Arakan campaign (1942–43)
Japanese conquest 1941/42
Bilin - Sittang - Pegu - Toungoo - Taukkyan - Yunnan-Burma - Shwedaung - Prome - Yenangyaung
1942/43
Arakan I - The Hump - Chindits
1944
Arakan II ( Ngakyedauk ) - U-gō ( Imphal - Sangshak - Tennis Court - Kohima ) - Myitkyina - Mountain Song
1944/45
Meiktila / Mandalay - Pokoku -
Arakan III ( Kangaw and height 170 - Ramree ) - Operation Dracula ( Elephant Point ) - Sittang
The First Arakan campaign from October 1942 to April 1943 was part of the Burma War in the Southeast Asian theater of war during World War II . The British-Indian troops' first major operation in Burma was against the Arakan coast . The Japanese defenders on the Mayu Peninsula, who held well-prepared positions, repeatedly repelled the attacks of the vastly outnumbered Allied troops, who had no frontline experience, in four months of fighting. The British-Indian army, whose supply was also becoming increasingly difficult, was forced to retreat by a Japanese counter-attack.
prehistory
In November 1941, the commander of the called Japanese troops in Burma to this, the cutting off the Burma Road to forge ahead and the conquest of Rangoon and the local nationalism to promote against the British. Burma also had an oil field near Yenangyaung that was to be captured. The commanders of the two Japanese armies designated to carry out the operation against Burma have been informed of this decision. The 15th Army ( 33rd and 55th Division ) under Lieutenant General Iida Shōjirō was planned for the conquest of Burma . The Japanese began their advance on Rangoon on December 23, 1941, and the city fell into Japanese hands on March 6, 1942. By April 29, 1942, the end point of the Burma Road at Lashio was cut off, with the Japanese falling into their hands with 44,000 tons of Allied war material. The important transport hub Myitkyina was also occupied.
The Allies had to withdraw completely from Burma by May 1942 , accompanied by many Indian and Anglo-Burmese refugees. The onset of the monsoon and supply difficulties led to the termination of the Japanese operations on the Chindwin River in June . The loss of the Burma Road deprived the Allies of their ability to bring sufficient supplies for the Chinese national troops to China ( Yünnan ).
The British India Command feared the Japanese would attack again after the end of the monsoons, so the British Commander-in-Chief urged Lieutenant General Wavell to counterattack to protect India. The headquarters of the Indian East Army in Assam province under Lieutenant General Charles Broad was in Ranchi ( Bihar ). The subordinate units consisted of the IV. Corps (Lieutenant General Noel Irwin ) in Manipur and the XV. Corps, (since June 9, 1942 under Lieutenant General William Slim ) which had been newly formed in Barrackpore near Calcutta . The headquarters for the organization of supplies and the command of the air operations against Burma was also located in Calcutta. The XV. Corps (Lieutenant General Slim) had the 14th Indian (Light) Division, which was stationed around Chittagong and the Indian 26th Division, which had been set up in the eastern Ganges Delta . The 14th (light) division was recruited from Quetta in Balochistan and was originally intended to be part of the Allied forces in Iraq and Persia . It was fully trained and equipped, but this division lacked the necessary training for the imminent jungle war in northern Burma . In July 1942 General Broad retired and Lieutenant General Noel Irwin was appointed commander of the British Eastern Army in Assam. The British Commander in Chief decided that the headquarters of the Eastern Army should be relocated to Barrackpur.
After the places Yenangyaung, Mjingjan, Monywa and Schwengijn had to be abandoned, Kalewa was also occupied by Japanese troops on May 11th. The Japanese 213rd Regiment brought up here (from the 33rd Division) took over the security in the Arakan region after taking part in the occupation of Rangoon with two battalions. General Miyawaki's troops pursued the enemy, who had returned to Chittagong via Bawli, and occupied a line in the north of the Mayu peninsula north of the road from Maungdaw to Buthidaung, and Akyab island was also occupied. The main supply route consisted of a disused railway line that had been converted into a road connecting Buthidaung to Maungdaw Harbor on the west coast of the peninsula.
