Battle for Meiktila and Mandalay

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The battle for Mandalay and Meiktila from February to March 1945 took place in central Burma during the Second World War . The British Indian 14th Army attacked the numerically weaker Japanese 15th and 33rd Armies along the Irrawaddy River and was able to occupy Meiktila and Mandalay .

prehistory

Burma campaign June 1944-May 1945

The defeat of Imphal and Kohima scratched the nimbus of the Japanese troops. With the end of the monsoons in 1944, the moment came for the British to return to Burma to liberate Mandalay and to connect with the American and Chinese fighters in order to reopen the Burma Road . The Japanese losses in Burma in 1944 were disastrous, but mostly due to disease. In Yunnan District , Japan's 33rd Army (Lieutenant General Masaki Honda ) was subjected to strong pressure from the Chinese National Army . On September 1, 1944, Lieutenant General Kimura Heitarō was appointed as the successor to Lieutenant General Kawabe Masakazu as the new commander of the Burma Regional Army . Lieutenant General Shinichi Tanaka was appointed chief of staff appointed by the Regional Army Burma and was responsible for the operations. The Japanese 28th Army (Lieutenant General Shōzō Sakurai ) had orders to stop the Allies with only two divisions on the coast of Arakan to 56 kilometers north of Kyaukpyu. While the 54th Division to the Indian XV. Corps should move the route, the 55th Division had to be relocated to secure the Irrawaddy Delta. Otherwise there was a risk that the lines of retreat of the Japanese 15th Army between Meiktila and Rangoon would be cut off. The 15th Army (Lieutenant General Katamura Shihachi ) and 33rd Army were then to jointly withstand the Allied superiority on the eastern bank of the Irrawady river. The 33rd Army, deployed to the north, was supposed to stop the Chinese forces trying to open the land route from India to China. The Japanese 15th Army awaited the attack in the direction of Mandalay or Minangyang. The 15th division concentrated at Madaya, the 31st division at Myinmu and the 33rd division at Mingyan-Pakokku.

Operation Extended Capital

General William Slim

The Allied Southeast Asia Command planned to retake Burma as early as June 1944. The British Indian 14th Army under Lieutenant General William Slim was to lead an offensive directly into central Burma from the north in order to conquer the country. The operation, which should first reach Mandalay in central Burma, was initially codenamed Operation Capital , later the pursuit of Rangoon was considered and the company was renamed Operation Extended Capital . Of the five participating divisions of the 14th Army, only the 2nd division consisted of British soldiers, the majority were Indian troops . The British soldiers who had fought in the Battle of Kohima and were pursuing the Japanese army were now fighting with full confidence again. The 14th Army also had many American tanks, the 254th Panzer Brigade had mostly M3 Lee and Grant tanks and was assigned to the XXXIII. Corps, the 255th Panzer Brigade had Sherman tanks and was assigned to IV Corps. In support of the offensive of the 14th Army, the XV. Corps (General Christison ) in the coastal province of Arakan . The corps was also ordered to capture or re-establish airfields on the coast and offshore islands that would be supplied by sea in order to be able to supply Slim's troops from there.

The Allied air superiority was overwhelming with 1200 aircraft: the Air Command 221 of the Royal Air Force under Air-Vice-Marshall SF Vincent supported the ground forces in the following campaign with 4360 flights of B-25 Mitchell bombers, Hawker Hurricane and P-47 Thunderbolt fighters and Bristol Beaufighter fighter-bombers . Heavy American B-24 Liberator bombers of the Far Eastern Strategic Air Force could also be requested. The main pillar of air support consisted of the Combat Task Force, which included both British and American squadrons of transport aircraft, in particular the Douglas C 47 . The 14th Army now numbered almost 260,000 men and required daily food from transport planes for their maximum operational force. The Americans under Stilwell and the National Chinese Army were to advance south on the Salween River on the Taveikin - Mogok - Rashio line.

On the other hand, the Japanese only had a few planes left, mainly to fly aerial reconnaissance, and they received little information from the Burmese people, who had already given up their striving for independence under Japanese military control. Some formations had founded their own secret services; For example, the 28th Army had created the secret service Hikari Kikan (Major General Saburo Isoda), whose agents operated in the border regions of Burma and in some remote regions of southern Burma. However, these agents could not report their information quickly enough to be tactically useful in fast-moving combat.

