Only a small portion of the Hanthawaddy forces made it to their intended destination–the fortified city of Prome (Pyay).

The battle is deemed "the first characteristic touch of the great Bayinnaung"[4] who later went on to found the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia.

[1] In the 1530s, Hanthawaddy (today's Lower Burma) was the most prosperous and powerful of all the small kingdoms that came into existence after the collapse of Pagan Empire in 1287.

Toungoo's remote location–east of the Bago Yoma mountain range and away from the main Irrawaddy river waterway–proved a good shelter for many refugees fleeing from Ava.

For three consecutive years, Toungoo could not make headway against Pegu's (Bago's) fortified defenses led by two experienced ministers and aided by foreign mercenaries with guns.

Unable to break the defenses, Toungoo finally used a stratagem to create a split in the Hanthawaddy camp.

Takayutpi foolishly believed Toungoo's misinformation about the loyalty of the two ministers, who had been his tutors since childhood and were absolutely devoted to him, and executed them.

[5] When Toungoo again invaded in late 1538, Takayutpi, now without his best generals, lost heart and fled Pegu for Prome (Pyay) where his brother-in-law Narapati was king.

Takayutpi did not retreat to Martaban, which nominally was Hanthawaddy territory because he did not trust the governor there, Saw Binnya, also his brother-in-law.

The direct route from Pegu to Prome, though much shorter, involved crossing the Bago Yoma range, and was not practical for large armies.

They knew that a large body of enemy inside walls with better leadership would pose a huge problem for their tenuous hold on Lower Burma.

A group of Burmese historians led by Than Tun retraced the battle route in 1982 and concluded that Naungyoe might be somewhere around Panmawaddy River in Einme Township in Ayeyarwady Region.

The retreating Hanthawaddy army was led by generals Binnya Dala (ဗညားဒလ), Minye Aung Naing (မင်းရဲအောင်နိုင်), Epyathi (အဲပြသီ), Ye Thin Yan (ရဲသင်ရန်), and Paikkamyin (ပိုက်ကမြင်).

For example, at the peak of mobilization Konbaung general Maha Bandula fielded 30,000 men before the Battle of Yangon in 1824.

Just before the attack, a messenger from Tabinshwehti arrived, and handed a message that if he found the enemy he should not engage them but wait for the main army.

His officers again remonstrated, saying: Hanthawaddy generals Binnya Dala and Min Ye Aung Naing were unconcerned with the small army before them, and were ready to meet them.

Takayutpi urged his allies the Confederation of Shan States and Prome to follow up and attack, and put him back on the throne.

With increased manpower, Toungoo captured Martaban in 1541, and Prome itself in 1542,[4] on its way to reuniting the former lands of the Pagan Empire and beyond.

[1] Historian Harvey calls it "the first characteristic touch of the great Bayinnaung; it is like a breath of fresh air after three centuries of manikins" (since the Pagan dynasty).