First campaign to Arakan
General Archibald Wavell , the British Commander in Chief in India , signed the order to attack (Operation Cannibal) for a counter-offensive on September 17, 1942. Before the planned attacks on the coast of Arakan were possible, the communication and supply routes had to be completely improved and reorganized. On the nearby coast of Arakan, it was believed that the land could still be replenished, so that military action from Bengal could be dared. Wavell's operational goal was to capture the Maju Peninsula and Akyab Island , which was an important airfield that the Japanese could use. The allied counterattack was originally planned for September 1942, due to the monsoon season and the bad roads, but the start of the offensive was delayed until mid-October 1942. Akyab Island, which was south of the Mayu Peninsula, was originally supposed to be an amphibious attack by the British 6th 3rd Brigade (Indian 2nd Divisions), while the 47th and 55th Brigades of Indian 14th Divisions were to advance on the Mayu Peninsula. Akyab had a port and an airfield that were needed as a replenishment base for the Allied plans. Combat and transport aircraft could operate from Akyab within a radius of 400 km, covering most of central Burma, and medium-sized bombers from here could reach Rangoon, which was 530 km away. The Mayu Ranges was a narrow, but steep and overgrown chain of hills that separated the narrow coastal plain from the fertile valley of the Kalapanzin River (upper reaches of the Mayu River, from Buthidaung).
Allied advance
The Indian 14th Division under Major General Wilfrid Lewis Lloyd began to advance south on December 17, 1942 at Tumbru across the Burmese border. Opposite were only two battalions of the Japanese 213rd Regiment and a mountain artillery battalion under the command of Colonel Kosuke Miyawaki . The third battalion of the 213rd regiment was advancing from Pakokku , where it had been sent from central Burma, where it had previously formed the reserve. Lloyd's troops crossed the Maungdaw-Buthidaung line on December 22nd, and the Japanese rearguards retreated south without a fight. Although the foremost Japanese unit (the 2nd Battalion under Major Isagoda) of the 213rd Regiment had worked on the defensive positions on the Maungdaw-Buthidaung road for 50 days, orders were given to withdraw without a fight in order to be deployed in the south of the Mayu Peninsula. The Indian 14th Division was to reach Foul Point on the southern Mayu Peninsula and then prepare for the landing of the British 6th Brigade via the narrow channel that separated Akyab from the peninsula. The planned amphibious part of the operation had to be abandoned because the 72 landing craft promised by Admiral James Sommerville were not available in time and the Indian 29th Brigade, serving as a reserve, was relocated to Madagascar. On December 28, Major Isagoda’s Japanese combat group occupied Rathedaung and prevented the Indian 123rd Brigade from attempting to take the place along the eastern bank of the Mayu River via Hitzwe.
The allied supply line from Chittagong got longer and longer: From the sea first to the coast at Cox's Bazaar, from there by truck to Tumbru, with small prams over the Naf to Bawli and then finally with pack animals to Mayu. General Miyawaki had orders to go back through the Mayu Peninsula to Donbaik, to concentrate his troops from there on the east bank of the Mayu River to Rathedaung and to set up positions. The Japanese had built well-covered and mutually covering bunkers made of wood and earth, this line was covered by the Bach Chaung with a bank up to 2.7 meters high. While Miyawaki's remaining troops secured Akyab, a single Japanese company occupied the 1.6 kilometer front between the sea and the foothills of the Mayu Range north of Donbaik. General Miyawaki had orders with his 213rd regiment to keep the Rathedaung-Laung Tschaung-Donbaik line firm until reinforcements from the 55th Division arrived.