Units involved

General Geoffrey Charles Evans

14th Army (Lieutenant General William Slim )

IV Corps (Lieutenant General Frank Messervy )

  • 7th Indian Division (General Geoffrey Charles Evans )
  • Indian 255th Tank Brigade (Brigadier CE Pete)
  • 28th East African Brigade (Brigadier General WA Dimorin)
  • Rusjai Brigade (Brigadier General PC Mardin)
  • 17th Indian Infantry Division, Maj. Gen. David Tennant Cowan

XXXIII. Army Corps (Lieutenant General Sir Montagu Stopford )

Reserve: 5th Indian 5th Division (Major General Robert E. Mansergh )

Burma Regional Army (Lieutenant General Kimura Heitarō )

Lieutenant General Kimura Heitaro

15th Army Lieutenant General Shihachi Katamura

  • 15th Division, Lieutenant General Shibata Ryuichi (from February 28th General Yamamoto Kiyoe, north of Mandalay)
  • 31st Division, Lieutenant General Kawada Takutaro (west of Mandalay)
  • 33rd Division, Lieutenant General Nobuo Tanaka (Myingyan)
  • 53rd Division, Lieutenant General Hayashi Yoshihide (south of Mandalay)

33rd Army Lt. Gen. Masaki Honda

  • 56th Division, Lieutenant General Yuzo Matsuyama
  • 18th Division, Lieutenant General Eitaro Naka (55th and 56th Regiment)
  • 214th Regiment (from 33rd Division)
  • 119th Regiment (from 53rd Division)
  • 4th regiment (from 2nd division)

reserve

  • 49th Division, Lieutenant General Saburo Takehara (106th and 168th Regiment)
  • 24th Independent Mixed Brigade (retreat to Moulmein)
  • 2nd Division, Lieutenant General Okazaki Seisaburo (retreating to French Indochina)
  • Independent Mixed 72nd Brigade (Maj. Gen. Tsunoru Yamamoto in the Lower Irrawaddy Valley)

Advance over the Chindwin to the Irrawaddy

Frank Messervy, commander of the IV Corps
Action of the British-Indian troops

On November 19, 1944, the British-Indian 14th Army began the advance on Mandalay. The IV. Corps under General Messervy crossed the Chindwin at Sittaung and the XXXIII. Corps under General Stopford at Mawlaik and Kalewa. Slim planned to encircle the Japanese 15th Army to retreat. In the north the XXXIII. Corps to function as a hammer and in the south the IV. Corps as a kind of anvil, both units had to lead the advance on Mandalay and Meiktila. Messervy's Corps (7th and 17th Divisions) had to advance nearly 150 miles south, while Stopford's Corps (2nd, 19th and 20th Divisions) took the bulk of the Japanese 15th Army (15th, 31st and 53rd Divisions). Division) should attract.

As early as autumn 1944, the 14th Army had built two bridgeheads over the Chindwin , using prefabricated Bailey bridges. The operational goal was also to break through the Japanese defenses on the Kabo, where the irrigation of the Shwebo Plain took place. Based on past actions, Slim assumed that the Japanese would fight in the Shwebo Plain, between the Chindwin and Irrawaddy rivers. On November 29th the Indian 19th Division of IV Corps launched the attack from the northern bridgeheads at Sittaung and Mawlaik.

On December 4th, the Indian 20th Division (XXXIII Corps) attacked from the southern bridgehead at Kalewa. Both divisions made rapid progress and met little resistance. Above all, the Indian 19th Division (Major General Rees) stood after five days the area 130 km east of Sittaung and cut off the Indaw railway stadium. General Slim realized that his earlier assumption that he would have to face the Japanese at the Irrawaddy was wrong. Since only one of the divisions of the IV Corps had been deployed so far, he was able to change his original plan. The Indian 19th Division became XXXIII. Corps regrouped to advance through Shwebo Plains to Mandalay. The British 2nd Division (General Nicholson) advanced on December 16, 1944 from the Chindwin bridgehead, their task was primarily to win airfields close to the front for supplies. General Slim thoughtfully shifted the bulk of IV Corps (General Messervy) south to cross the river at Pakokku. The supply lines stretched hundreds of kilometers through impassable jungle, a danger that was countered by adequate air supply. In order to allow the bulk of their divisions to retreat across the Irrawaddy, the Japanese had ordered their rearguard to resist in the Shwebo Plain. The remainder of IV Corps, reinforced by the reserves of 14th Army, was now relocated from the left flank to the right. Its task was to cross the Gangaw valley west of the Chindwin, then to bridge the Irrawaddy at Pakokku and to take the logistics and communication center of Meiktila by a rapid tank advance. To convince the Japanese that the entire IV Corps was still advancing on Mandalay, a dummy headquarters was set up near Sittaung.

