Burma Campaign 1944-1945
Encyclopedia
The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre
of World War II
was fought primarily between British Commonwealth
, Chinese
and United States
forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan
, who were assisted to some degree by Thailand
, the Burmese Independence Army and the Indian National Army
. The British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from the United Kingdom
, British India
and Africa
.
Partly because monsoon
rains made effective campaigning possible only for about half of the year, the Burma campaign was almost the longest campaign of the war. During the campaigning season of 1942, the Japanese had conquered Burma, driving British, Indian and Chinese forces from the country and forcing the British administration to flee into India. After scoring some defensive successes during 1943, they then attempted to forestall Allied offensives in 1944 by launching an invasion of India (Operation U-Go
). This had failed with disastrous losses.
During the next campaigning season beginning in December 1944, the Allies launched offensives into Burma, capturing Rangoon
, the capital and principal port, from the weakened Japanese just before the monsoon struck, to ensure their hold on the country.
where communications ran mainly by sea, the Northern front on the newly-constructed Ledo Road
running from Ledo
in north-eastern India, and on the Burma Road
in Yunnan
province in China
, the Allies were preparing to extend the gains they had made earlier in 1944. The major effort however would be made on the Central front from Imphal
in Manipur
state in India, across the Chindwin River
into Central Burma, where the comparatively open terrain favoured armoured and motorised formations.
The Chinese
National Revolutionary Army
under General Wei Lihuang continued an offensive from Yunnan
province and provided ground forces for the American-led offensive in northern Burma. The main Allied headquarters for the British, Indians and Americans in the theatre of war was South East Asia Command
, based at Kandy
in Ceylon and commanded by Admiral Louis Mountbatten
. Its ground force headquarters was Allied Land Forces South East Asia, commanded by General Oliver Leese
.
The Allies had established air supremacy over India and Burma. They possessed large numbers of transport aircraft which could make formations independent of normal lines of communication. They were also acquiring resources not previously available. For example they were able to use Landing craft
to launch amphibious operations along the Burmese coast and supply troops over beaches.
to command Burma Area Army, succeeding General Masakazu Kawabe
. Kimura was primarily a logistician who had previously been Vice Minister of War, and it was hoped that he could use the natural and industrial resources of Burma to make his army self-sufficient. Nevertheless, the Southern Expeditionary Army Group
, which had overall control of all Japanese land forces in Southern Asia and much of the Pacific Ocean and was commanded by Field Marshal Hisaichi Terauchi, found 60,000 reinforcements for Kimura's army, with equipment for three infantry divisions, and 500 lorries and 2000 pack animals for the lines of communication. Allied air attacks strangled the Japanese communications via the Burma Railway and the port of Rangoon
, and only 30,000 of the intended reinforcements reached Burma. Under pressure of events in the Pacific, Terauchi even withdrew some units from Burma during the campaign.
Although the Allies expected that the Japanese would fight as far forward as possible, on the Chindwin, Kimura recognised that most of the Japanese units in Burma were weakened by heavy casualties during the previous year, and were short of equipment. To avoid fighting at a disadvantage on the Chindwin or in the Shwebo
plain between the Chindwin and Irrawaddy River
where the terrain provided comparatively few obstacles to the British and Indian armoured and motorised units, he withdrew Fifteenth Army
behind the Irrawaddy, which they would defend against the British Fourteenth Army (Operation BAN). The Twenty-Eighth Army
was to continue to defend the Arakan and lower Irrawaddy valley (Operation KAN), while Thirty-Third Army
would attempt to prevent the completion of the new road link between India and China by defending the cities of Bhamo
and Lashio
, and mounting guerilla raids (Operation DAN).
population had actively aided the Japanese Army. Although the Japanese had established a nominally independent Burmese government under Ba Maw
and formed a Burma National Army
under Aung San
, they remained in effective control of the country. Their strict control, along with wartime privations, turned the Burmese against them.
Aung San had sought an alliance with Thakin Soe, who was leading a Communist insurgency in southern Arakan, as early as 1943. They formed the Anti-Fascist Organisation
and intended turning against the Japanese at some stage, but Thakin Soe dissuaded Aung San from openly rebelling until Allied forces had established permanent footholds in Burma. In early 1945, Aung San sought the aid of the Allied liaison organisation Force 136
, which was already aiding resistance movements among the minority Karen
population. Although there was some debate among the Allies, Mountbatten eventually decided that Aung San should be supported. Force 136 was now to abet the defection of the entire Burma National Army to the Allies.
Another force nominally under Japanese control was the Indian National Army
, a force mainly composed of former prisoners of war
and volunteers from the Indian expatriate communities in British Malaya
and Burma. Its commander in chief was Subhas Chandra Bose. During the 1945 campaign, some INA units fought stoutly against the Allies, but others deserted or capitulated readily. The Japanese had alienated many of the INA by denying them equipment and supplies, or by using them as labourers and carriers rather than as fighting troops. Their morale was also affected in some units by the obvious turn of fortune against the Japanese.
The Japanese Twenty-eighth Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Shozo Sakurai
, defended the coastal Arakan
region and the lower Irrawaddy valley. The Japanese 54th Division defended the Mayu Peninsula and Kaladan River
valley, the Japanese 55th Division
garrisoned several ports and part of southern Burma and the 72nd Independent Mixed Brigade was stationed around the oilfields at Yenangyaung
on the Irrawaddy.
The Allied forces on this front were controlled by the XV Corps
under Lieutenant General Philip Christison
. The Corps' first major objective was Akyab Island
, at the end of the Mayu Peninsula. The island held a port and an important airfield which the Allies planned to use as a base from which to deliver supplies by air to the troops in Central Burma. Two previous attempts to capture the island had been defeated, or were abandoned because of monsoon rains and lack of resources.
As the monsoon ended, XV Corps resumed the advance on Akyab for the third year in succession. The Indian 25th Division
advanced on Foul Point
and Rathedaung
at the end of the Mayu Peninsula, being supplied by landing craft over beaches to avoid the risk of Japanese attacks against their lines of communication. The 82nd (West Africa) Division
cleared the valley of the Kalapanzin River before crossing a mountain range into the Kaladan River valley, while the 81st (West Africa) Division
advanced down the Kaladan River, repeating the move it had made in 1944. The two African divisions converged on Myohaung
near the mouth of the Kaladan River, cutting the supply lines of the Japanese troops in the Mayu Peninsula. The Japanese evacuated Akyab Island on 31 December 1944. It was occupied by XV Corps without resistance two days later.
The 82nd Division attacked south along the coastal plain, while Indian 25th Division, with 3 Commando Brigade
under command, made amphibious landings further south to catch the Japanese in a pincer movement. First ashore was No.42 (Royal Marine) Commando
on the south-eastern face of the Myebon
Peninsula on 12 January 1945. Over the next few days the commandos and a brigade of 25th Division cleared the peninsula and denied the Japanese the use of the many waterways along the Arakan coast.
On 22 January, 3 Commando Brigade landed on the beaches at Daingbon Chaung led this time by No. 1 Commando
. Having secured the beaches they moved inland and became involved in very heavy fighting with the Japanese. The following night a brigade of the 25th Division was landed in support. The fighting around the beachhead involved hand-to-hand fighting as the Japanese realised the danger of encirclement and threw all their available troops into the fight. The commandos and Indian troops managed to turn the tide of the battle and take the village of Kangaw only on 29 January. Meanwhile the forces on the Myebon Peninsula linked up with the 82nd Division fighting its way overland towards Kangaw. Caught between the 82nd Division and the forces already in Kangaw, the Japanese were forced to scatter, leaving behind thousands of dead and most of their heavy equipment.
With the coastal area secured, the Allies were free to build airbases which could be supplied by sea on the two offshore islands, Ramree Island
and Cheduba Island
. Cheduba, the smaller of the two islands, had no Japanese garrison, but the Battle of Ramree Island
lasted for six weeks after the initial landings on 21 January by the Indian 26th Division before the survivors of the small but tenacious Japanese garrison withdrew from the island.
Following these actions, XV Corps' operations were curtailed to release transport aircraft to support Fourteenth Army. The 81st Division and the 50th Indian Tank Brigade
were withdrawn to India. Outflanking moves by the 82nd Division and Indian 26th Division through the hills around An
and Taungup
were abandoned or cancelled, and the Corps' divisions were withdrawn to the coast. The Japanese successfully defended the port of Taungup, and the An and Taungup passes across the Arakan hills until very late in the campaign.
