[4] On most parts of the front, roads and other lines of communications had to be improved or built from scratch before attacks could be considered, a task which would take at least a year, but on the Arakan front, distances were comparatively short and the necessary communications could theoretically be completed by the time the monsoon ended. V Force warned the British of the large numbers of Japanese approaching the battlefield. It unexpectedly found itself in control of a very large rear communications area, and the troops on the frontier with Burma, roles for which it had not prepared in peacetime. Second World War. Counter-attacks failed and the British and Indian troops in Buthidaung and the Kalapanzin valley were cut off. Eventualaj ŝanĝoj en la angla originalo estos kaptitaj per regulaj retradukoj. The setting for the 1943 Arakan campaign can be found in the Despatches sent to the Secretary of State for War on 27 September 1943 by Field Marshal The Viscount Wavell GCB CMG MC ADC, Commander-in-Chief, India: ‘Early in autumn I set on foot preparations for a sea-borne expedition to recapture Akyab. The Battle Honour YENANGYAUNwas awarded for actions at Yenangyaun during the defence of Burma in 1942 and the distinction BURMA 1942-43, a Theatre Honour, for actions throughout the period 1942-43 that included the Arakan Campaign in 1943. Both Slim and the brigade commander (Brigadier George Todd) protested that a complete regiment (of 50 or more tanks) would be required, but they were overruled. Lloyd asked for tanks to deal with the bunkers. While most of Miyawaki's remaining troops occupied Akyab, a single Japanese company occupied the narrow front between the sea and the foothills of the Mayu Range 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Donbaik, protected by a chaung (a tidal creek) with steep banks 9 feet (2.7 m) high. The Burma campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily by British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces against the forces of Imperial Japan, who were assisted to some degree by Thailand, the Burmese National Army and the Indian National Army. [17] The 47th Indian Brigade was forced to retreat across the Mayu Range in small parties, abandoning all its equipment and ceasing to exist as a fighting force. It was not equipped to handle this enormous responsibility. In 1948, Arakan became part of the newly independent Union of Burma (later renamed as Myanmar) and the three districts became Arakan Division. The Arakan Campaign of 1942–1943 was the first tentative Allied attack into Burma, following the Japanese conquest of Burma earlier in 1942. On 28 December, the "Isagoda Battalion" occupied Rathedaung and forestalled the attempt by the 123rd Indian Infantry Brigade to capture the town. Burma Campaign WW2 1961 old map - T2JPXD from Alamy's library of millions of high … Although the Japanese halted their advance on the Chindwin River (mainly because the heavy monsoon rains descended at this point and made the roads and tracks through the mountainous frontier between India and Burma impassable), the Allies (in particular the British India Command) feared that they would attack again after the monsoon ended. For the next assault on Donbaik, Lloyd planned to use the 71st Indian Brigade in a flanking move along the spine of the Mayu Range, but by this time, Irwin had lost confidence in Lloyd and his brigadiers, and laid down the plan of attack himself. Rathedaung. Eastern Army HQ would move to Barrackpur and take direct command of the Arakan offensive, while XV Corps HQ moved to Ranchi to restore order in Bihar, and raise and train fresh divisions for later combat in Burma.[6]. Giffard concentrated on restoring the Army's morale and improving its state of health and training. Territorial Dispossession and Persecution in North Arakan (Rakhine), 1942-43. [4] On most parts of the front, roads and other lines of communications had to be improved or built from scratch before attacks could be considered, a task which would take at least a year, but on the Arakan front, distances were comparatively short and the necessary communications could theoretically be completed by the time the monsoon ended. The 26 Indian Infantry Division was formed in the Calcutta area March 1942. The Indian Army establishment was reorganised to concentrate on fighting the Burma campaign, with success in the following two years. The Arakan Campaign of 1942–1943 was the first tentative Allied attack into Burma, following the Japanese conquest of Burma earlier in 1942. 2nd Arakan Campaign 1943-44: British XV Indian Corps aimed for Akyab (Sittwe) which had become a major port (& airfield.) Irwin rescinded Lloyd's order and dismissed Lloyd on 29 March, taking command of the 14th Division in person until the headquarters of the Indian 26th Division, commanded by Major-General Cyril Lomax, could take over.