On the left wing of the 14th Army in mid-December, the connection with the Northern Combat Area Command under General Joseph Stilwell was established at Banmauk . Slim's troops had reached the Irrawaddy between Katha and Shwegu by the end of December. In January 1945 the Indian 19th Division and the British 2nd Division cleared the Shwebo Plain, while the Indian 20th Division fought its way at Monywa, a large river port on the east bank of the Chindwin. The Japanese rearguard north of the Irrawaddy was largely defeated, but they continued to hold positions in the Sagaing Mountains. The Indian 19th Division crossed the Irrawaddy River on January 14, 1945 at Thabeikkyin, 40 miles north of Mandalay and the next day at Singu, 50 km north of this city.

Transition over the Irrawaddy

The British 2nd Division, which advanced south from Shwebo, advanced slowly south due to poor supplies and occupied Hladaw on January 24th. On January 22nd, India's 100th Brigade attacked eastward to Myinmu. A battalion of the Japanese 138 regiment protected Myinmu, but gave up his position on February 21 and withdrew to the south bank. The leader of the Japanese 31st Division, General Kawada Takutaro, withdrew the early withdrawal and ordered a counter-attack, which failed. The other bank near Kamlikon was occupied by the 213rd regiment and a battalion of the 214th regiment.

The British-Indian brigade attacked from late January to early February. On January 31, the Japanese beachhead Sagaing was attacked with air and artillery support. On February 4, the British 2nd Division occupied positions at the bridgehead and then advanced on Sagaing. It was planned to join forces with the Indian 20th Division on the Min Yu River. The new situation required changes in tactics: Since there was not enough equipment to carry out a river crossing on the Irrawaddy, Slim planned appropriate deception at the point where the real attack would later take place. The revised plan for IV Corps (7th and 17th Indian Divisions, East African 28th Brigade, Lushai Brigade and 255th Indian Tank Brigade) provided that the 7th Indian Division would move 200 kilometers south through the Gangaw Valley to Pakokku proceed, build a bridgehead over the Irrawaddy and then advance in a south-easterly direction towards Meiktila. As a diversion it was decided to carry out a crossing north of Mandalay at Singu in order to bind the main forces of the enemy, while the concentration in the south took place below Mandalay.

The operation on the Irrawaddy bridgehead at Ngazun was supposed to be a deception, after the more southerly crossing of the Irrawaddy at Nyaungu a quick advance was planned to Meiktila, the task of which was to drive the Japanese who were fighting in the north and in the center of Burma away from the main power . The operation of the 7th Indian Division was carried out by the Indian 114th Brigade along the Kabaw Valley to Kalemyo, which covered a distance of 280 kilometers via Gangaw (January 10) to Pauk (January 26) in 15 days. The further order of the 7th Indian Division was to advance through Pauk to the east and, after the Irrawaddy crossing at Chaung, to build a bridgehead between Chauk and Pakokku by February 1, which was to be used for the advance to Meiktila by February 15 .

On February 12, India's 20th Division (General Douglas Gracey ) began to cross the Irrawaddy at Myinmu, 50 kilometers west of Mandalay to the south. The columns of the 2nd Division coming via Shwebo from the north could not cross over at Ngazun until February 21, because they had to wait for General Gracey's pontoons and attracted the attention of the Japanese 15th Division standing in the western apron of Mandalay. It was possible to erect small bridgeheads, which, however, were attacked at night by the Japanese 31st Division for almost two weeks. The Indian 7th Division, standing in the Pakokku area, had crossed the river simultaneously on February 13 and 14 to carry out its southern enclosure. This fought for a few weeks against the attempts of the reinforced Japanese 15th Division to remove their bridgehead at Nyaungu. Further crossings downstream, where the stream became much wider, would have required more preparation. Assault boats, ferries and other equipment were scarce for this task in the 14th Army, and a large part of the equipment was already worn out.