The Japanese Thirty-third Army, led by Lieutenant General Masaki Honda, defended Northern Burma against attacks from both Northern India and the Chinese province of Yunnan. The Japanese 18th Division
faced the American and Chinese forces advancing south from Myitkyina
and Mogaung
which the Allies had secured in 1944, and the Japanese 56th Division
faced the large Chinese Yunnan armies led by Wei Lihuang.
Although Thirty-third Army had been forced to relinquish most of the reinforcements it had received the previous year, the operations of the American-led Northern Combat Area Command
under Lieutenant General Daniel Isom Sultan
were limited from late 1944 onwards as many of its troops were withdrawn by air to face Japanese attacks in China. In Operation Grubworm, the Chinese 14th and 22nd Divisions were flown via Myitkyina to defend the airfields around Kunming
, vital to the airlift of aid to China, nicknamed The Hump
. Nevertheless, the command resumed its advance.
On the right flank of the command, the British 36th Division, which had been assigned to the command in July 1944 to replace the Chindits
, advanced south down the "Railway Valley" from Mogaung to Indaw
. It made contact with the Indian 19th Division near Indaw on 10 December 1944, and Fourteenth Army and NCAC now had a continuous front. On Sultan's left, the Chinese New First Army
(Chinese 30th Division and Chinese 38th Division) advanced from Myitkyina to Bhamo. The Japanese resisted for several weeks, but Bhamo fell on 15 December. The Chinese New Sixth Army
(commanded by Liao Yaoxiang
and consisting of the Chinese 50th Division) infiltrated through the difficult terrain between these two wings to threaten the Japanese lines of communication. An American force (the 5334th Composite Unit, known as the "Mars Brigade", which had replaced Merrill's Marauders
), acted independently, though mainly in support of the New First Army.
The New First Army made contact with Wei Lihuang's armies advancing from Yunnan near Hsipaw
on 21 January 1945, and the Ledo road could finally be completed. The first truck convoy from India arrived in Kunming
on 4 February but by this point in the war the value of the Ledo road was uncertain, as it would not now affect the overall military situation in China.
To the annoyance of the British and Americans, Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek
ordered Sultan to halt his advance at Lashio
, which was captured on 7 March. The British and Americans generally refused to understand that Chiang had to balance the needs of China as a whole against fighting the Japanese in a British colony. The Japanese had already withdrawn most of their divisions from the northern front, to face Fourteenth Army in central Burma. On 12 March, Thirty-third Army HQ was also dispatched there, leaving only the 56th Division to hold the northern front. This division was also withdrawn in late March and early April.
From 1 April, NCAC's operations stopped, and its units returned to China. The British 36th Division moved to Mandalay, which had been captured in March, and was subsequently withdrawn to India. A US-led guerrilla force, OSS Detachment 101
, took over the military responsibilities of NCAC, while British civil affairs and other units such as the Civil Affairs Service (Burma) stepped in to take over its other responsibilities. Northern Burma was partitioned into Line-of-Communication areas by the military authorities.
The Japanese Fifteenth Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Shihachi Katamura, held the central part of the front. The army was falling back behind the Irrawaddy, deploying rearguards to delay the Allied advance. A bridgehead was retained in the Sagaing
hills.
Fifteenth Army consisted of the Japanese 15th Division, Japanese 31st Division and Japanese 33rd Division
. The Japanese 53rd Division provided a reserve, although it was controlled directly by Burma Area Army. During the campaign, parts of the Japanese 2nd Division
and Japanese 49th Division reinforced the Army.
The British Fourteenth Army under Lieutenant General William Slim made the main Allied thrust, codenamed Operation Capital
, into central Burma. It consisted of IV Corps under Lieutenant General Frank Messervy
and XXXIII Corps
under Lieutenant General Montagu Stopford, together controlling six infantry divisions, two armoured brigades and three independent infantry brigades. The main constraint on the number of forces it could deploy was logistical. A carefully designed system involving large amounts of supply by air was introduced, and major construction projects were undertaken to improve the land route from India into Burma and make use of river transport.
Units of both corps of Fourteenth Army crossed the Chindwin and attacked into the Shwebo plain, IV Corps on the left and XXXIII Corps on the right. After a few days, when it was realised that the Japanese had fallen back behind the Irrawaddy River, the plan was hastily changed. Now, only XXXIII Corps was to continue this attack, reinforced by the one division of IV Corps which had been committed across the Chindwin, while the main body of IV Corps was switched to the right flank, changing its axis of advance to the Gangaw Valley west of the Chindwin. It aimed to cross the Irrawaddy close to Pakokku
and then capture the main Japanese line of communication centre of Meiktila
. Diversionary measures (such as dummy radio traffic) were made to persuade the Japanese that both corps were still aimed at Mandalay. The new plan was completely successful. Allied air superiority and the thin Japanese presence on the ground meant that the Japanese were unaware of the strength of the force moving on Pakokku.
During January and February, XXXIII Corps (consisting of the British 2nd Division, Indian 19th Division, Indian 20th Division, Indian 268th Brigade
and 254th Indian Tank Brigade
) cleared the Shwebo plain and established bridgeheads over the Irrawaddy River near Mandalay. There was heavy fighting, which attracted Japanese reserves and fixed their attention. Late in February, Indian 7th Division, leading IV Corps, seized crossings at Nyaungu
and Pagan
near Pakokku. Indian 17th Division and 255th Indian Armoured brigade
followed them across and began advancing to Meiktila.
Central Burma in the dry season is an largely an open plain with sandy soil. The mechanized
Indian 17th Division and the armoured brigade could move rapidly and unhindered in this open terrain, apparently taking the staffs at the various Japanese headquarters by surprise with this blitzkrieg
manoeuvre. They struck Meiktila on 1 March and captured it in four days, despite resistance to the last man. In an often-recounted incident, some Japanese soldiers crouched in trenches with aircraft bombs, with orders to detonate them when an enemy tank loomed over the trench.
Japanese reinforcements moving hastily to Meiktila arrived too late to relieve the garrison. However, they surrounded and besieged the town, and tried to recapture it and destroy Indian 17th Division. Although a total of eight Japanese regiments were eventually involved, they were mostly weak in numbers and drawn from five separate divisions, so their efforts were not coordinated. The Japanese Thirty-third Army HQ (re-titled "The Army of the Decisive Battle") was assigned to take command in this vital sector, but was unable to establish proper control. The Indian 17th Division had been reinforced by two infantry brigades landed by air. British tanks and infantry continually sallied out of Meiktila to break up Japanese concentrations. By the end of the month the Japanese had suffered heavy casualties and had lost most of their artillery, their chief anti-tank weapon. They broke off the attack and retreated to Pyawbwe. Meanwhile, the Indian 7th Division, reinforced by the leading brigades of the Indian 5th Division
, secured the Irrawaddy bridgehead, captured the important river port at Myingyan
and began clearing the lines of communications to Meiktila.
While the Japanese were distracted by events at Meiktila, XXXIII Corps had renewed its attack on Mandalay. It fell to Indian 19th Division on 20 March, though the Japanese held the former citadel, which the British called Fort Dufferin
, for another week. Many of the historically and culturally significant areas of Mandalay, including the old royal palace, were burned to the ground. A great deal was lost by the Japanese choice to make a last stand in the city itself. The other divisions of XXXIII Corps simultaneously attacked from their bridgeheads across the Irrawaddy. The Japanese Fifteenth Army was reduced to small detachments and parties of stragglers making their way south, or east into the Shan States.
With the fall of Mandalay (and of Maymyo
to its east), the Japanese communications to the front in the north of Burma were cut and the Allied road link between India and China was therefore finally secured, though far too late to affect the course of the war in China. The fall of Mandalay also precipitated the change of sides by the Burma National Army, and open rebellion against the Japanese by other underground movements belonging to the Anti-Fascist Organisation.
Though the Allied force had advanced successfully into central Burma, it was vital to capture of the port of Rangoon before the monsoon rains began. The temporarily upgraded overland routes from India would disintegrate under heavy rain, which would also curtail flying and reduce the amount of supplies which could be delivered by air. Furthermore, South East Asia Command had been notified that many of the American transport aircraft allocated to the theatre would be withdrawn in June at the latest. The use of Rangoon would be necessary to meet the needs of the large army force and (as importantly) the food needs of the civilian population in the areas liberated.
The British 2nd Division and British 36th Division, both of which were understrength and could not readily be reinforced, were withdrawn to India to reduce the demand for supplies. The Indian XXXIII Corps, consisting of the Indian 7th Division and Indian 20th Division, mounted Fourteenth Army's secondary drive down the Irrawaddy River valley, against stiff resistance from the Japanese Twenty-Eighth Army. Indian IV Corps, consisting of the Indian 5th Division, Indian 17th Division and Indian 19th Division, made the main attack down the Sittang River
valley.
