Military of Champa
According to legends and oral traditions, the Champa military was initially composed of small groups of warriors who were organized into local militias.
The Chinese were able to capture several Champa cities and establish garrisons in the region, but were eventually forced to withdraw due to logistical difficulties.
The Chinese were able to capture several Champa cities and establish garrisons in the region, but were again forced to withdraw due to logistical difficulties and the outbreak of disease among their troops.
The Khmer Empire was able to expand its territory and gain control over the Mekong Delta region, which helped to fuel its economic and cultural growth.
The Vietnamese were able to expand their territory and gain control over the central and southern regions of Vietnam, which helped to fuel their economic and cultural growth.
During the Trinh-Nguyen War where the Le Dynasty was facing political instability between two powerful military families, Champa came under suzerainty by the Nguyen Lords in 1611.
Eventually Po Tisuntiraidapuran was captured and executed, allowing the Pro-Nguyen Cham co-rulers to have Champa side with them turning the tide of the war against the rebellion paving the way to the Nguyen Dynasty.
[20] During the Nguyen Dynasty, Minh Mạng succeeded his father and enacted repressive acts against ethnic minorities, predominantly the Chams and the Montagnards.
[21] After receiving the investiture, Po Klan Thu returned to Panduranga's capital Phan Rí, while Ja Lidong's forces had captured many regions and blown up a strategic fort in Thị Linh.
From Long Hương, Phan Rí and Phú Hài, they began hunting down the rebels of Ja Lidong, engaged and defeated them.
Starting from upland Dong Nai (Dong-Nai Thuong), he urged Chams as far away as in Khánh Hòa and Phú Yên to rise up against the Vietnamese.
Finally, they put two of Nduai Kabait's commanders on a pyre and burned them to death, then grind their bodies into small pieces of human meat and distributed them to those prisoners.
Panicked of this brutal retribution, all the prisoners immediately laid their arms and surrendered to that official, putting an end to Nduai Kabait's rebellion.
[25] The Champa kingdom had a relatively small and poorly-organized military compared to its powerful neighbors, the Khmer and Dai Viet empires.
They were often rewarded with land and titles for their service to the king and were expected to maintain a high level of martial skill and loyalty to the royal family.
While their role as military officers has primarily disappeared in modern times, the legacy of the "haluwbilau" lives on as a symbol of the courage and bravery of the Cham people.
They were organized and trained in a similar fashion to the central Champa military, with a focus on cavalry and elephant warfare, as well as the use of siege weapons and naval tactics.
The central military provided training, supplies, and strategic guidance to the principality armies, and would have coordinated their efforts in times of war or emergency.
[citation needed] The Champa Navy maintained its naval power for several centuries due to its skilled shipbuilders and sailors and its use of advanced weapons and tactics.
The Chams were also skilled in maritime engineering and shipbuilding and used advanced technologies such as water pumps and wind-powered mills to help construct their ships.
They were based in the coastal areas of Vietnam and Cambodia, feared by merchant ships and navy vessels alike, and were notorious for their brutal tactics and cruelty towards their victims as well as their expertise in seafaring.
These fortifications, which included watchtowers, walls, and gates, were designed to prevent pirates from landing on the coast and to provide a safe haven for Champa's merchant ships.
[29][30] They are composed of mostly small to medium-sized warships for coastal defense, piracy, and maritime trade and maintain a significant presence along the coasts of Southeast Asia.
They built their ships with multiple decks and used advanced rigging techniques to make them faster and more maneuverable and were adapted from traditional Southeast Asian boat designs.
In addition to these warships, the Champa navy relied on smaller boats and canoes for surveillance, fishing, and transporting goods and troops along rivers and coastal areas.
The helmets worn by Cham soldiers were typically made of metal and covered the head and neck with a faceguard or visor to protect the face.
[34][31][33] After the gunpowder age, Chinese firearms—including rockets and handguns—were imported and employed by most Southeast Asian rulers in Dai Viet, Lan Na, and Luchuan.
The Vietnamese records (written in chữ Hán) attribute his death to the weapon called the Huochong, long understood as referring to a cannon, but more probably a handgun.
This involved using small, mobile units of soldiers who would launch surprise attacks on enemy forces and then retreat to safety rather than engaging in large-scale battles.
[29][30][31] The Cham army's strategy in battle was focused on defense, guerilla warfare, and hit-and-run tactics rather than engaging in large-scale fighting or trying to conquer their enemies through force of arms.
