Battle for Pegu
| date | March 3, 1942 to March 7, 1942 |
|---|---|
| place | Burma , Pegu |
| output | Japanese victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| A brigade | Two divisions |
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 Battle of Pegu took place from March 3 to 7, 1942 during the Burma campaign in World War II as part of the Pacific War . It ended with a victory for the Japanese and with losses for the already weakened allies, who had to withdraw further.
prehistory
On January 16, 1942, the Japanese penetrated from Thailand into southern Burma and captured Victoria Point with a battalion . There they built the first Japanese airfield 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. She 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.
However, the Japanese succeeded in cutting off the route of the Indo-British units, and so the battle broke out at the Sittang Bridge , which ended with the British blowing up the bridge in order not to open the way to Rangoon for the Japanese. With this, however, only about 40% of the already weakened 17th Indian Infantry Division managed to flee towards the west. After restoring the bridge and putting some ferries into operation further north, the Japanese pushed further towards Rangoon. It was not until Pegu that they met the remains of the 17th Indian Infantry Division. In the meantime, General Harold Alexander had taken over the supreme command in Burma and, in view of the Japanese superiority, decided not to defend Rangoon, but at least to show the Japanese a strong defense readiness through a secure and resistive retreat.
The battle
Due to the previous fierce fighting near the Bilin River and the Sittang Bridge, the 17th Indian Infantry Division was so decimated that only the 1st Burma Division and the 7th Armored Brigade under the command of Brigadier John Henry Anstice with their light M3s -Tanks were available.
When a squadron of the 7th Hussars belonging to the 7th Armored Brigade reached the town of Payagyi , north of Pegu, they found that it was already occupied by the Japanese. Visibility was poor and radio communications were difficult. After a brief exchange of fire by the British infantry, which got caught in a Japanese ambush, some British managed to drive Japanese soldiers out of the nearby jungle. The British tanks then approached opened fire and were able to take out two Japanese type 95 Ha-Go tanks in the open. Another had been damaged so badly that its crew had to abandon it. Although the battle was quite confusing, the British still managed to capture four Japanese anti-tank guns before they were ordered to retreat through Pegu to Hlegu to meet the other units of the 7th Armored Brigade. The British had to give up one of their tanks at Payagyi, but were able to destroy two more Japanese tanks on the way to Hlegu.
Meanwhile, Pegu had been largely destroyed by the Japanese, but when the British reached the place in the dark, they found the only bridge undamaged. Shortly before Hlegu, the Japanese had set up a paved roadblock , which they defended against the advancing British tanks with light machine guns and Molotov cocktails . So they managed to take out one of the M3 Stuarts. But after the British were able to concentrate the fire on the roadblock with several tanks, the Japanese were forced to abandon it.
The advancing British units that passed through Pegu came under fire from Japanese snipers again and again . A number of soldiers were wounded and first cared for within the village. Finally they were loaded onto small trucks and at the end of the convoy they were taken away by the Japanese roadblock.
consequences
Due to the Japanese superiority, General Alexander had to realize that Rangoon could not be held. His new plan was to retreat to Prome , which is around 320 km north of Rangoon.
On the afternoon of March 7, 1942, the British reached Taukkyan , just 7 km north of the city limits of Rangoon.
credentials
- ↑ US Army in WWII - Chronology 1941–1945 , Center of Military History United States Army, Washington DC, 1989, p. 18
- ↑ Rickard, J. (September 2, 2009), Japanese conquest of Burma, December 1941-May 1942 , under: [1]
- ↑ a b The 7th Armored Brigade - Engagements - 1942 (Withdrawal to Rangoon) ( Memento from August 28, 2008 in the Internet Archive )