The absurd pretensions of the Court of Burmah had led to a cessation of all diplomatic intercourse between the British and Burmese Governments since the year 1879. In 1884 King Thebaw gave cause for further remonstrances by the high-handed treatment accorded to an English company trading in his kingdom, and on October 22, 1885, a contemptuous reply to an ultimatum led to a war which placed the battle honour "Burmah, 1885-1887" on the colours of so many of our regiments. Our Intelligence Department was by no means well informed as to the nature of the interior of the kingdom, beyond the main facts that roads were non-existent, and that it consisted for the most part of thick jungle. In the operations of 1824-1826, and again during the campaign of 1882, no efforts had been made to reach the capital, but it was now determined that no durable peace was possible until the King himself had felt the power of our arms. Fortunately, the officials of the Bombay-Burmah Trading Company possessed a number of steamers, the officers of which were excellent pilots, knowing the upper reaches of the river well, and their knowledge enabled the naval authorities to carry the operations to a rapid and successful conclusion. The officer selected to command the expeditionary force was Sir Harry Prendergast, of the Madras Engineers. He had well won a Victoria Cross for an act of exceptional gallantry in the Mutiny, and he had the reputation, besides personal gallantry, of possessing high powers of organization. The force at his command numbered upwards of 9,000 men, with 67 guns, and it was accompanied by a flotilla of no less than 55 river steamers, with a naval brigade of 600 men and 26 guns. The land force was divided into three brigades, each composed of one British and two native regiments, commanded by Brigadiers Foord, F. B. Norman, and G. S. White respectively. There were, as divisional troops, a battalion of native pioneers and six batteries of artillery. On November 14, 1885, no answer having been received to the ultimatum of the Viceroy, the force advanced; on the following day the forts at Minhla, on the Irawadi River, were carried by General Norman's brigade, and on the following day we silenced the various forts between our frontier and the capital. On the 26th, as we neared the capital, envoys arrived announcing the unconditional surrender of King Thebaw, and on the 28th we entered Mandalay, and the official war was over, our losses having been comparatively very trifling. Unfortunately, although a certain number of the Burmese troops laid down their arms at Mandalay, a very large number escaped into the jungle, to commence a harassing campaign of dacoitry. A force of three brigades and 9,000 men had been considered sufficient for the subjugation of the country; now five brigades and 30,000 men were mobilized to restore order.