as enemy firing had stopped.
September 30
As there were no more hostile shootings from the enemy DCO Major Tin Aung Myint Oo sent out the rifle company led by Captain Thant Zin to Pha-yar Hill first. They cleared the Hill and found 25 enemy corpses there.
They continued onto the Yan-shin Hill and then La-min Hill and found 71 more enemy corpses in the area. The CPB forces had already gone from Maing-yang since the night of September 29. And the enemy had taken their wounded with them. But they had left their dead comrades at wherever they fell.
The Second Battle of Maing-yang was over.
Parallel Actions of Our Other Units
As soon as the news of Maing-yang battle reached the TOC-881 in Maing-khat and then LID-88 in Kengtung other army units in the area were put into action to support and reinforce the IB-11 inside Maing-yang Town.
Expecting that action CPB also sent out a large force to the Maing-lway area to intercept the army reinforcements and stop them there. Followings are the actions and engagements with the enemy of other army units sent into the Maing-lway and Maing-yang.
Frontline IB-14 (Kha-la-ya 14)
September 23
LID-88 CO Brigadier Thein Han had immediately sent three rifle companies of IB-14 kept as the reserve at Kengtung to Maing-yang that day once the news of the Maing-yang Battle reached him.
Battalion CO Lt. Colonel Aung Kyi and his three companies left Kengtung on midday and reached Maing-khat on the midday of September 24. He left one of his companies at Maing-khat as the reserve for TOC-881 and continued onto Maing-yang with two companies as the First Column of IB-14.
September 25
The IB-14’s First Column and its two companies marched the whole night of September 24 and reached Maing-lway at about midday of September 25. They engaged with about 100 strong CPB forces waiting for them at the Maing-lway Monastery.
The battle lasted for the rest of the day while the enemy there was multiplying by the new arrivals. By evening the enemy strength had reached to more than 400 and the IB-14 First Column had to tactically withdraw in the darkness as their casualties were alarmingly increasing.
September 26
In the morning of September 26 the IB-14’s First Column continued onto Main-yang as planned and reached the Village of Yang-khaing at 10 in the morning. The Column continued onto the Yin-kwe Mountain.
Meanwhile the IB-14’s Second Column was marching to engage the CPB forces at Maing-laway in September 27.
At there in the afternoon the First Column engaged with about 200 strong CPB forces waiting for them. The battle ensued but the casualties were low and the enemy finally withdrew towards east at about 6:30 in the evening.
September 28
In the morning of September 28 the IB-14’s First Column marched back to Main-lway to meet up with the IB-14’s Second Column clearing the CPB forces at Maing-lway.
The road to Maing-yang was wide open for the army reinforcements as the CPB blockages had been removed by the IB-14 Frist Column led by Lt. Col. Aung Kyi.
TOC-881 (Na-ba-ha 881)
September 25
TOC-881 Commander Colonel Ye Myint had to wait for the arrival of First Column and Second Column of IB-14 coming from Kengtung.
IB-14’s Second Column with two companies led by DCO Major Aung Myo Lwin left Kengtung on the midday of September 25 and reached Maing-khat on September 26. TOC-881 there and IB-14’s Second Column then started heading towards Maing-laway the same day.
September 27
TOC-881 and IB-14’s Second Column reached Maing-lway on midday September 27 and engaged with the enemy waiting there. About 150 strong CPB forces attacked them at the Maing-lway Monastery but later withdrew after a heavy battle involving hand-to-hand combats resulting heavy casualties on both sides.
September 28
In the morning of September 28 TOC-881 and IB-14’s Second Column met up with IB-14’s First Column in Maing-lway and they continued towards Maing-yang. At 3 in the afternoon the whole column reached Pharpun-phayar Hill near Maing-yang and engaged with some CPB forces there.
Captain Kyaw Zeya’s Company left in Maing-kaht also left there that night and by September 29 night our TOC-881 and the whole IB-14 were ready to reinforce the Maing-yang Garrison.
September 30
The whole column of TOC-881 and IB-14 left for Maing-yang early that morning and reached there at around 9 in the morning. They immediately cleared the La-min and Yan-shin hills used by the enemy as the bases in attacking our Aung-da-ghun Hill.
Our columns finally reached Aung-da-ghun Hill that afternoon. Various skirmishes some large and some small were still occurring around town as our columns continued on to clear the enemy remnants still in the town and the surrounds.
