Maha Bandula was born Maung Yit (မောင်ရစ် [màʊɰ̃ jɪʔ]) on 6 November 1782 (Wednesday, 2nd waxing of Tazaungmon 1144 ME) in Dabayin, the firstborn son of a minor gentry family of Pauk Taw (ပေါက်တော) and his wife, Nyein (ငြိမ်, as in "calm"; not the more common ငြိမ်း as in "finality/completed").

[5] Later in his youth, Yit moved to Amarapura, then the kingdom's capital, to serve as the lowest grade retainer in the royal service of Crown Prince Thado Minsaw, who had his hometown Dababyin in fief.

Deeply frustrated, Yit made a bold move to be noticed one day in late 1812, (soon after the second son of the crown prince was born on 27 October 1812): he punched a fellow palace guardsman Nanda Bala for no apparent reason.

In about six months, in June 1813 (Nayon 1175 ME), he was appointed governor of his hometown Dabayin with the title of Ne Myo Thura Yegaung (နေမျိုး သူရ ရဲခေါင်).

On 15 February 1814 (11th waning of Tabodwe 1175 ME), a 20,000-strong Burmese army left their forward bases along the Chindwin to invade Manipur in order to place their nominee on the Manipuri throne.

In 1816, the Assamese governor of Guwahati, Badan Chandra Borphukan sought help from the Burmese king in order to oust his political rival Purnananda Burhagohain, the Prime Minister.

[11] A year later, the pro-Burmese prime minister Badan Chandra Borphukan was assassinated, and the Ahom king Chandrakanta Singha was deposed by rival political faction led by Ruchinath Burhagohain.

After a successful campaign in Assam, he was promoted to governor of Ahlon-Monywa in June 1819 (Nayon 1181 ME) by his lord the Prince of Sagaing who had just ascended to the Burmese throne as King Bagyidaw.

Bandula sent in commandos who scaled the hills at night and broke open the stout gates, allowing the Burmese to take the fort and the capital.

In February 1821, a Burmese army of 20,000 (including 10,000 Hkamti Shan and Kachin levies) crossed the snow-clad mountains to Assam from their northernmost forts along the Hukawng valley.

After nearly a year and a half of hard-fought battles in some of the most difficult terrains in the world, the Burmese forces finally defeated Chandra Kanta Singha and the Assamese army in July 1822.

Bandula was part of the war party at Bagyidaw's court, which also included Queen Me Nu and her brother, the lord of Salin.

[4] Bandula believed that a decisive victory could allow Ava to consolidate its gains in its new western empire in Arakan, Manipur, Assam, Cachar and Jaintia, as well as take over eastern Bengal.

[17] In January 1824, Bandula sent in one of his top lieutenants Thado Thiri Maha Uzana into Cachar and Jaintia to chase away the rebels.

As the commander-in-chief of the Burmese army, Maha Bandula was supported by twelve of the country's best battalions, including one under his personal command, totaling ten thousand men and five hundred horses.

His general staff included some of the country's most decorated soldiers, men like the lord of Salay and the governors of Danyawaddy, Wuntho and Taungoo.

Bandula's plan was to attack the British on two fronts: Chittagong from Arakan in the southeast, and Sylhet from Cachar and Jaintia in the north.

The British forces led by General Archibald Campbell took position inside a fortified Shwedagon Pagoda compound.

[19] King Bagyidaw ordered a near complete withdrawal from the western front—Bandula from Arakan and Bengal, and Uzana from Assam, Cachar and Jaintia—and meet the enemy in Yangon.

The king granted both Bandula and Uzana the title Agga Maha Thenapati (Pali: Aggamahāsenāpati), the highest possible military rank.

The British with far superior weaponry, withstood several Burmese gallant charges at the Shwedagon fort, cutting down men by thousands.

Having lost experienced men in Yangon, the Burmese forces now numbered about 10,000, of mixed quality, including some of the king's best soldiers but also many untrained and barely armed conscripts.

The first British attack failed, and Bandula attempted a counter charge, with foot soldiers, cavalry and 17 fighting elephants.

[21] On 1 April, the British launched a major attack, pounding down on the town with their heavy guns and raining their rockets on every part of the Burmese line.

Bandula had walked around the fort to boost the morale of his men, in his full insignia under a glittering golden umbrella, discarding the warnings of his generals that he would prove an easy target for the enemy's guns.

The Burmese remember Bandula's last words in this way: Ironically, this very courage to take on the enemy head on and use the daring tactics that led to the improbable victories in Manipur and Assam would prove to be his undoing against the much better armed and world conquering British, who had defeated Napoleon's armies only a decade earlier.

After all, Bandula's victories came with able, experienced lieutenants like Gen. Ne Myo Thura Min Hla Nawrahta in Manipur, Gen. Myawaddy Mingyi U Sa in Arakan and Gen. Maha Thilawa in Assam.