The Indian 17th Division and 255th Armoured Brigade began IV Corps' advance on 6 April by striking from all sides at the delaying position held by the remnants of the Japanese Thirty-third Army at Pyawbwe
, while a flanking column (nicknamed "Claudcol") of tanks and mechanized infantry cut the main road behind them and attacked their rear. This column was initially delayed by the remnants of the Japanese 49th Division defending a village, but bypassed them to defeat the remnants of the Japanese 53rd Division and destroy the last tanks remaining to the Japanese 14th Tank regiment. As they then turned north against the town of Pyawbwe itself, they attacked Lieutenant General Honda's headquarters but were not aware of the presence of an army headquarters and broke off to capture the town instead.
From this point, the advance down the main road to Rangoon faced little organised opposition. At Pyinmana
, the town and the bridge were seized on 19 April before the Japanese could organise their defence. The Japanese Thirty-third Army headquarters was present in Pyinmana. From reports by agents, the Allies were aware this time of Honda's presence, and his headquarters was attacked by tanks and aircraft. Lieutenant-General Honda and his staff escaped at night on foot, but they now had little means of controlling the remnants of their formations.
Some units of the Japanese Fifteenth Army had reorganised in the Shan States and were reinforced by the Japanese 56th Division, which had been transferred from the northern front. They were ordered to move to Toungoo to block the road to Rangoon, but a general uprising by Karen
forces who had been organised and equipped by Force 136 delayed them long enough for the Indian 5th Division to reach the town first on 23 April. The Japanese briefly recaptured Toungoo once 5th Division had passed through, but the Indian 19th Division, which was following up the leading units of IV Corps, recaptured the town and slowly drove the Japanese back towards Mawchi
to the east.
The Indian 17th Division resumed the lead of the advance, and met Japanese rearguards north of Pegu, 40 miles (64.4 km) north of Rangoon, on 25 April. The various line of communication troops, naval personnel and even Japanese civilians in Rangoon had been formed into the Japanese 105 Independent Mixed Brigade. This scratch formation used buried aircraft bombs, anti-aircraft guns and suicide attacks with pole charges to delay the British advance and then defended Pegu until 30 April, when it withdrew into the hills west of Pegu.
on Rangoon long before Fourteenth Army reached the capital, in order to ease supply problems. Lack of resources meant that Dracula was postponed, and the operation was subsequently dropped in favour of a planned assault on Phuket Island off the Kra Isthmus
.
Slim feared that the Japanese would defend Rangoon to the last man through the monsoon, which would put the Fourteenth Army in a disastrous supply situation. In late March, he therefore asked for Dracula to be reinstated at short notice. However, Kimura had ordered Rangoon to be evacuated, starting on 22 April. Many troops were evacuated by sea, although British destroyers claimed several ships. Kimura's own HQ and the establishments of Ba Maw and Subhas Bose left by land, covered by the action of 105 Mixed Brigade at Pegu, and proceeded to Moulmein
.
On 1 May, a Gurkha parachute battalion was dropped on Elephant Point
, and cleared Japanese rearguards (or perhaps merely parties left behind and forgotten) from the mouth of the Rangoon River. The Indian 26th Division landed the next day as the monsoon began, and took over Rangoon, which had seen an orgy of looting and lawlessness since the Japanese had left.
The leading troops of the Indian 17th and 26th divisions met at Hlegu, 28 miles (45.1 km) north of Rangoon, on 6 May.
headquarters was created from XXXIII Corps HQ to take control of the formations which were to remain in Burma, including IV Corps.
The remnants of the Japanese Burma Area Army remained in control of Tenasserim province. The Japanese Twenty-eighth Army, which had withdrawn from Arakan and unsuccessfully resisted XXXIII Corps in the Irrawaddy valley, and the 105 Independent Brigade, were cut off in the Pegu Yomas, a range of low jungle-covered hills between the Irrawaddy and Sittang rivers. They planned to break out and rejoin Burma Area Army. To cover this breakout, Kimura ordered Honda's Thirty-third Army to mount a diversionary offensive across the Sittang, although the entire army could muster the strength of barely a regiment. On 3 July, Honda's troops attacked British positions in the "Sittang Bend". On 10 July, after a battle for country which was almost entirely under chest-high water, both the Japanese and the Indian 89 Brigade withdrew.
Honda had attacked too early. Sakurai's Twenty-eighth Army was not ready to start the breakout until 17 July. The breakout was a disaster. The British had captured the Japanese plans from an officer killed making a final reconnaissance, and had placed ambushes or artillery concentrations on the routes they were to use. Hundreds of men drowned trying to cross the swollen Sittang on improvised bamboo floats and rafts. Burmese guerillas and bandits killed stragglers east of the river. The breakout cost the Japanese nearly 10,000 men, half the strength of Twenty-eighth Army. Some units of 105 Independent Brigade were almost entirely wiped out. British and Indian casualties were minimal.
Fourteenth Army (now commanded by Lieutenant General Miles Dempsey
) and XV Corps had returned to India to plan the next stage of the campaign to re-take south east Asia. A new corps, the Indian XXXIV Corps
under Lieutenant-General Ouvry Lindfield Roberts
, was raised and assigned to Fourteenth Army for further operations.
The next intended operation was to be an amphibious assault on the western coast of Malaya, codenamed Operation Zipper
. The dropping of the atomic bombs forestalled Zipper, but the operation was undertaken post-war as the quickest way of getting occupation troops into Malaya.
South-East Asian theatre of World War II
The South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was the name given to the campaigns of the Pacific War in Burma , Ceylon, India, Thailand, Indochina, Malaya and Singapore. Conflict in the theatre began when the Empire of Japan invaded Thailand and Malaya from bases located in Indochina on December 8,...
of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was fought primarily between British Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
, Chinese
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
and United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
, who were assisted to some degree by Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, the Burmese Independence Army and the Indian National Army
Indian National Army
The Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauj was an armed force formed by Indian nationalists in 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. The aim of the army was to overthrow the British Raj in colonial India, with Japanese assistance...
. The British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, British India
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
Partly because monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
rains made effective campaigning possible only for about half of the year, the Burma campaign was almost the longest campaign of the war. During the campaigning season of 1942, the Japanese had conquered Burma, driving British, Indian and Chinese forces from the country and forcing the British administration to flee into India. After scoring some defensive successes during 1943, they then attempted to forestall Allied offensives in 1944 by launching an invasion of India (Operation U-Go
Operation U-Go
The U Go offensive, or Operation C , was the Japanese offensive launched in March 1944 against forces of the British Empire in the North-East Indian region of Manipur...
). This had failed with disastrous losses.
During the next campaigning season beginning in December 1944, the Allies launched offensives into Burma, capturing Rangoon
Yangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
, the capital and principal port, from the weakened Japanese just before the monsoon struck, to ensure their hold on the country.
Allied Plans
As the monsoon rains ended late in 1944, the Allies' were preparing to launch large-scale offensives into Japanese-occupied Burma. There were four major fronts on which offensives into Burma were possible. On three of these: the Southern front in the Burmese coastal province of ArakanRakhine State
Rakhine State is a Burmese state. Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State in the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region in the east, the Bay of Bengal to the west, and the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh to the northwest. It is located approximately between...
where communications ran mainly by sea, the Northern front on the newly-constructed Ledo Road
Ledo Road
The Ledo Road was built during World War II so that the Western Allies could supply the Chinese as an alternative to the Burma Road which had been cut by the Japanese in 1942. It was renamed the Stilwell Road in early 1945 at the suggestion of Chiang Kai-shek...
running from Ledo
Ledo
Ledo may refer to:* Ledo, Assam, India* Ledo, Goa, India* Ledo Road* Ledo Degtinė* Ledo , a Croatian ice cream producer...
in north-eastern India, and on the Burma Road
Burma Road
The Burma Road is a road linking Burma with the southwest of China. Its terminals are Kunming, Yunnan, and Lashio, Burma. When it was built, Burma was a British colony.The road is long and runs through rough mountain country...
in Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
province in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, the Allies were preparing to extend the gains they had made earlier in 1944. The major effort however would be made on the Central front from Imphal
Imphal
Imphal is the capital of the Indian state of Manipur.In the heart of the town and surrounded by a moat, are ruins of the old Palace of Kangla. Kangla Fort used to be the home of the Assam Rifles, a paramilitary force and on November 2004 it was handed over to state of Manipur by Prime minister Dr....
in Manipur
Manipur
Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...
state in India, across the Chindwin River
Chindwin River
The Chindwin River is a river in Burma , and the largest tributary of the country's chief river the Ayeyarwady . It flows entirely within Burma and is known as Ning-thi to the Manipuris.-Source:...
into Central Burma, where the comparatively open terrain favoured armoured and motorised formations.