And more than 20 enemy combatants were killed when our columns recaptured the Aung-myay Hill that evening.
Frontline Sixth Burma Rifles Battalion (Tha-na-ka 6)
September 23
TOC-881 Commander Colonel Ye Myint had immediately sent four rifle platoons of Sixth Burma Rifles’ First Column led by the battalion CO Lt. Col. San Thein kept as the reserve at Maing-khat to Maing-yang that day once the news of the Maing-yang Battle reached him.
Frontline Sixth Burma Rifles’ First Column and its four platoons left Maing-khat on the midday that day.
September 24
The Column engaged with some enemy forces and reached Maing-laway the morning of September 24. They merged with some units form IB-11’s First Company at Maing-lway and continued on towards Maing-yang. At around 1 in the afternoon 200 strong enemy attacked our column and after the ensuing battle our forces withdrew back to Maing-lway to re-gather the troops.
September 25
As the Column left Main-lway again and trying to march towards Maing-yang the strong enemy forces waiting at Maing-lway Pha-yar Hill attacked again. The battle lasted the whole day and our column was unable to forward as they were held up in Maing-lway.
September 26
On September 26 our Sixth Burma Rifles’ First Column merged with the IB-11’s First Company at Maing-lway and continued onto Maing-yang. On the way our Column was engaged by 150 strong enemy but they were repelled.
September 27
On September 27, with the heavy-weapon support our column attacked the nearby range occupied by more than 200 strong enemy forces. The enemy finally withdrew towards north.
September 28-29
Our Sixth Burma Column chased the withdrawing enemy and forced most of them to withdraw farther towards east. Our Column occupied the strategic hills around Maing-lway and provided heavy-weapon fire support to the TOC-881 and Frontline IB-14 during the last few days of the Maing-yang Battle.
The Second Battle of Maing-yang was truly over by September 30 as all enemy forces were cleared not just from the Maing-yang Town but also from its surrounds.
Conclusion of the Second Battle of Maing-yang
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| Busy Cattle Market in Peaceful Maing-yang Town. |
As soon as the battle was over LID-88 Commander Brigadier Thein Han traveled to Maing-yang by helicopter and met all the army men there for encouraging congratulations. He also met up with the town folks and thanked them for their help during the siege.
After that he brought Major Tin Aung Myint Oo and other seriously wounded back with him to Kengtung for preliminary medical treatment and then sent the severely wounded to the General Military Hospital at Mingaladon in Rangoon.
The whole IB-11 from Maing-yang was later brought back to Kengtung for a well deserved R&R while the Frontline Sixth Burma Rifles Battalion took on the garrison duty at maing-yang.
The Second Maing-yang Battle was the last major battle of Burmese Communist Party on Burmese soil. Having huge casualties especially among the majority Wa ranks-and-files from their armed-units the ethnic Wa leaders finally rebelled against the ethnic Burmese leadership of CPB in early 1989.
The Wa captured Pang-sang the CPB HQ in April 1989 and immediately asked our Army for a ceasefire agreement. The spectacular and sudden implosion of CPB after more than 40 years long armed-rebellion in 1989 April was basically the direct result of Second Maing-yang Battle in 1988 September.
The Second Battle of Maing-yang was a strategic turning point in the unfortunate history of long-running Civil War in Burma.
Official Summary for decorating Tin Aung Myint Oo
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| Thiha-Thura Medal. |
Being an exemplary commander he had repelled almost countless times the overwhelming CPB bayonet-charges conducted repeatedly with enemy’s massive manpower and heavy-weapon support.
Whenever the air-support arrived he also correctly guided our airforce planes to the precise locations of CPB heavy-weapon crew and thus produced heavy damages on the enemy side and finally turned the battle to our favor.
In addition he had bravely led the battalion during the whole duration of the battle, constantly encouraged the warring men, continuously communicated with the Commands and reported the battle situations, and actively searched the enemy targets for the aerial attacks, all while enemy heavy-weapon shells were falling and exploding all around him and his men.
For his exemplary leadership in leading his battalion during the battle, destroying enemy strategic aims and forcing them to flee with heavy casualties, and raising the military and political pride of our army the State has awarded Major Tin Aung Myin Oo the Thiha-thura medal of valor.
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