 On 11 May 1824, a British naval force of over 10,000 men (5000 British soldiers and over 5000 Indian sepoys) entered the harbor of Yangon, taking the Burmese by surprise.The Burmese pursuing a scotched earth policy, left an empty city, and instead chose to fortify positions along an east-west 10-mile arc outside the city.The British forces led by General Archibald Campbell took position inside a fortified Shwedagon Pagoda compound.