Battle for Meiktila

General Cowan (center) and the staff of the Indian 17th Division
Battle of Meiktila on March 28th
Advance of the 63rd Brigade to Meiktila

After the Indian 7th Division captured Pakokku, the Allied forces crossed the Irrawaddy on February 14 at Nyaung U, north of the old Burmese capital Bagan . The crossing of the Indian 7th Division took place on a broad front. Both the main attack on Nyaung U and a secondary crossing at Bagan were initially unsuccessful. Bagan and Nyaungu were defended by two battalions of the 4th Guerrilla Regiment of the Indian National Army, one of which was kept in reserve. General Messervy strengthened the Irrawaddy bridgehead at Nyaungu by February 20 by troops of the Indian 17th Division (General PT Cowans). On February 21, the advance of the 255th Panzer Brigade, deployed at the front, began to advance to Meiktila, 130 km to the east. The area was criss-crossed with sandy terrain and dry river beds. The Japanese 33rd Army had a total of only 12,000 men and 70 artillery pieces. The Japanese divisions had no contact with each other, there was a lack of information about the strength of the enemy and usable cards. Many of the Japanese regiments, particularly those of the 18th Division, had been weakened in the previous weeks after heavy fighting. from

On March 1, the 17th Division reached Meiktila, where the 255th Panzer Brigade had already penetrated the outskirts the day before. The battle for the airfield east of the city lasted until March 3rd. In Meiktila, Cowan's division assembled about 15,000 men and 100 tanks and was to be reinforced during the battle. The counter-attacks by the Japanese 18th Division (Lieutenant General Eitaro Naka), which began on March 5, took place from the north to the west. When the Japanese reinforcements arrived, the Allied columns with tank support broke into Meiktila and attacked the Japanese positions, while the planned further river crossing at Nyaungu was abandoned. There was hard fighting, the attempt to force the exit road to the east failed at first and the 17th Division withdrew to Meiktila. From March 12, the Japanese attacked the airfield east of the city, through which the defenders were supplied with aircraft. The Indian 5th Division (General RE Mansergh with the 9th and 99th Brigade) was flown in via the airfield near Thabuktong on March 15 as Allied reinforcement. The landing was on fire, two aircraft with 22 injured, counted the loss. The Japanese fought their way closer and closer to the airfield, from March 18, air landings under enemy artillery were suspended (although the injured could be evacuated in light aircraft from a separate, smaller runway) and supplies were continued by parachute.

Meanwhile, on March 12, General Kimura ordered Lieutenant General Masaki Honda, who commanded Japan's 33rd Army, to take command of the Battle of Meiktila. Honda's chief of staff took control on March 18, but without their signaling units the attacking divisions could not be properly coordinated. The Japanese used their artillery in the front line to take out enemy tanks, but resulted in the loss of many guns. In a major attack on March 22nd, the Japanese tried to use a captured British tank, but it was destroyed and the attack was repulsed with heavy losses. By March 29, all counterattacks by the Japanese 33rd Army could be repulsed by General Cowan's troops. The losses of the Indian IV Corps from February 13 to the end of March amounted to 835 dead and 3,174 wounded.

Wing fights at Nyaungu and Myingyan

Gurkha riflemen with Stuart tanks at Singu in the Irrawaddy bridgehead

The Indian 7th Division (General DC Evans) was chosen to cover the southern flank of the advance on Meiktila: On the right wing, the 114th and 63rd Brigades should advance south to Kyaukpadang and secure the oil area at Chauk. The 33rd Brigade was assigned to the left and marched north on the east bank of the Irrawaddy to take the airfield at Myingyan . While Meiktila was besieged, the Indian 7th Division had several skirmishes and was able to capture the river port of Myingyan. The right-wing East African 28th Brigade provided support from the west bank of the Irrawaddy through the advance on Seikpyu. When the Japanese 72nd Mixed Brigade arrived, they tried to retake Nyaungu with the help of reinforcements from parts of the 54th Division from the Arakan Front. The Indian 2nd Regiment of the National Army allied with Japan under Major Prem Sahgal were now to protect the exposed flank of Kimura's troops on the Irrawaddy and to hold on to the British forces around Nyaungu and Mount Popa. Lacking heavy weapons or artillery support, Sahgal's forces followed Japanese tactics and collaborated with the Kanjo Butai guerrilla unit (a combat group of the Japanese 55th Division). The Indian 7th Division now faced the difficult task of reopening the routes to the cut off Indian 17th Division and of breaking off the planned attack on Myingyan. In the middle of March, the motorized brigade of the Indian 5th Division deployed here was reinforced and freed the troops around Mount Popa . As soon as contact with the defenders of Meiktila was re-established, the Indian 7th Division resumed the attack on Mingyuan, which was captured after four days of fighting from March 18 to 22. As soon as Mingyuan was occupied, the port and the Mingyuan-Meiktila railway line were repaired and the supply ships from the Chindwin were put back into service.

