Burma Campaign: Seizing Imphal and Kohima In World War II

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Still, Japanese units fought on in the Palel area well into June. The Indian 23rd Division had taken over the sector in May, and some of the most ferocious fighting at Imphal took place in the southwest corner, where General Yanagida’s 33rd Division had followed its drive up the Tiddim road by hooking around to cut the Imphal-Silchar trail. In a series of battles, the British held firm. There were further struggles in the south, but Slim’s men remained undaunted. With the failure of the Japanese 33rd Division’s thrust at Bishenpur, the tide turned in the IV Corps’ favor. Slim outlined the struggle along the perimeters of the plain in the following terms: “The fighting all around its circumference was continuous, fierce, and often confused as each side maneuvered to outwit and kill. There was always a Japanese thrust somewhere that had to be met and destroyed. Yet, the fighting did follow a pattern. The main encounters were on the spokes of the wheel, because it was only along these that guns, tanks, and vehicles could move.”

In retrospect, by the middle of May 1944 the Japanese had been thrown on the defensive at Kohima, and the British advance had begun along the Imphal-Kohima road. Around Imphal, danger from the north and east was unlikely. To the south and west, where the 33rd Division was being reinforced, there was still the prospect of a last attempt to secure victory by the Japanese. However, their ultimate failure was assured by the arrival of the monsoon season. The strain of the weather affected both sides, but Slim realized that he had to continue attacking at Imphal until the enemy had been defeated. It would not serve his purpose if the Japanese were allowed to slip away and retire to the far side of the Chindwin River.

On June 22, light tanks coming down from Kohima linked up with elements of the Indian 5th Division. The siege of Imphal was over, and as the monsoon rains poured down, the relentless pursuit of Mutaguchi’s army began. General Slim noted, “It was clear now, at the beginning of June, that on the Kohima front the enemy was breaking and pulling out as best he could.” At the same time, the British pushed forward from Imphal. While Japanese units deteriorated, individual enemy soldiers fought on stubbornly.

When the smoke had cleared in the Imphal-Kohima area, the Japanese had no delusions, declaring that “the disaster at Imphal was perhaps the worst of its kind yet chronicled in the annals of war.” When the offensive began, the Japanese Fifteenth Army had approximately 100,000 front-line soldiers, of whom 53,000 became casualties. The official figures show that 30,000 were killed in battle, while hundreds more died after the defeat became a rout, victims of sickness, malnutrition and exposure. Every tank and gun of Mutaguchi’s invading force was lost. A staggering 17,000 mules and pack ponies perished during the operation. As the Japanese feared, the Imphal Plain became the fountainhead of the successful British effort to retake Burma.

This article was written by Jonas L. Goldstein and originally appeared in the November 2001 issue of World War II.

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Tags: 20th - 21st Century, Historical Conflicts, World War II