The Chinese
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
National Revolutionary Army
National Revolutionary Army
The National Revolutionary Army , pre-1928 sometimes shortened to 革命軍 or Revolutionary Army and between 1928-1947 as 國軍 or National Army was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule...
under General Wei Lihuang continued an offensive from Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
province and provided ground forces for the American-led offensive in northern Burma. The main Allied headquarters for the British, Indians and Americans in the theatre of war was South East Asia Command
South East Asia Command
South East Asia Command was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allied operations in the South-East Asian Theatre during World War II.-Background:...
, based at Kandy
Kandy
Kandy is a city in the center of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka; it is both an...
in Ceylon and commanded by Admiral Louis Mountbatten
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS , was a British statesman and naval officer, and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
. Its ground force headquarters was Allied Land Forces South East Asia, commanded by General Oliver Leese
Oliver Leese
Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver William Hargreaves Leese, 3rd Baronet, KCB, CBE, DSO was a British general during World War II.-Early years:...
.
The Allies had established air supremacy over India and Burma. They possessed large numbers of transport aircraft which could make formations independent of normal lines of communication. They were also acquiring resources not previously available. For example they were able to use Landing craft
Landing craft
Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...
to launch amphibious operations along the Burmese coast and supply troops over beaches.
Japanese Plans
In the aftermath of their defeats the previous year, the Japanese had made major changes in their command. The most important was the appointment of Lieutenant General Hyotaro KimuraHyotaro Kimura
was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army.-Biography:Kimura was born in Saitama prefecture, north of Tokyo, but was raised in Hiroshima prefecture, which he considered to be his home. He attended military schooling from an early age, and graduated from the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1908...
to command Burma Area Army, succeeding General Masakazu Kawabe
Masakazu Kawabe
was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army. He held important commands in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War, and during World War II in the Burma Campaign and defense of the Japanese homeland late in the war...
. Kimura was primarily a logistician who had previously been Vice Minister of War, and it was hoped that he could use the natural and industrial resources of Burma to make his army self-sufficient. Nevertheless, the Southern Expeditionary Army Group
Southern Expeditionary Army Group
The was a army group of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. It was responsible for all military operations in South East Asian and South West Pacific campaigns of World War II....
, which had overall control of all Japanese land forces in Southern Asia and much of the Pacific Ocean and was commanded by Field Marshal Hisaichi Terauchi, found 60,000 reinforcements for Kimura's army, with equipment for three infantry divisions, and 500 lorries and 2000 pack animals for the lines of communication. Allied air attacks strangled the Japanese communications via the Burma Railway and the port of Rangoon
Yangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
, and only 30,000 of the intended reinforcements reached Burma. Under pressure of events in the Pacific, Terauchi even withdrew some units from Burma during the campaign.
Although the Allies expected that the Japanese would fight as far forward as possible, on the Chindwin, Kimura recognised that most of the Japanese units in Burma were weakened by heavy casualties during the previous year, and were short of equipment. To avoid fighting at a disadvantage on the Chindwin or in the Shwebo
Shwebo
Shwebo is a city in Sagaing Division, Myanmar, located 113 km northwest of Mandalay between the Irrawaddy and the Mu rivers. The city, also called Ratanasingha , was the capital of Myanmar from 1752 to 1760 during the Konbaung period....
plain between the Chindwin and Irrawaddy River
Ayeyarwady River
The Irrawaddy River or Ayeyarwady River is a river that flows from north to south through Burma . It is the country's largest river and most important commercial waterway. Originating from the confluence of the N'mai and Mali rivers, it flows relatively straight North-South before emptying through...
where the terrain provided comparatively few obstacles to the British and Indian armoured and motorised units, he withdrew Fifteenth Army
Fifteenth Army (Japan)
The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the World War II.-History:The Japanese 15th Army was formed on November 9. 1941 as a component of the Southern Expeditionary Army Group for the specific task of invading the British colony of Burma....
behind the Irrawaddy, which they would defend against the British Fourteenth Army (Operation BAN). The Twenty-Eighth Army
Twenty-Eighth Army (Japan)
The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the final days of World War II.-History:The Japanese Twenty-Eighth Army was raised on 6 January, 1944 in Rangoon in Japanese-occupied Burma as a garrison force and in anticipation of Allied attempts to invade and retake southern Burma...
was to continue to defend the Arakan and lower Irrawaddy valley (Operation KAN), while Thirty-Third Army
Thirty-Third Army (Japan)
The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the final days of World War II.-History:The Japanese 33rd Army was raised on April 7, 1944 in Rangoon, Japanese-occupied Burma as a garrison force, and in anticipation of Allied attempts to invade and retake northern Burma...
would attempt to prevent the completion of the new road link between India and China by defending the cities of Bhamo
Bhamo
Bhamo is a city of Kachin State in northernmost part of Myanmar, located 186 km south from the capital city of Myitkyina. It is on the Ayeyarwady River. It lies within 65 km of the border with Yunnan Province, China. The population consists of Chinese and Shan, with Kachin peoples in...
and Lashio
Lashio
Lashio is the largest town in northern Shan State, Myanmar, about northeast of Mandalay. It is situated on a low mountain spur overlooking the valley of the Nam Yao river. The population grew from around 5000 in 1960 to 88,590 in 1983. It is currently estimated at around 130,000.Lashio is the...
, and mounting guerilla raids (Operation DAN).
Burma
Another factor which was to become significant during the campaign was the changing attitude of the Burmese population. During the Japanese conquest of Burma in 1942, many of the majority BamarBamar
The Bamar are the dominant ethnic group of Burma , constituting approximately two-thirds of the population. The Bamar live primarily in the Irrawaddy basin, and speak the Burmese language, which is also the official language of Burma. Bamar customs and identity are closely intertwined with general...
population had actively aided the Japanese Army. Although the Japanese had established a nominally independent Burmese government under Ba Maw
Ba Maw
Dr. Ba Maw was a Burmese political leader, active during the interwar and World War II period.-Early life and education:Ba Maw was born in Maubin. Ba Maw came from a distinguished family of mixed Mon-Burmese parentage which bred many scholars and lawyers...
and formed a Burma National Army
Burma National Army
The Burma National Army served as the armed forces of the Burmese government created by the Japanese during World War II and fought in the Burma Campaign...
under Aung San
Aung San
Bogyoke Aung San ; 13 February 1915 – 19 July 1947) was a Burmese revolutionary, nationalist, and founder of the modern Burmese army, the Tatmadaw....
, they remained in effective control of the country. Their strict control, along with wartime privations, turned the Burmese against them.
Aung San had sought an alliance with Thakin Soe, who was leading a Communist insurgency in southern Arakan, as early as 1943. They formed the Anti-Fascist Organisation
Anti-Fascist Organisation
The Anti-Fascist Organisation was a Burmese resistance movement against the Japanese Occupation during the Second World War. It was the forerunner of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League so renamed at the end of the war on 19 August 1945 after the defeat of Japan and the return of the British...
and intended turning against the Japanese at some stage, but Thakin Soe dissuaded Aung San from openly rebelling until Allied forces had established permanent footholds in Burma. In early 1945, Aung San sought the aid of the Allied liaison organisation Force 136
Force 136
Force 136 was the general cover name for a branch of the British World War II organization, the Special Operations Executive . The organisation was established to encourage and supply resistance movements in enemy-occupied territory, and occasionally mount clandestine sabotage operations...
, which was already aiding resistance movements among the minority Karen
Karen people
The Karen or Kayin people , are a Sino-Tibetan language speaking ethnic group which resides primarily in southern and southeastern Burma . The Karen make up approximately 7 percent of the total Burmese population of approximately 50 million people...
population. Although there was some debate among the Allies, Mountbatten eventually decided that Aung San should be supported. Force 136 was now to abet the defection of the entire Burma National Army to the Allies.
Another force nominally under Japanese control was the Indian National Army
Indian National Army
The Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauj was an armed force formed by Indian nationalists in 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. The aim of the army was to overthrow the British Raj in colonial India, with Japanese assistance...