[16]. The road used as supply routes were inadequate, and there were insufficient landing craft and small ships as an alternative. Although the British 6th Brigade was still formidable in spite of its recent defeats, Slim was concerned that the other troops on the front were tired and demoralised. Instead, it was planned that once 14th Division had reached Foul Point at the extreme southern end of the Mayu peninsula, it would improvise an attack by the British 6th Brigade across the narrow channel which separated Akyab Island from the peninsula. However, I’ve no idea what this may have been. It unexpectedly found itself in control of a very large rear communications area, and the troops on the frontier with Burma, roles for which it had not prepared in peacetime. Irwin, Slim and other officers were frank about the chief cause of failure in the Arakan. As part of a general shuffle of the senior appointments in the Allied, British and Indian armies about this time, Wavell became Viceroy of India and General Claude Auchinleck became Commander in Chief in India. The 14th Indian Division, commanded by Major General Wilfrid Lewis Lloyd, began advancing south from Cox's Bazaar near the frontier between India and Burma, on 17 December 1942. Meet The Squander Bug. The Japanese defending the Arakan front were "Miyawaki Force". Note that the colours of blue and yellow are conjectural. While most of Miyawaki's remaining troops occupied Akyab, a single Japanese company occupied the narrow front between the sea and the foothills of the Mayu Range 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Donbaik, protected by a chaung (a tidal creek) with steep banks 9 feet (2.7 m) high. Books. [5] In fact, the time required to improve the poor roads in the region delayed the start of the offensive until mid-December 1942. The 14th (Light) Division had been raised at Quetta in Baluchistan and was originally intended to form part of the Allied forces in Iraq and Persia. At this point, Miyawaki was informed that another division, the Japanese 55th Division, less a regiment which was serving in western New Guinea, had been dispatched from Central Burma to Arakan. The monsoon rains also descended at this point (Arakan receives 200 in (5,100 mm) per annum), dissuading the Japanese from following up their successes. This article includes a list ... Arakan Campaign 1942–1943; Part of the Burma Campaign: Royal Indian Navy landing craft carry Indian troops along a tributary of the Kaladan. [5] In fact, the time required to improve the poor roads in the region delayed the start of the offensive until mid-December 1942. General Archibald Wavell, the Commander in Chief in India, was making plans to mount offensives into Burma even as Allied troops were retreating into India. The Government of India and the state governments of the eastern provinces of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa faced widespread disorder and a growing famine which would eventually become the disastrous Bengal famine of 1943. Irwin in turn demanded a single troop of tanks from 50th Indian Tank Brigade, part of Slim's XV Corps at Ranchi. Despatch by Field Marshal The Viscount Wavell on operations in the India Command from 1st January 1943 to 20th June 1943. The only permanently established route across the range was a disused railway track, converted into a road, which linked Buthidaung with the port of Maungdaw on the west coast of the peninsula. Nevertheless, he and Lomax anticipated that the Japanese would next try to capture the Maungdaw-Buthidaung road and planned to surround and destroy them. Arakan (Rakhine), 1942-43 Jacques Leider To cite this version: Jacques Leider. The Japanese invasion of Burma was the opening phase of the Burma campaign in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II, which took place over four years from 1942 to 1945. [10] Lloyd's division captured the road on 22 December. 3. It was not equipped to handle this enormous responsibility. At one point, 14th Indian Division HQ was controlling no less than nine infantry brigades (instead of the usual three) and a large line of communications area. It was fully formed and equipped but lacked training, particularly in jungle warfare. The monsoon rains also descended at this point (Arakan receives 200 in (5,100 mm) per annum), dissuading the Japanese from following up their successes. The division's commander was Lieutenant General Takeshi Koga. In the first week of March, the third battalion of the Japanese 213th Regiment crossed the Mayu River and attacked Indian 55th Brigade, forcing it to retreat. The headquarters of Eastern Army, under Lieutenant General Charles Broad, were at Ranchi in Bihar. They captured the village of Indin, where they also overran the headquarters of British 6th Brigade and captured its commander, Brigadier Ronald Cavendish. It was fully formed and equipped but lacked training, particularly in jungle warfare. On 4 May as Slim prepared to order two Indian battalions to surround the Japanese, a British battalion defending a hill referred to as Point 551 gave way, allowing the Japanese to cut the Maungdaw-Buthidaung road. They captured the village of Indin, where they also overran the headquarters of British 6th Brigade and captured its commander, Brigadier Ronald Cavendish. 