Between January 7 and 9, 1943, the Indian 47th Infantry Brigade attacked this line, but was repulsed. The Japanese bunker positions withstood the opposing weak field artillery almost unscathed and when the Indian infantry reached the bunkers, the defenders could rely on their own mortar fire. On January 9th and 10th, British-Indian attacks on Rathedaung were repulsed.
On January 10th, Generals Wavell and Irwin appeared on the front lines and criticized Lloyd for having dispersed his troops too widely and lacking strength on the Akyab coast. General Irwin announced the addition of the 50th Indian Armored Brigade (Brigadier General George Todd), still part of the XV. Corps in Ranchi was. General Slim protested that a full regiment (more than 50 tanks) would not be required for this task, but he was outvoted. General Miyawaki, defending on the Mayu Peninsula, was informed by the commander of the 15th Army, General Iida, that the Japanese 55th Division had been sent to Arakan as reinforcement from central Burma.
On February 1, India's 55th Brigade, supported by 8 Valentine tanks , attacked the Donbaik position. Some of the tanks got stuck in the enemy trenches, others were knocked out by Japanese grenades. The brigade's attack subsequently failed. Another attack by the Indian 123rd Brigade on Rathedaung two days later briefly gained some important positions, but the brigade could not hold on and had to withdraw again from Japanese counter-attacks. Force V, operating in the Kaladan River valley, threatened Japanese communications and warned the British of the large number of Japanese who were now approaching the operations room. Lieutenant General Takeshi Koga , commander of the 55th Division, took over tactical leadership on the Arakan mainland at the end of February 1943. Koga had opened a marching road across the sea from Taungub to Akyab and had enough supplies and immediately took the initiative.
Japanese counterattacks in early March to mid-May 1943
From March 1943, the Burma Regional Army was set up under the command of Lieutenant General Kawabe Masakazu , a battle-tested and well-armed unit whose headquarters were in Rangoon. The troops of the Japanese 15th Army were soon reinforced by the 28th Army under Lieutenant General Shozo Sakurai and the 33rd Army under Lieutenant General Masaki Honda . In addition, a Thai Northwest Corps and national Indian troops soon fought on the side of the Japanese troops in Burma.
In the following counterattack, the Miywaki Combat Group (a battalion and a mountain artillery division) was deployed against the enemy troops in the Kalandan Valley. From February 21st to March 7th, 1943, the counterattack cleared the Kaladan valley as far as Kyauktaw. The combat group Tanashashi (two battalions and one mountain regiment) was assigned to advance north in the Rathedaung area. The aim was to hold on to Donbaik and encircle the Allied brigades standing on the eastern bank of the Maya River.
In the first week of March, the 3rd Battalion of the Japanese Regiment No. 213 crossed the Mayu River and attacked the Indian 55th Brigade, forcing them to retreat. This success isolated India's 47th Brigade north of Rathedaung. On March 10th, General Slim was ordered by the High Command to report on the situation in Arakan, although the headquarters of his XV. Corps was not yet responsible for the front there. Slim reported that India's 14th Division, despite having many brigades, was unable to control its own front. The morale of some units, especially the West Indian regiments, was demoralized, but General Irwin had made no changes at this point. Despite the growing threat on the left flank of India's 14th Division, General Irwin demanded that another attack be made on Donbaik, which the freshly trained British 6th Brigade should lead. For the next attack on Donbaik, General Lloyd had regrouped his troops and was planning to attack the Indian 71st Brigade in a flanking movement along the Mayu Range. By then, Irwin had already lost confidence in Lloyd and his brigadiers and was devising the next plan of attack himself. He diverted the 71st Brigade into the Mayu Valley and ordered the British 6th Brigade, with a strength of six battalions, to attack a narrow section on March 18. Some sections of the Japanese 55th Division had already strengthened the Donbaik defenders. Despite heavy artillery support, the 6th Brigade was unable to cope with the Japanese bunkers and lost 300 men.