, a force mainly composed of former prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
and volunteers from the Indian expatriate communities in British Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
and Burma. Its commander in chief was Subhas Chandra Bose. During the 1945 campaign, some INA units fought stoutly against the Allies, but others deserted or capitulated readily. The Japanese had alienated many of the INA by denying them equipment and supplies, or by using them as labourers and carriers rather than as fighting troops. Their morale was also affected in some units by the obvious turn of fortune against the Japanese.
Southern Front
The Japanese Twenty-eighth Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Shozo Sakurai
Shozo Sakurai
-Notes:...
, defended the coastal Arakan
Rakhine State
Rakhine State is a Burmese state. Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State in the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region in the east, the Bay of Bengal to the west, and the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh to the northwest. It is located approximately between...
region and the lower Irrawaddy valley. The Japanese 54th Division defended the Mayu Peninsula and Kaladan River
Kaladan River
The Kaladan River is a river in eastern Mizoram State of India, and in Chin State and Rakhine State of western Myanmar. It forms the international border between India and Burma between 22° 47′ 10" N and 22° 11′ 06" N.-Geography:The river arises in central Chin State as the Timit, 22° 49′ 28″ N ...
valley, the Japanese 55th Division
55th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
-History:The 55th Division participated in the invasion of Burma during the Burma Campaign.General Officers 55th Division* 1940 - 1941 Lieutenant-General Torazo Ishimoto* 1941 - 1942 Lieutenant-General Hiroshi Takeuchi, Thailand-Burma...
garrisoned several ports and part of southern Burma and the 72nd Independent Mixed Brigade was stationed around the oilfields at Yenangyaung
Yenangyaung
Yenangyaung is a city in Magway Division, Myanmar, on the Irrawaddy River.-History:For centuries, the dominant industry in the area has been petroleum. It began as an indigenous oil industry, with hand-dug wells, and from 1755 onwards, early British soldier-diplomats began to note its existence...
on the Irrawaddy.
The Allied forces on this front were controlled by the XV Corps
XV Corps (British India)
The XV Corps was a formation of the British Indian Army, which was formed in India during World War II. It took part in the Burma Campaign and was disbanded after the end of the war.-World War II:...
under Lieutenant General Philip Christison
Philip Christison
General Sir Philip Christison, 4th Baronet GBE CB DSO MC was a British military commander of the Second World War.-Early life and career:...
. The Corps' first major objective was Akyab Island
Sittwe
-Economy:In February 2007, India announced a plan to develop the port, which would enable ocean access from Indian Northeastern states, so called "Seven sisters", like Mizoram, via the Kaladan River....
, at the end of the Mayu Peninsula. The island held a port and an important airfield which the Allies planned to use as a base from which to deliver supplies by air to the troops in Central Burma. Two previous attempts to capture the island had been defeated, or were abandoned because of monsoon rains and lack of resources.
As the monsoon ended, XV Corps resumed the advance on Akyab for the third year in succession. The Indian 25th Division
25th Infantry Division (India)
The 25th Indian Infantry Division was a division of the Indian Army during World War II which fought in the Burma Campaign during World War II.-History:...
advanced on Foul Point
Foul Point
Foul Point is the north point of the island, with off-lying rocks, lying at the east side of the entrance to Ommanney Bay on the north side of Coronation Island, in the South Orkney Islands. Discovered in December 1821 in the course of the joint cruise by Captain George Powell, British sealer, and...
and Rathedaung
Rathedaung
-External links:*...
at the end of the Mayu Peninsula, being supplied by landing craft over beaches to avoid the risk of Japanese attacks against their lines of communication. The 82nd (West Africa) Division
82nd (West Africa) Division
The 82nd Division was formed under British control during World War II. It took part in the later stages of the Burma Campaign and was disbanded in Burma between May and September 1946.-Formation:...
cleared the valley of the Kalapanzin River before crossing a mountain range into the Kaladan River valley, while the 81st (West Africa) Division
81st (West Africa) Division
The 81st Division was formed under British control during World War II. It took part in the Burma Campaign.-History:The inspiration for the division's formation came from General George Giffard, commander of the British Army's West Africa Command, who subsequently commanded India Command's Eastern...
advanced down the Kaladan River, repeating the move it had made in 1944. The two African divisions converged on Myohaung
Mrauk U
Mrauk U is an archaeologically important town in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar. It is also the capital of Mrauk-U Township, a sub region of the Sittwe District. It was the capital of Mrauk U Kingdom, the most important and powerful Rakhine kingdom from 1433 to 1784.-Geography:Mrauk U lies...
near the mouth of the Kaladan River, cutting the supply lines of the Japanese troops in the Mayu Peninsula. The Japanese evacuated Akyab Island on 31 December 1944. It was occupied by XV Corps without resistance two days later.
The 82nd Division attacked south along the coastal plain, while Indian 25th Division, with 3 Commando Brigade
3 Commando Brigade
3 Commando Brigade is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces and the main manoeuvre formation of the Royal Marines. Its personnel are predominantly Royal Marines, supported by units of Royal Engineers, Royal Artillery, The Rifles, and the Fleet Air Arm, together with other Commando...
under command, made amphibious landings further south to catch the Japanese in a pincer movement. First ashore was No.42 (Royal Marine) Commando
42 Commando
42 Commando Royal Marines is a battalion sized formation of the British Royal Marines and a subordinate unit within 3 Commando Brigade, the principal Commando formation, under the Operational Command of Commander in Chief Fleet....
on the south-eastern face of the Myebon
Myebon
-External links:*...
Peninsula on 12 January 1945. Over the next few days the commandos and a brigade of 25th Division cleared the peninsula and denied the Japanese the use of the many waterways along the Arakan coast.
On 22 January, 3 Commando Brigade landed on the beaches at Daingbon Chaung led this time by No. 1 Commando
No. 1 Commando
The No. 1 Commando was a unit of British Commandos and part of the British Army during the Second World War. It was raised in 1940 from the ranks of the existing independent companies. Operationally they carried out a series of small scale cross channel raids and spearheaded the Operation Torch...
. Having secured the beaches they moved inland and became involved in very heavy fighting with the Japanese. The following night a brigade of the 25th Division was landed in support. The fighting around the beachhead involved hand-to-hand fighting as the Japanese realised the danger of encirclement and threw all their available troops into the fight. The commandos and Indian troops managed to turn the tide of the battle and take the village of Kangaw only on 29 January. Meanwhile the forces on the Myebon Peninsula linked up with the 82nd Division fighting its way overland towards Kangaw. Caught between the 82nd Division and the forces already in Kangaw, the Japanese were forced to scatter, leaving behind thousands of dead and most of their heavy equipment.
With the coastal area secured, the Allies were free to build airbases which could be supplied by sea on the two offshore islands, Ramree Island
Ramree Island
Ramree Island is an island off the coast of Rakhine State, Burma. The area of the island is about 1350 km². The Battle of Ramree Island took place here for six weeks during January and February 1945, as part of the British Fourteenth Army 1944/45 offensive on the Southern Front of the Burma...
and Cheduba Island
Cheduba Island
Cheduba Island is an island in the Bay of Bengal close to Ramree Island belonging to Burma. It has an area of approximately 523 km² and a population 63,761 as of 1983 which is composed chiefly of Burmans and Arakanese peoples.-History:...
. Cheduba, the smaller of the two islands, had no Japanese garrison, but the Battle of Ramree Island
Battle of Ramree Island
The Battle of Ramree Island was fought for six weeks during January and February 1945, as part of the Indian XV Corps 1944/45 offensive on the Southern Front of the Burma Campaign during World War II....
lasted for six weeks after the initial landings on 21 January by the Indian 26th Division before the survivors of the small but tenacious Japanese garrison withdrew from the island.
Following these actions, XV Corps' operations were curtailed to release transport aircraft to support Fourteenth Army. The 81st Division and the 50th Indian Tank Brigade
50th Indian Tank Brigade
The 50th Indian Tank Brigade was an armoured formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed for service in the Burma Campaign of World War II from units of the British Army and the British Indian Army...
were withdrawn to India. Outflanking moves by the 82nd Division and Indian 26th Division through the hills around An
ANN
-Media:* All Night Nippon, Japan* All-Nippon News Network, Japan* Arab News Network, exile Syrian* Asia News Network, Asia* Anime News Network, online* Alaska News Nightly, a headline news radio program broadcast on the Alaska Public Radio network....
and Taungup
Toungup
Taungup or Toungup is a town in the Rakhine State of westernmost part of Myanmar. It got 29.1 inches of rainfall in 21 July 2011. It was the recording breaking and there was severe flood.-References:...
were abandoned or cancelled, and the Corps' divisions were withdrawn to the coast. The Japanese successfully defended the port of Taungup, and the An and Taungup passes across the Arakan hills until very late in the campaign.