1st Arakan Campaign 1942-43 British (w. Indian, local troops) attacked, Japanese reinforced, British retreated to India. Official Japanese figures in Allen (1984), p.113, List of female United States Air Force generals, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, World War II operations and battles of the Southeast Asia Theatre, Battles and operations of World War II involving India, Battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom, Military history of India during World War II, Military history of Burma during World War II, https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Arakan_Campaign_1942–43?oldid=3968898. The Government of India and the state governments of the eastern provinces of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa faced widespread disorder and a growing famine which would eventually become the disastrous Bengal famine of 1943. It was originally planned in September 1942 that Akyab would be taken by an amphibious assault launched by the British 29th Brigade, while the 14th Indian Division mounted a subsidiary advance down the Mayu peninsula. XV Corps in turn commanded 14th Indian (Light) Division which was stationed around Chittagong and faced the Burmese coastal province of Arakan, and the 26th Indian Infantry Division in the Ganges Delta. [9] Although the forward unit (the second battalion of the 213th Regiment, known as "Isagoda battalion" after its commander) had spent fifty days digging defensive positions to cover the Maungdaw-Buthidaung road, they were ordered to pull back to join the main body of the force near the tip of the Mayu peninsula. Some of the tanks became stuck in ditches, while others were knocked out by Japanese shellfire; the brigade's attack subsequently failed. 37728). Date: December 1942 – May 1943: Location: Arakan, western Burma. ↑ 611 killed, 1,165 wounded (estimated), per official Japanese figures. From the 1950s, there was a growing movement for secession and restoration of Arakan … On 10 March, Lieutenant General Slim had been ordered to report on the situation in Arakan, although it was not yet intended that XV Corps headquarters take charge of the front. The island had been captured by the Imperial Japanese Army in early 1942, along with the rest of Southern Burma. Arakan Campaign 1942–43 From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. Arakan Campaign 1942–43. The British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from the United Kingdom, British India and Africa. The island lay at the end of the Mayu Peninsula. Both left the 26th Division immediately following the end of the First Arakan Campaign. They met stiff resistance on the flanks and advanced instead in the centre. While the British 6th Brigade defended the coastal plain, eight British and Indian battalions were deployed to encircle the Japanese as they neared the road at a point where two tunnels carried it through the Mayu range. Although the Japanese halted their advance on the Chindwin River (mainly because the heavy monsoon rains descended at this point and made the roads and tracks through the mountainous frontier between India and Burma impassable), the Allies (in particular the British India Command) feared that they would attack again after the monsoon ended. The Arakan Campaign of 1942 –43 was the first tentative Allied attack into Burma, following the Japanese conquest of Burma earlier in 1942, during the Second ... Burma campaign 1944–45. Cavendish was killed shortly afterwards, probably by British artillery fire as the British guns opened fire on Indin to cover the troops withdrawing to the north. Some of the Japanese 55th Division had reinforced the defenders of Donbaik, and in spite of heavy artillery support the Brigade also was unable to deal with the bunkers and suffered 300 casualties. The first Chindit raid under Brigadier Orde Wingate concluded about this time, and its successes were widely publicised to counter the depressing news from the Arakan. The bunkers could not be penetrated by field artillery, and if British or Indian infantry reached the bunkers, the defenders could call down artillery and mortar fire on their own position. He informed Lieutenant General Slim that the headquarters of Eastern Army and XV Corps were to exchange places for the offensive. The British Army and British Indian Army were not ready for offensive actions in the difficult terrain they encountered, nor had the civil government, industry and transport infrastructure of Eastern India been organised to support the Army on the frontier with Burma. They constructed well-concealed and mutually supporting bunkers of timber and earth. General Archibald Wavell, the Commander in Chief in India, was making plans to mount offensives into Burma even as Allied troops were retreating into India. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting. Drafts of reinforcements sent to replace casualties were found in some cases to have not even completed basic training. [20] There were several contributing factors. Burma campaign. During February, it cleared detachments of the British irregular V Force from the valley of the Kaladan River, where they had been threatening the Japanese lines of communication. Irwin ordered Maungdaw at least to be held but Slim and Lomax decided that the port was not prepared for a siege and that Japanese artillery could dominate the Naf River on which the port stood, preventing reinforcements and supplies reaching it. [15], On 25 March, Lloyd ordered the isolated 47th Indian Brigade to fall back across the Mayu Range, despite Irwin's instructions to hold all ground until the monsoon. The Japanese defending the Arakan front were "Miyawaki Force". File:japanese conquest of central burma april 1942 jpg japanese wikipedia siege myitkyina arakan campaign 43 wiki everipedia File:Japanese conquest of Central Burma April 1942 jpg Source: commons.wikimedia.org They also feared that the exhausted troops which 26th Indian Division had inherited could not be relied upon to defend the port resolutely. Slim reported to Irwin that with so many brigades to command, 14th Indian Division was unable to control the front. While the British 6th Brigade defended the coastal plain, eight British and Indian battalions were deployed to encircle the Japanese as they neared the road at a point where two tunnels carried it through the Mayu range. [13] However, Irwin made no changes at this point. Its fighting formations were the IV Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General Noel Irwin, at Imphal in Manipur, and the newly formed XV Corps, commanded from 9 June 1942 by Lieutenant General William Slim, with its headquarters at Barrackpore, near Calcutta. [20] There were several contributing factors. Irwin, Slim and other officers were frank about the chief cause of failure in the Arakan. Following their defeats at Donbaik, the Indian 47th and 55th Brigades had been moved east of the Mayu Range. ↑ Includes 916 killed and 4,141 wounded/missing during the Arakan Campaign 1942–43, and 818 killed/captured and 600 wounded to the point of being unfit for service in the Chindit raids. During February, it cleared detachments of the British irregular V Force from the valley of the Kaladan River, where they had been threatening the Japanese lines of communication. Japanese defenders occupying well-prepared positions repeatedly repulsed the British and Indian forces, who were then forced to retreat when the Japanese received reinforcements and counter-attacked. The Indian Army establishment was reorganised to concentrate on fighting the Burma campaign, with success in the following two years. His replacement at Eastern Army was General George Giffard, a very different character from the abrasive Irwin. On 1 February, 55th Indian Infantry Brigade, supported by only eight Valentine tanks, attacked the Donbaik position. The road used as supply routes were inadequate, and there were insufficient landing craft and small ships as an alternative. The third battalion of the Japanese 213th Regiment had been sent to Arakan from Pakokku in Central Burma, where it had been in reserve, ahead of the 55th Division. [18], In late April, the Japanese attacked northwards, as Slim and Lomax had predicted. The 1st Battalion had arrived in India in October 1938 and was stationed in Wellington, South India. This was exacerbated by poor administration in the rear areas in India. As there was no other route for motor vehicles across the Mayu Range, they were forced to destroy their transport before retreating north up the valley.[19]. Rakhine (Arakan) was the site of many battles during the Second World War, most notably the Arakan Campaign 1942–43 and the Battle of Ramree Island. The third battalion of the Japanese 213th Regiment had been sent to Arakan from Pakokku in Central Burma, where it had been in reserve, ahead of the 55th Division. [18], In late April, the Japanese attacked northwards, as Slim and Lomax had predicted. His replacement at Eastern Army was General George Giffard, a very different character from the abrasive Irwin. In May 1942, the Allies retreated from Burma, accompanied by many refugees, mainly Indian and Anglo-Burmese. Morale was low in some units, reflected in unnecessary panics. Listen to the audio pronunciation of Arakan Campaign 1943-1944 on pronouncekiwi How To Pronounce Arakan Campaign 1943-1944: Arakan Campaign 1943-1944 pronunciation Sign in to disable ALL ads.