Unit/ Formation: Royal Marines Location: Burma Period/ Conflict: Second Anglo-Burmese War Year: 1852 Date/s: 10th April 1852
During the Second Anglo-Burmese War, Major General Henry Godwin was commander in chief of the British expeditionary force into Burma, known as the "Army of Ava", as well as commanding the force's Bengal Division.
Godwin, with his expeditionary force, set sail from Bombay on 28 March 1852, aiming for the mouth of the Irrawaddy River, where he was to be joined by forces sent from Madras. There, he found a naval force led by Admiral Austen on board HMS Rattler, with ships of both the Royal Navy and the Indian Navy. On 5 April 1852 the naval forces began to bombard Martaban.
Godwin then moved to capture Rangoon.
On 12 April 1852, after a further naval bombardment, HMS Fox, Rattler, Serpent, Sphinx, Salamander, Hermes, Winchester and a gunboat, together with 22 ships from H.E.I. Naval force, landed the force comprising Royal Marines, the 51st Light Infantry, the 18th Royal Irish, the 40th Bengal Native Infantry, and some artillery. Fighting continued until the 14th, when the capture of Rangoon was completed with the storming of the Great Dagon Pagoda.
The Great Dagon Pagoda, Rangoon, where Godwin's capture of the city in 1852 was completed.
Seamen and marines, who took part, received the India General Service Medal 1854.
Date/s: Sunday 11th April 1852.
Assualt on the Dallah Stockades
The British next moved on the biggest stockade, Kemmendine (the soldiers called it jocularly, "Come an' dine") , defended by 20,000 Burmese.
On June 3, a combined naval and military attack collapsed rather ignominiously. The British reached the stockade's high walls only to discover they had left their scaling-ladders behind, and during their retreat suffered battering fire both from their own ships in the river and from their reserve units to the rear, who thought they were the enemy trying to break through.
On June 11 they tried again this time remembering their ladders and were victorious.
Storming of Martaban
Unit/ Formation: Royal Marines Location: Burma Period/ Conflict: Second Anglo-Burmese War Year: 1852 Date/s: 13th April 1852
General Sir Henry Godwin, with about 8,000 men, easily took Martaban. after a furious cannonading of the fort on April 12.