Northern Front
18th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the .-History:The 18th Division was formed in Kurume, Kyūshū on 13 November 1907, together with the 17th Division, as part of the post Russo-Japanese War expansion of the standing Japanese military...
faced the American and Chinese forces advancing south from Myitkyina
Myitkyina
Myitkyina is the capital city of Kachin State in Myanmar , located from Yangon, and from Mandalay. In Burmese it means "near the big river", and in fact "Myitkyina" lies on the west bank of the Ayeyarwady River, just below from Myit-son of its two headstreams...
and Mogaung
Mogaung
Mogaung is a town in Kachin State, Myanmar. It is situated on the Mandalay-Myitkyina railway line.-External links:* Falling Rain Genomics, Inc.* Maplandia.com...
which the Allies had secured in 1944, and the Japanese 56th Division
56th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
IJA Fifty Sixth Division was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. It was also known as Ryuheidan meaning "Dragon Division".-History:The 56th Division participated in the Invasion of Burma during the Burma Campaign...
faced the large Chinese Yunnan armies led by Wei Lihuang.
Although Thirty-third Army had been forced to relinquish most of the reinforcements it had received the previous year, the operations of the American-led Northern Combat Area Command
Northern Combat Area Command
The Northern Combat Area Command or NCAC was a mainly Sino-American formation that held the northern end of the Allied front in Burma during World War II. For much of its existence it was commanded by the acerbic General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, and controlled by his staff...
under Lieutenant General Daniel Isom Sultan
Daniel Isom Sultan
General Daniel Isom Sultan, was an American General during World War II. He fought in the China-Burma-India theater at the last half of the war....
were limited from late 1944 onwards as many of its troops were withdrawn by air to face Japanese attacks in China. In Operation Grubworm, the Chinese 14th and 22nd Divisions were flown via Myitkyina to defend the airfields around Kunming
Kunming
' is the capital and largest city of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. It was known as Yunnan-Fou until the 1920s. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of Yunnan, and is the seat of the provincial government...
, vital to the airlift of aid to China, nicknamed The Hump
The Hump
The Hump was the name given by Allied pilots in the Second World War to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains over which they flew military transport aircraft from India to China to resupply the Chinese war effort of Chiang Kai-shek and the units of the United States Army Air Forces based in...
. Nevertheless, the command resumed its advance.
On the right flank of the command, the British 36th Division, which had been assigned to the command in July 1944 to replace the Chindits
Chindits
The Chindits were a British India "Special Force" that served in Burma and India in 1943 and 1944 during the Burma Campaign in World War II. They were formed into long range penetration groups trained to operate deep behind Japanese lines...
, advanced south down the "Railway Valley" from Mogaung to Indaw
Indaw
Indaw is a town in northern Burma, in Sagaing Division, Katha District, Indaw Township. It is located about 2 km southeast of Indaw Lake. The rail junction at Naba is located about 6 km to the northeast of the town.-History:...
. It made contact with the Indian 19th Division near Indaw on 10 December 1944, and Fourteenth Army and NCAC now had a continuous front. On Sultan's left, the Chinese New First Army
New 1st Army
New 1st Army was reputed as the most elite Chinese military unit of the Kuomintang. Nicknamed the "1st [Best] Army Under the Heaven" during the Chinese Civil War, it caused the most Japanese Army casualties during the Sino-Japanese War ....
(Chinese 30th Division and Chinese 38th Division) advanced from Myitkyina to Bhamo. The Japanese resisted for several weeks, but Bhamo fell on 15 December. The Chinese New Sixth Army
New 6th Army
New 6th Army was a Chinese combat command involved in the Burma Campaign of World War II, and later, the Chinese Civil War.They operated in the Shan States and the Karen State of eastern Burma...
(commanded by Liao Yaoxiang
Liao Yaoxiang
Liao Yiaoxiang was a high-ranking nationalist commander who successful fought against both the Imperial Japanese Army and Chinese Communist forces. He was one of the few nationalist commanders who graduated from a western military academy besides General Sun Liren...
and consisting of the Chinese 50th Division) infiltrated through the difficult terrain between these two wings to threaten the Japanese lines of communication. An American force (the 5334th Composite Unit, known as the "Mars Brigade", which had replaced Merrill's Marauders
Merrill's Marauders
Merrill’s Marauders or Unit Galahad, officially named the 5307th Composite Unit , was a United States Army long range penetration special operations unit in the South-East Asian Theater of World War II which fought in the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations, or CBI...
), acted independently, though mainly in support of the New First Army.
The New First Army made contact with Wei Lihuang's armies advancing from Yunnan near Hsipaw
Hsipaw
Hsipaw , is a town in Shan State, Myanmar on the riverbank of Myitnge River. It is 200 km northeast of Mandalay.-Shan Saopha:Hsipaw is perhaps one of the most well known and powerful saopha states of Shan State...
on 21 January 1945, and the Ledo road could finally be completed. The first truck convoy from India arrived in Kunming
Kunming
' is the capital and largest city of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. It was known as Yunnan-Fou until the 1920s. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of Yunnan, and is the seat of the provincial government...
on 4 February but by this point in the war the value of the Ledo road was uncertain, as it would not now affect the overall military situation in China.
To the annoyance of the British and Americans, Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
ordered Sultan to halt his advance at Lashio
Lashio
Lashio is the largest town in northern Shan State, Myanmar, about northeast of Mandalay. It is situated on a low mountain spur overlooking the valley of the Nam Yao river. The population grew from around 5000 in 1960 to 88,590 in 1983. It is currently estimated at around 130,000.Lashio is the...
, which was captured on 7 March. The British and Americans generally refused to understand that Chiang had to balance the needs of China as a whole against fighting the Japanese in a British colony. The Japanese had already withdrawn most of their divisions from the northern front, to face Fourteenth Army in central Burma. On 12 March, Thirty-third Army HQ was also dispatched there, leaving only the 56th Division to hold the northern front. This division was also withdrawn in late March and early April.
From 1 April, NCAC's operations stopped, and its units returned to China. The British 36th Division moved to Mandalay, which had been captured in March, and was subsequently withdrawn to India. A US-led guerrilla force, OSS Detachment 101
OSS Detachment 101
Detachment 101 of the Office of Strategic Services operated in the China Burma India Theater of World War II. On January 17, 1946, it was awarded a Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation by Dwight Eisenhower, who wrote, "The courage and fighting spirit displayed by its officers and men in...
, took over the military responsibilities of NCAC, while British civil affairs and other units such as the Civil Affairs Service (Burma) stepped in to take over its other responsibilities. Northern Burma was partitioned into Line-of-Communication areas by the military authorities.
Central Front
Sagaing
Sagaing is the capital of Sagaing Region in Myanmar. Located on the Ayeyarwady River, 20 km to the southwest of Mandalay on the opposite bank of the river, Sagaing with numerous Buddhist monasteries is an important religious and monastic center. The pagodas and monasteries crowd the numerous...
hills.
Fifteenth Army consisted of the Japanese 15th Division, Japanese 31st Division and Japanese 33rd Division
33rd Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the .-History:The 33rd Division was raised in Utsunomiya, Tochigi prefecture, but its headquarters was in Sendai. It was raised from conscripts largely from the northern Kantō prefecturers of Tochigi, Ibaraki and Gunma...
. The Japanese 53rd Division provided a reserve, although it was controlled directly by Burma Area Army. During the campaign, parts of the Japanese 2nd Division
2nd Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
The was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call-sign was .-History:The 2nd Infantry Division was formed in Sendai, Miyagi in January 1871 as the , one of six regional commands created in the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army. The Sendai Garrison had responsibility for northern...
and Japanese 49th Division reinforced the Army.
The British Fourteenth Army under Lieutenant General William Slim made the main Allied thrust, codenamed Operation Capital
Operation Capital
During World War II, Operation Capital, Operation Y, was a broad British offensive launched from Assam, India across the Chindwin River into northeast Burma near Mandalay, launched on 19 November 1944...