Battle for Mandalay

Advance on Mandalay

At the beginning of March 1945 the high command of the Japanese 15th Army gave the order to defend Mandalay, the 15th Division was the focus of the Allied attacks. The commander of the Japanese 15th Division, Lieutenant General Seiei Yamamoto, was against the defense of the city, but received an uncompromising order from the headquarters under Lieutenant General Kimura to defend Mandalay to the death. To the south of the city there were still large supply warehouses that could not be relocated and the loss of which the Japanese could not accept.

On March 7, the leading Allied units were within sight of the hill of Mandalay, which was crowned by many pagodas and temples. A Gurkha battalion (4/4 Gurkha Rifles) stormed the hill of Mandalay on the night of March 8th. Several Japanese remained in the tunnels and bunkers under the pagodas and were fought down over the next few days, most of the buildings remaining intact. The Japanese army still held on to the southern half of the hill, only on March 18th did the Japanese 15th division withdraw. The British 2nd Division (General C. Nicholson) also broke out of the Irrawaddy bridgehead and attacked Mandalay from the west. The opposing Japanese 18th Division was reinforced by parts of the 49th Division to secure the important airfield of the city. The 49th Division attacked from the south and southeast, the 18th Division from the east to the north. The Indian 19th Division fought its way further into the city of Mandalay and were only stopped in front of the thick walls of Fort Dufferin, which is enclosed by a moat. In the fort, the Japanese resisted the shelling and air raids by the Allies behind thick walls, and deep trenches held up the attacking infantry. Medium artillery pieces failed on the thick wall, and the aerial bombing with 2,000 bombs created a breach 15 feet wide. The 19th Division prepared for the assault on March 21, but before the attack took place, the Japanese abandoned Fort Dufferin. King Thibaw Min's historic Tea Palace was destroyed during the siege. The XXXIII. Army Corps lost 1,472 dead and 4,933 wounded and 120 missing in the conquest of Mandalay, 26 tanks were destroyed and 44 damaged.

consequences

Major General TW Rees, GOC of the Indian 19th Division in Mandalay on March 19, 1945

The crossing of the Irrawaddy River had killed the Commonwealth troops by about 18,000 men by the end of March. Of these, 12,913 soldiers were dead and wounded, and a further 5,000 men were sidelined due to illness. The fighting in Mandalay and Meiktila had cost the Japanese around a third of their already weakened troops. The Japanese commander-in-chief Kimura Takutaro had left his chief of staff Tanaka to take over the operational control of the fighting, but when the battle at Iraja was lost, he took over the leadership himself.

On March 28, 1945, a meeting took place at the headquarters of the Japanese 33rd Army to decide on further operations. Honda's staff said the troops had destroyed around 50 British and Indian tanks, half of the tanks in the fighting for Meiktila. The Japanese army suffered losses of 2,500 men and lost 50 guns, only 20 guns were available. Tanaka ordered Honda's army to break off the siege of Meiktila and prepare to stop further Allied advances south. The chief of staff of the 33rd Army, General Tsuji Masanobu, explained the inferiority of his troops: "We lose about one gun and 50 men to destroy an enemy tank. To destroy the remaining 100 enemy tanks, we need at least 80 guns and 5000 Soldiers more! " The relationship between the commander and the chief of staff remained tense. The Japanese 15th Army withdrew to the south and central Burma was now in British hands.

In Operation Dracula that followed , the Allied 14th Army advanced south along the Irrawaddy and Sittang, taking Pegu and Prome on May 2nd and 3rd . Burma's capital, Rangoon , was recaptured without a fight at the beginning of May using a combined amphibious operation.

literature

  • Eddy Bauer: The Hell of Burma , Encyclopedia of the Second World War, Lectureama series, Rotterdam 1978, pp. 129-131
  • Loius Allen: Burma-The Longest War , Dent Publishing 1984
  • S. Woodburn-Kirby: History of the Second World War , The United Kingdom Military Series - War Against Japan, Volume IV: The Reconquest of Burma. Navy and Military Press, East Sussex 1961, p. 23 f
  • Peter Young (Ed.): Atlas for the Second World War . Südwest Verlag, Munich 1974, p. 184 f.