Battle of the Sittang Bridge

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Battle of the Sittang Bridge
date February 19, 1942 to February 23, 1942
place Burma , Sittang
output Japanese victory
Parties to the conflict

United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom of British India ( Indian Army )
British IndiaBritish India 

Japanese EmpireJapanese Empire Japanese Empire

Commander

John Smyth

Iida Shōjirō

Troop strength
A weakened division Two regiments

The battle of the Sittang Bridge took place from February 19 to 23, 1942 during the Burma campaign in World War II as part of the Pacific War . It ended with a decisive victory for the Japanese and heavy losses for the Allies , who had to withdraw in disorder.

prehistory

On January 16, 1942, the Japanese army advanced from Thailand into southern Burma and captured Victoria Point with a battalion , where the first Japanese airfield was built on Burmese soil. The city of Tavoy fell on January 19th. It was no longer possible for the British division in Mergui to escape overland. They chose the sea route. With this retreat of the British, the Japanese fell into the hands of three more airfields, from which they launched the first air raids on Rangoon .

The actual invading forces of the Japanese advanced from Raheng into Burma. The 16th Indian Brigade in Kawkareik was ousted from the town by January 22nd. She fled to an area west of Moulmein . The two commanders Brigadier John Smyth of the 17th Indian Infantry Division and Lieutenant General Thomas Jacomb Hutton , Commander in Chief of the Burma Army, had different views on the country's defense. While Smyth wanted to retreat to the Sittang River and strengthen the fighting strength of his troops there in better surroundings, Hutton decided that any piece of land was too precious to retreat. Hutton prevailed and Smyth had to assign a battalion for the defense of Moulmein, also on the orders of Archibald Wavell . Moulmein fell on January 31st and the battalion had to flee. Smyth again asked to retreat to the Sittang River, but Hutton insisted on holding the line on the Bilin River. After two days, however, the line of defense had to be abandoned and the remaining elements of the 17th Indian Division set out for the bridge over the Sittang about 50 km away.

The battle

Aerial view of the bridge

The bridge over the Sittang was an impressive, about 550 m long, iron construction near the place Mokpalin , over which the railway line from Peku, today's Bago , to Thaton ran. Farther south, a small ferry that could barely accommodate an ox cart crossed the river.

The 17th Indian Infantry Division, which was in retreat after the Battle of the Bilin River , had received clearance on February 19 to move across the Sittang. At night the exhausted soldiers were able to move almost 50 km west of the Japanese. Two Japanese regiments, however, advanced quickly over their flank in order to cut them off before reaching the bridge. On February 21, additional Japanese air strikes began on the 17th Indian Infantry Division, which suffered mainly from severe water shortages. With the abandonment of many vehicles and material as well as many wounded, they continued to search their way towards the bridge over the Sittang. At around 5:00 p.m., the headquarters near Kyaikto came under fire from the Japanese, but they were repulsed. Meanwhile, the first units began to cross the bridge. Since Smyth feared an intervention of Japanese airborne troops, he ordered a Gurkha - Regiment to the west side of the bridge. In the meantime the first Japanese soldiers had reached the eastern area in front of the bridge and began with heavy fire, which killed several Indian medics at the end of the bridge. After two Gurkha regiments arrived there, a fierce battle for the bridge broke out in the nearby jungle. At dusk on February 22nd, the bridge was still in British-Indian hands.

Smyth now faced a difficult decision. If he brought the 17th Indian Infantry Division completely to the west side of the Sittang, there was no way to destroy the bridge and the Japanese had a free way to Rangoon. On the other hand, if the bridge was blown up, he had to leave many of his own men on the “wrong” side of the Sittang. Its pioneers had already laid the charges and several British units were still on their way to the eastern end of the bridge. Some had been cut off by Japanese air strikes, others by Japanese flank attacks in the jungle. The hotly contested Pagoda Hill right by the bridge changed fronts several times. The fight became more and more confusing. More and more access routes to the bridge were blocked by the Japanese and two British brigades were stuck near Mokpalin, without communication and with burning vehicles. The individual soldiers now tried to get through to the bridge on their own.

After the Japanese had reached the bridge on the railway tracks on the east side, the British had hardly any ammunition left and holding the bridge seemed impossible, Smyth gave the order to detonate it at 5:30 a.m. on February 23. The men who stayed behind had no choice but to swim the Sittang, which some managed to do. Others were shot or captured by the Japanese while trying to reach the river.

consequences

After the battle, the 17th Indian Infantry Division consisted of only 3484 soldiers, about 40% of their original strength, which at that time was already below target . It would have been easy for the Japanese to completely destroy the division , but a quick advance on Rangoon was more important to them. The blown bridge could be repaired by the Japanese within only six hours. When crossing towards Rangoon, the Japanese carried a third of the material left behind by the British. After minor battles such as the Battle of Pegu and the Battle of the Taukkyan Roadblock , Rangoon fell on March 8th.

The 17th Indian Infantry Division, which had been supplemented and re-armed with new soldiers, remained in contact with the enemy until July 1944 and was only withdrawn from the front shortly before the Battle of Imphal .

Brigadier Smyth, who had to make the difficult decision to demolish it early and thereby sacrificed hundreds of his own men, was relieved of his command and replaced by Brigadier David Tennant Cowan . Smyth received no further active command in the further course of the war.

credentials

  1. ↑ US Army in WWII - Chronology 1941–1945 , Center of Military History United States Army, Washington DC, 1989, p. 18
  2. ↑ Rickard, J. (September 2, 2009), Japanese conquest of Burma, December 1941-May 1942 , under: Japanese conquest of Burma, December 1941-May 1942
  3. ↑ a b c d Battle Studies: SITTANG DISASTER , under: TETAP29 is a page that was compiled by employees of the Malay Army. ( Memento from January 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive )

literature

Web links