, into central Burma. It consisted of IV Corps under Lieutenant General Frank Messervy
Frank Messervy
General Sir Frank Walter Messervy, KCSI, KBE, CB, DSO & Bar, , was a British Indian Army officer in both the First and Second World Wars...
and XXXIII Corps
XXXIII Corps (British India)
The British Indian XXXIII Corps was a formation of the British Indian Army during World War II. It was disbanded and the headquarters was recreated as an Army headquarters in 1945.-Formation:...
under Lieutenant General Montagu Stopford, together controlling six infantry divisions, two armoured brigades and three independent infantry brigades. The main constraint on the number of forces it could deploy was logistical. A carefully designed system involving large amounts of supply by air was introduced, and major construction projects were undertaken to improve the land route from India into Burma and make use of river transport.
Units of both corps of Fourteenth Army crossed the Chindwin and attacked into the Shwebo plain, IV Corps on the left and XXXIII Corps on the right. After a few days, when it was realised that the Japanese had fallen back behind the Irrawaddy River, the plan was hastily changed. Now, only XXXIII Corps was to continue this attack, reinforced by the one division of IV Corps which had been committed across the Chindwin, while the main body of IV Corps was switched to the right flank, changing its axis of advance to the Gangaw Valley west of the Chindwin. It aimed to cross the Irrawaddy close to Pakokku
Pakokku
Pakokku or Pa Kok Ku is a town in the Magway Division in Myanmar. It is situated about 30 km northwest of Bagan on the Ayeyarwady River. It is the second most important education center for Sangha after Mandalay. It is the administration seat of Pakokku Township and Pakokku District.The town...
and then capture the main Japanese line of communication centre of Meiktila
Meiktila
Meiktila is a city in central Myanmar, located on the banks of Lake Meiktila in Mandalay Division, at the junctions of the Bagan-Taunggyi, Yangon-Mandalay and Meiktila-Myingyan highways. Because of its strategic position, Meiktila is home to Myanmar Air Force's central command and Meiktila Air...
. Diversionary measures (such as dummy radio traffic) were made to persuade the Japanese that both corps were still aimed at Mandalay. The new plan was completely successful. Allied air superiority and the thin Japanese presence on the ground meant that the Japanese were unaware of the strength of the force moving on Pakokku.
During January and February, XXXIII Corps (consisting of the British 2nd Division, Indian 19th Division, Indian 20th Division, Indian 268th Brigade
268th Indian Infantry Brigade
The 268th Indian Infantry Brigade was an Infantry formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in October 1942, by the re designation of 268th Indian Armoured Brigade. It was assigned to the 43rd Indian Armoured Division until March 1943. Then the 44th Indian Armoured Division...
and 254th Indian Tank Brigade
254th Indian Tank Brigade
The 254th Indian Tank Brigade was an armoured brigade of the Indian Army during World War II, it was part of the Fourteenth Army and saw action in the Burma Campaign...
) cleared the Shwebo plain and established bridgeheads over the Irrawaddy River near Mandalay. There was heavy fighting, which attracted Japanese reserves and fixed their attention. Late in February, Indian 7th Division, leading IV Corps, seized crossings at Nyaungu
Nyaung-U
Nyaung-U is the administrative town of Nyaung-U Township of Nyaung-U District in the Mandalay Region of central Myanmar. It lies on the eastern bank of Ayeyarwaddy River. It is just 4 kilometers away from old Bagan, a popular tourist attraction. The Shwezigon Pagoda is located there...
and Pagan
Bagan
Bagan , formerly Pagan, is an ancient city in the Mandalay Region of Burma. Formally titled Arimaddanapura or Arimaddana and also known as Tambadipa or Tassadessa , it was the capital of several ancient kingdoms in Burma...
near Pakokku. Indian 17th Division and 255th Indian Armoured brigade
255th Indian Tank Brigade
The 255th Indian Tank Brigade was an armoured brigade of the Indian Army during World War II. It was part of the Fourteenth Army and saw action in the Burma Campaign...
followed them across and began advancing to Meiktila.
Central Burma in the dry season is an largely an open plain with sandy soil. The mechanized
Mechanized infantry
Mechanized infantry are infantry equipped with armored personnel carriers , or infantry fighting vehicles for transport and combat ....
Indian 17th Division and the armoured brigade could move rapidly and unhindered in this open terrain, apparently taking the staffs at the various Japanese headquarters by surprise with this blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg
For other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...
manoeuvre. They struck Meiktila on 1 March and captured it in four days, despite resistance to the last man. In an often-recounted incident, some Japanese soldiers crouched in trenches with aircraft bombs, with orders to detonate them when an enemy tank loomed over the trench.
Japanese reinforcements moving hastily to Meiktila arrived too late to relieve the garrison. However, they surrounded and besieged the town, and tried to recapture it and destroy Indian 17th Division. Although a total of eight Japanese regiments were eventually involved, they were mostly weak in numbers and drawn from five separate divisions, so their efforts were not coordinated. The Japanese Thirty-third Army HQ (re-titled "The Army of the Decisive Battle") was assigned to take command in this vital sector, but was unable to establish proper control. The Indian 17th Division had been reinforced by two infantry brigades landed by air. British tanks and infantry continually sallied out of Meiktila to break up Japanese concentrations. By the end of the month the Japanese had suffered heavy casualties and had lost most of their artillery, their chief anti-tank weapon. They broke off the attack and retreated to Pyawbwe. Meanwhile, the Indian 7th Division, reinforced by the leading brigades of the Indian 5th Division
Indian 5th Infantry Division
Indian 5th Infantry Division was an infantry division in the Indian Army during World War II which fought in several theatres of war and more than earned its nickname the "Ball of Fire".- History :...
, secured the Irrawaddy bridgehead, captured the important river port at Myingyan
Myingyan
Myingyan is a city and district in the Mandalay Division of central Myanmar, previously, it was a district in the Meiktila Division of Upper Burma. It is currently the capital of Myingyan Township and lies along the National Highway 2. , the city had a population of 123,700 and the district had...
and began clearing the lines of communications to Meiktila.
While the Japanese were distracted by events at Meiktila, XXXIII Corps had renewed its attack on Mandalay. It fell to Indian 19th Division on 20 March, though the Japanese held the former citadel, which the British called Fort Dufferin
Mandalay Palace
The Mandalay Palace , located in Mandalay, Myanmar, is the last royal palace of the last Burmese monarchy. The palace was constructed, between 1857 and 1859 as part of King Mindon's founding of new royal capital city of Mandalay. The plan of Mandalay Palace largely follows the traditional Burmese...
, for another week. Many of the historically and culturally significant areas of Mandalay, including the old royal palace, were burned to the ground. A great deal was lost by the Japanese choice to make a last stand in the city itself. The other divisions of XXXIII Corps simultaneously attacked from their bridgeheads across the Irrawaddy. The Japanese Fifteenth Army was reduced to small detachments and parties of stragglers making their way south, or east into the Shan States.
With the fall of Mandalay (and of Maymyo
Pyin U Lwin
Pyin U Lwin or Pyin Oo Lwin , formerly Maymyo , is a scenic hill town in Mandalay Division, Myanmar, located in the Shan Highland, some east of Mandalay, and at an altitude of 1070 meters .-History:...
to its east), the Japanese communications to the front in the north of Burma were cut and the Allied road link between India and China was therefore finally secured, though far too late to affect the course of the war in China. The fall of Mandalay also precipitated the change of sides by the Burma National Army, and open rebellion against the Japanese by other underground movements belonging to the Anti-Fascist Organisation.
Race for Rangoon
The British 2nd Division and British 36th Division, both of which were understrength and could not readily be reinforced, were withdrawn to India to reduce the demand for supplies. The Indian XXXIII Corps, consisting of the Indian 7th Division and Indian 20th Division, mounted Fourteenth Army's secondary drive down the Irrawaddy River valley, against stiff resistance from the Japanese Twenty-Eighth Army. Indian IV Corps, consisting of the Indian 5th Division, Indian 17th Division and Indian 19th Division, made the main attack down the Sittang River
Sittang River
The Sittaung is a river in south central Myanmar in Bago Division. The Pegu Range separates its basin from that of the Irrawaddy. The river originates at the edge of the Shan Plateau southeast of Mandalay, and flows southward to the Gulf of Martaban...
valley.
The Indian 17th Division and 255th Armoured Brigade began IV Corps' advance on 6 April by striking from all sides at the delaying position held by the remnants of the Japanese Thirty-third Army at Pyawbwe
Pyawbwe
-Mandalay Region:*Pyawbwe Township*Pyawbwe, Meiktila Township*Pyawbwe, Myingyan Township*Pyawbwe, Pyawbwe Township*Pyawbwe, Wudwin Township*Pyawbwe, Myittha Township...
