First Invasion In the year 1788,
Bahadur Shah sent Gorkha troops under the joint command of Damodar Pande and
Bam Shah to attack Tibet. The Gorkha troops entered Tibet through Kuti (
Nyalam Town) and reached as far as
Tashilhunpo (about 410 km. from Kuti). A fierce battle was fought at
Shikarjong in which the Tibetans were badly defeated. The
Panchen Lama and
Sakya Lama then requested the Gorkha troops to have peace talks. So the Gorkha troops left Shikarjong and went towards Kuti and Kerung (
Gyirong). When the
Qianlong Emperor of China heard the news of the invasion of Tibet by Nepal, he sent a large troop of the Chinese army under the command of General Chanchu. Chancchu learned of the situation from the Tibetan Lamas. He decided to stay in Tibet till the dispute was settled. The representatives of Tibet and Nepal met at Khiru in 1789 for peace talks. In the talks Tibet was held responsible for the quarrel and were required to give compensation to Nepal for the losses incurred in the war. Tibet had also to pay as tribute to Nepal a sum of Rs. 50,001 every year in return for giving back to Tibet all the territories acquired during the war. It was called the
Treaty of Kerung. The Nepalese representatives were given Rs. 50,001 as the first installment. So giving back the territories - Kerung, Kuti, Longa, Jhunga and Falak went back to Nepal. But Tibet refused to pay the tributes after the first year of the conclusion of the treaty. As a result, the war between Nepal and Tibet continued.
Second Invasion As Tibet had refused to pay the tribute to Nepal, Bahadur Shah sent an army under
Abhiman Singh Basnet to Kerung and another army under the command of Damodar Pande to Kuti in 1791. Damodar Pande attacked Digarcha and captured the property of the monastery there. He also arrested the minister of
Lhasa, Dhoren Kazi (Tib. Rdo ring Bstan 'dzin dpal 'byor, b.1760) and returned to Nepal. As soon as this news was heard by the Qianlong Emperor, he sent a strong troop of 70,000 soldiers under the leadership of
Fuk'anggan to defend Tibet. Thus in 1792 the Nepal - Tibet war turned into a war between Nepal and the Qing empire. The
Qing Empire asked Nepal to return the property to Tibet which was looted at Digarcha. They also demanded them to give back
Shamarpa Lama who had taken asylum in Nepal. But Nepal turned a deaf ear to these demands. The Qing imperial army responded to Nepal with military intervention. The Qing forces marched along the banks of the
Trishuli River until they reached Nuwakot. The Nepalese troops attempted to defend against the Qing attack, but were already faced with overwhelming odds. Heavy damage was inflicted on both sides and the Chinese army pushed the Gurkhas back to the inner hills close to the Nepali capital. However, a comprehensive defeat of the Gorkhali army could not be achieved. At the same time, Nepal was dealing with military confrontations along two other fronts. The nation of
Sikkim had begun incursions along Nepal's eastern border. Along the far-western side, the war with Garhwal continued. Within Nepal's own borders, the kingdoms of
Achham,
Doti and
Jumla openly revolted. Thus the problems that Bahadur Shah faced made it much harder to defend against the Qing army. The anxious Bahadur Shah asked for 10 howitzer mountain guns from the British East India Company. Captain
William Kirkpatrick arrived in Kathmandu, but he put conditions of business treaty for delivery of the weapons. Wary of the British interest, weapons were not received and the war situation became critical for Bahadur Shah. After a series of successful battles, the Qing army suffered a major setback when they tried to cross a monsoon-flooded Betrawati, close to a Gorkhali palace in Nuwakot. As the Qing troops had reached south of the Betravati river, near Nuwakot, it was difficult for the Nepalese troops to wait for them at Kathmandu. At Kathmandu, a Nepalese force of less than 200 soldiers attempted to resist the Qing troops at Betravati. On September 19, 1792, Nepalese troops launched a counterattack against the Qing forces encamped at Jitpurfedi. The Nepalese used a tactic where their soldiers carried lit torches in their hands, tying them to the branches of trees, and tying flaming torches on the horns of domestic animals and driving them towards the enemy. The Qing army suffered a defeat, but the loss failed to dislodge them from Nepal. A stalemate ensued, and with their resources low and looming uncertainty regarding how long they would be able to hold on in addition to the need to continue their expansion drive on the western frontier, the Gorkhalis signed a treaty on the terms dictated by the Qing that required, among other obligations, Nepal to send tributes to the Qing emperor every five years.
Treaty of Betrawati On the 8th day of
Bhadra, 10,000 Chinese troops advanced forward from Betrawati river. There were three forts passed the Betrawati river namely; Chokde, Dudethumko, and Gerkhu. At Gerkhu, the commanding officer was
Kaji Kirtiman Singh Basnyat and at Chokde, the commanding officer was
Kaji Damodar Pande. There were serious fightings around all the three forts and heavy repulse from Nepalese forces compelled Chinese troops to retreat to Betrawati river. At Betrawati bridge, the Chinese General Tung Thyang began to punish retreating Chinese soldiers with severe injuries resulting in their death. Two of the Chinese officers who retreated beyond the Betrawati river were punished with injury to their nose. The action of the Chinese General demotivated the troops and increase rapid desertion and retreat through other routes. Many Chinese troops died falling from hills into river and others from the bullets and arrows from Nepalese side. Around 1000 or 1200 Chinese troops were killed in the manner. The Chinese General Tung Thyang lost all hopes of attacking the Nepalese forces and decided to conclude a treaty with Nepal through his letter. The letter from Tung Thyang reached the
government of Nepal. In reply, the
government of Nepal issued a royal order deputing Kaji Damodar Pande to conclude a treaty with the
Chinese Emperor to prevent further hostility and maintain peace with the Emperor. The royal order issued by King
Rana Bahadur Shah to Kaji Damodar Pande on
Thursday,
Bhadra Sudi 13, 1849 (September 1792) is detailed below: ==Rise in power (1794–1804)==