The Battle of Rangoon

The battle of rangoon, in the autumn of 1944, saw an Allied force of British and Indian troops attempt to re-capture the capital of Burma from the Japanese. The city was vital for supplying Fourteenth Army in the south and for launching an amphibious assault on Phuket Island off the coast of Thailand.

The re-capture of Rangoon was an important step in the Allies' plan to regain control of the Indian frontier and divert the Japanese from the defense of the islands of the South Pacific and Japan itself. However, the campaign would not be as simple as the Allies had hoped.

After a prolonged period of stalemate on the Burma front, General Slim finally succeeded in driving the Japanese back from their Indian frontier and out of Burma altogether. His re-capture of Rangoon, together with a drive to Meiktila, was the most decisive part of this effort.

In the spring of 1945, a number of smaller operations were conducted to re-take key points on the northern and central wing of the Burma front. On the northern wing, forces led by Joseph Stilwell's NCAC (Northern China Army Corps) moved from Myitkyina, across the Irrawaddy River and east to Shwegu.

On the central wing, forces under Lieutenant General William Slim, XXXIII Corps, led by the 7th Division, seized crossings at Nyaungu and Pakokku, and moved north to Pyu. They then took Meiktila, on 1 March.

As the campaign unfolded, Slim was able to secure his supply lines and to reinforce his front line on the Sittang Valley. He also restocked his army with a large quantity of lend-lease matériel, which was transferred to his troops on the ground.

During the latter part of January and early February 1945, Sultan's Burma Road forces attacked from both sides of the Irrawaddy River. On the right, a group of Japanese tanks and infantry attacked from the town of Bhamo 60 miles west of Wan-t'ing. In response, the British and their allies pushed them out with a series of small, but successful, counter-attacks, including one by the AVG (American Volunteer Group), commanded by Major General Louis Chennault.

While the battle for Rangoon was ongoing, an even more dangerous threat loomed over the Allied forces in Burma. Chiang Kai-Shek, commander of the Chinese Nationalist Army, had declared that he wanted all Chinese forces in Burma, including the supporting transport aircraft, to be brought back.

At the time, American troops in Burma had only two Allied air bases, one in Magwe near Rangoon and the other at Loiwing, just inside China. They could not be used to support the Burma Road, as Chiang had envisioned.

As the campaign dragged on, the situation in central Burma became increasingly grim. The NCAC was encircled by the Japanese and the Allied air bases were threatened with destruction. In addition, the Japanese had been in a ferocious advance into India.

In the face of these threats, the Allies were forced to rely heavily on their own air power. A large group of American volunteers, the Flying Tigers, arrived in Burma in December 1941 and were assigned the task of flying patrols and reconnaissance missions over Chinese lines on the Irrawaddy River. Despite the fact that these operations were largely ineffective and that the US Army did not consider them to be a military necessity, they continued until Chiang Kai-Shek signed an agreement in Singapore on 12 September 1945.