, while a flanking column (nicknamed "Claudcol") of tanks and mechanized infantry cut the main road behind them and attacked their rear. This column was initially delayed by the remnants of the Japanese 49th Division defending a village, but bypassed them to defeat the remnants of the Japanese 53rd Division and destroy the last tanks remaining to the Japanese 14th Tank regiment. As they then turned north against the town of Pyawbwe itself, they attacked Lieutenant General Honda's headquarters but were not aware of the presence of an army headquarters and broke off to capture the town instead.
From this point, the advance down the main road to Rangoon faced little organised opposition. At Pyinmana
Pyinmana
Pyinmana ) is a logging town and sugarcane refinery center in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. The administrative capital of Myanmar was officially moved to a militarized greenfield site two miles west of Pyinmana on November 6, 2005. Pyinmana is approximately north of Yangon...
, the town and the bridge were seized on 19 April before the Japanese could organise their defence. The Japanese Thirty-third Army headquarters was present in Pyinmana. From reports by agents, the Allies were aware this time of Honda's presence, and his headquarters was attacked by tanks and aircraft. Lieutenant-General Honda and his staff escaped at night on foot, but they now had little means of controlling the remnants of their formations.
Karen people
The Karen or Kayin people , are a Sino-Tibetan language speaking ethnic group which resides primarily in southern and southeastern Burma . The Karen make up approximately 7 percent of the total Burmese population of approximately 50 million people...
forces who had been organised and equipped by Force 136 delayed them long enough for the Indian 5th Division to reach the town first on 23 April. The Japanese briefly recaptured Toungoo once 5th Division had passed through, but the Indian 19th Division, which was following up the leading units of IV Corps, recaptured the town and slowly drove the Japanese back towards Mawchi
Mawchi
Mawachi a location in the Bawlake district of the Kayah State is a state of Myanmar and formerly in the Karenni States of Burma. In the 1930s, the Mawchi Mine was the most important source of tungsten in the world.-External links:...
to the east.
The Indian 17th Division resumed the lead of the advance, and met Japanese rearguards north of Pegu, 40 miles (64.4 km) north of Rangoon, on 25 April. The various line of communication troops, naval personnel and even Japanese civilians in Rangoon had been formed into the Japanese 105 Independent Mixed Brigade. This scratch formation used buried aircraft bombs, anti-aircraft guns and suicide attacks with pole charges to delay the British advance and then defended Pegu until 30 April, when it withdrew into the hills west of Pegu.
Operation Dracula
In the original conception of the plan to re-take Burma, it had been intended that Indian XV Corps would make an amphibious assault codenamed Operation DraculaOperation Dracula
During World War II, Operation Dracula was the name given to an airborne and amphibious attack on Rangoon by British and Indian forces, part of the Burma Campaign. When it was launched, the Imperial Japanese Army had already abandoned the city.-Background:...
on Rangoon long before Fourteenth Army reached the capital, in order to ease supply problems. Lack of resources meant that Dracula was postponed, and the operation was subsequently dropped in favour of a planned assault on Phuket Island off the Kra Isthmus
Kra Isthmus
The Kra Isthmus is the narrow land bridge which connects the Malay Peninsula with the mainland of Asia, and popularly named "The Devil's Neck".-Geography:...
.
Slim feared that the Japanese would defend Rangoon to the last man through the monsoon, which would put the Fourteenth Army in a disastrous supply situation. In late March, he therefore asked for Dracula to be reinstated at short notice. However, Kimura had ordered Rangoon to be evacuated, starting on 22 April. Many troops were evacuated by sea, although British destroyers claimed several ships. Kimura's own HQ and the establishments of Ba Maw and Subhas Bose left by land, covered by the action of 105 Mixed Brigade at Pegu, and proceeded to Moulmein
Mawlamyine
Mawlamyine is the fourth largest city of Burma , situated 300 km south east of Yangon and 70 km south of Thaton, at the mouth of Thanlwin river...
.
On 1 May, a Gurkha parachute battalion was dropped on Elephant Point
Battle of Elephant Point
The Battle of Elephant Point was an airborne operation conducted by a composite Gurkha airborne battalion that took place on 1 May 1945. In March 1945, plans were made for an assault on Rangoon, the capital of Burma, as a stepping-stone on the way to recapturing Malaya and Singapore...
, and cleared Japanese rearguards (or perhaps merely parties left behind and forgotten) from the mouth of the Rangoon River. The Indian 26th Division landed the next day as the monsoon began, and took over Rangoon, which had seen an orgy of looting and lawlessness since the Japanese had left.
The leading troops of the Indian 17th and 26th divisions met at Hlegu, 28 miles (45.1 km) north of Rangoon, on 6 May.
Final operations
Following the capture of Rangoon, a new Twelfth ArmyBritish Twelfth Army
During the Second World War, two formations called the British Twelfth Army were created, the first was formed in the Middle East in early 1943 as part of the Operation Barclay deception plan, the second was created in Burma in May 1945....
headquarters was created from XXXIII Corps HQ to take control of the formations which were to remain in Burma, including IV Corps.
The remnants of the Japanese Burma Area Army remained in control of Tenasserim province. The Japanese Twenty-eighth Army, which had withdrawn from Arakan and unsuccessfully resisted XXXIII Corps in the Irrawaddy valley, and the 105 Independent Brigade, were cut off in the Pegu Yomas, a range of low jungle-covered hills between the Irrawaddy and Sittang rivers. They planned to break out and rejoin Burma Area Army. To cover this breakout, Kimura ordered Honda's Thirty-third Army to mount a diversionary offensive across the Sittang, although the entire army could muster the strength of barely a regiment. On 3 July, Honda's troops attacked British positions in the "Sittang Bend". On 10 July, after a battle for country which was almost entirely under chest-high water, both the Japanese and the Indian 89 Brigade withdrew.
Honda had attacked too early. Sakurai's Twenty-eighth Army was not ready to start the breakout until 17 July. The breakout was a disaster. The British had captured the Japanese plans from an officer killed making a final reconnaissance, and had placed ambushes or artillery concentrations on the routes they were to use. Hundreds of men drowned trying to cross the swollen Sittang on improvised bamboo floats and rafts. Burmese guerillas and bandits killed stragglers east of the river. The breakout cost the Japanese nearly 10,000 men, half the strength of Twenty-eighth Army. Some units of 105 Independent Brigade were almost entirely wiped out. British and Indian casualties were minimal.
Fourteenth Army (now commanded by Lieutenant General Miles Dempsey
Miles Dempsey
General Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey, GBE, KCB, DSO, MC was commander of the British Second Army during the D-Day landings in the Second World War...
) and XV Corps had returned to India to plan the next stage of the campaign to re-take south east Asia. A new corps, the Indian XXXIV Corps
Indian XXXIV Corps
The Indian XXXIV Corps was formed in March 1945 to be part of the British Fourteenth Army for Operation Zipper, the invasion of British Malaya. Significant formations under Fourteenth Army for 'Zipper,' possibly under XXXIV Corps, included 5th Indian Division, 23rd Indian Division, 25th Indian...
under Lieutenant-General Ouvry Lindfield Roberts
Ouvry Lindfield Roberts
General Sir Ouvry Lindfield Roberts, GCB, KBE, DSO was an officer in the British Army and the British Indian Army during World War I and World War II.-Military career:...
, was raised and assigned to Fourteenth Army for further operations.
The next intended operation was to be an amphibious assault on the western coast of Malaya, codenamed Operation Zipper
Operation Zipper
During the Second World War, Operation Zipper was a British plan to capture either Port Swettenham or Port Dickson, Malaya as staging areas for the recapture of Singapore. However, due to the end of the war in the Pacific, it was never fully executed. Some of the proposed landings on Penang went...
. The dropping of the atomic bombs forestalled Zipper, but the operation was undertaken post-war as the quickest way of getting occupation troops into Malaya.
Further reading
"Operations in Burma from 12 November 1944 to 15 August 1945" official despatch by Lieutenant General Sir Oliver LeeseOliver Leese
Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver William Hargreaves Leese, 3rd Baronet, KCB, CBE, DSO was a British general during World War II.-Early years:...
External links
- Burma Star Association
- national-army-museum.ac.uk History of the British Army: Far East, 1941–45
- Imperial War Museum London Burma Summary
- Royal Engineers Museum Engineers in the Burma Campaigns
- Royal Engineers Museum Engineers with the Chindits
- Canadian War Museum: Newspaper Articles on the Burma Campaigns, 1941–1945
- World War II animated campaign maps
- List of Regimental Battle Honours in the Burma Campaign (1942–1945) – Also some useful links