Wat Phichai Songkhram or the Monastery of War Victory วัดพิชัยสงคราม - Ayutthaya Thailand 2022

Wat Phichai Songkhram วัดพิชัยสงคราม

Wat Phichai Songkhram or the Monastery of War Victory is a temple still in use to this day. It is a classic built temple with an ordination and sermon hall. While there is no prang in situ and the vihara is rather large, it is likely constructed in the Late Ayutthaya period. A copper plate at the monastery indicates that it was built shortly before the final war between Burma and Ayutthaya in 1765.

The temple is mentioned in the Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya as being the place where the Phraya of Kamphaeng Phet (the later King Taksin) with his followers set up camp in December 1766.

The Phraya of Tak was promoted to Phraya Kamphaeng Phet by the Siamese King
Suriyamin (Ekathat) and appointed as a brigade commander of a boat army that he had to garrison at Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon in order to confront the Burmese in the open
plains southeast of Ayutthaya.

Taksin assigned the Phraya of Phetburi as his front guard, while Luang Saraseni's troops were in support. The front guard consisting of five fighting boats got in contact with the enemy. The boats of the Phraya of Phetburi got completely encircled by the numerous boats of the Burmese. Taksin and Luang Saraseni moored their boats, watched but did not advance to reinforce the front guard. The troops of the Phraya of Phetburi were slain and the latter, after a heroic battle, was impaled by the Burmese.

Taksin and Luang Saraseni fled the scene, did not return to the capital. They set up stockades near Wat Phichai and the adjacent Wat Kluei. Taksin, likely convinced that Ayutthaya would been soon lost to the Burmese, decided to seek his fortune in the south, while Luang Saraseni went his own way and fled elsewhere.

The troops of Taksin consisted of about 1000 Thai and Chinese soldiers. Folk tales state that he went praying at Wat Phichai to seek good fortune in his planned escape to the south. On leaving the temple the weather turned bad. Considering this as a good sign he took advantage of the situation. He broke through the Burmese encirclement after some fighting near Hantra Village. Latter he clashed with a pursuing Burmese army at Three Bandits Village, defeated them and continued his travel to the south.

The monastery was called Wat Phichai in Ayutthayan times. The word songkhram
meaning war has been added to its name by the locals at a later stage during the
Ratanakosin period.

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