On the evening of March 24th, General Koga received air support from the Japanese 5th Air Force Division. The Tanahashi group tracked north and set up a containment group to the west. While the Japanese combat group "Uno" (regiment 143) advanced north along the Mayu Valley on April 3, the combat group "Tanahashi" (regiment 112) crossed the Mayu ridge, which British officers considered impassable. The British 6th Brigade had successfully withdrawn along the beach, on April 5 and 6 the left wing was able to occupy Idin on the Maya coast, the Indian 47th Brigade was cut off. The headquarters of the British 6th Brigade was caught by surprise, Brigadier Ronald Cavendish was accidentally killed by British artillery fire. On March 25, Lloyd ordered the encircled Indian 47th Brigade, despite Irwin's instructions, to hold out until the onset of the monsoons and only then to go back over the Mayu Range. General Irwin dismissed Lloyd on March 29th and personally assumed command of the 14th Division until the Indian 26th Division headquarters under the command of Major General Cyril Lomax could take command. The 47th Indian Brigade was forced to retreat across the Mayu Range in small groups and surrender their equipment
On April 15, General Slim received the supreme command, the headquarters of the Indian XV. Corps took the lead on the Arakan Front. Although the British 6th Brigade was still able to fight despite its weakness, Slim was concerned about the condition of the other troops, who were demoralized. He and General Lomax expected the Japanese to try to get back on Maungdaw Buthidaung Street next. While the British 6th Brigade was defending the coastal plain, eight British and Indian battalions were deployed to stop the Japanese when they approached the road. All Allied counter-attacks failed, parts of the British and Indian troops in Buthidaung and in the Kalapanzintal were cut off.
At the end of April, the Japanese advanced north, as Slim had predicted. They encountered stiff resistance on the flanks at Kanthe and instead advanced to the center. On May 4, Slim dispatched two Indian battalions to free a cut battalion that was holding at Hill 551. With no other route for motor vehicles across the Mayu Range, they were forced to destroy their supply train before retreating north of the valley. Irwin ordered that Maungdaw at least be held, but Slim and Lomax decided that the port could not be organized for a siege. They also feared that the exhausted forces of India's 26th Division were not determined enough to defend the port. On May 11th, Maungdaw was given up and the XV. Corps went back to Cox's bazaar. By May 11, 1943, General Koga managed to reach Maungdaw-Buthidaung Street. The onset of the monsoon, which in Arakan had about 6100 mm of precipitation per year, prevented the Japanese from building on their successes.
consequences
The average British and Indian soldier was not trained to fight in the jungle which, along with the general defeat, hurt morale. In some cases it has been found that victim substitutes reinforcements have not even received basic training.
As a result of the defeat, there were many changes in the higher Allied commands: Wavell was appointed Viceroy of India and General Claude Auchinleck became the new Commander-in-Chief of the British-Indian Army. Lieutenant General Irwin tried to the last to get Slim out of command of the XV. To push the Corps, however, himself was released from command of the Eastern Army and returned to England sick. Irwin's successor, General George Giffard , focused on restoring morale and improving training. The first guerrilla operation of the Chindits under Brigadier Orde Wingate in the Japanese hinterland came to an end around this time and their successes were widely publicized in order to mitigate the bad news from the area of operations in Arakan. In August 1943, the commander of the 15th Army , Lieutenant General Iida, was replaced by General Mutaguchi Renya , the previous commander of the 18th Division. The Indian army was reorganized to prepare for the fight in Northern Burma and to attack again in the Arakan area in the following two years.
literature
- Eddy Bauer: The Hell of Burma , Encyclopedia of the Second World War, Lectureama series, Rotterdam 1978, p. 56 f.
- Daniel Marston: The War in Burma 1942–1945 - The Indian Army in the Two World Wars, pp. 255–283. ISBN 9789004211452
- Frank McLynn: The Burma Campaign: Disaster into Triumph 1942–45 , Vintage Publisher London 2011
- Raymond Callahan: Burma 1942-1945 , Delaware Press Newark 1978.