What was the Battle of Kohima and why was it significant in World War II?
The Battle of Kohima was a three-stage engagement fought from the 4th of April to the 22nd of June 1944 around the town of Kohima in Northeast India. It was the turning point of the Japanese U-Go offensive into British India, and the failure of the Japanese 31st Division there effectively crippled Japan's ability to defend Burma against Allied counter-attacks. In 2013 a poll by the British National Army Museum voted the Battles of Kohima and Imphal "Britain's Greatest Battle".
What happened at the Battle of the Tennis Court in Kohima?
The Battle of the Tennis Court took place at the Deputy Commissioner's compound on Kohima Ridge, where Japanese and British-Indian forces dug into trenches on opposite sides of the tennis court close enough to throw grenades at each other. The Japanese captured the DC's bungalow area on the night of the 17th-the 18th of April 1944. The tennis court was finally cleared on the 13th of May when a Lee tank was dragged up a newly cut track and crashed down onto the Japanese position, allowing the 2nd Battalion the Dorsetshire Regiment to take the hillside.
Who commanded the Japanese forces at Kohima and why did Sato retreat without orders?
Lieutenant General Kotoku Sato commanded the Japanese 31st Division at Kohima. He retreated without orders on the 31st of May 1944 because his division had entered the campaign with only three weeks of food, all of which was exhausted, and Fifteenth Army headquarters under Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi had failed to send food or adequate supplies. Sato had notified Mutaguchi on the 25th of May that he would withdraw on the 1st of June unless resupplied, and when no supplies arrived, he acted unilaterally.
How many casualties did British and Japanese forces suffer at the Battle of Kohima?
British and Indian forces suffered 4,064 casualties dead, missing and wounded during the Battle of Kohima. The Japanese lost at least 5,764 battle casualties in the Kohima area, and many more members of the 31st Division subsequently died of disease or starvation, or took their own lives during the retreat.
Who were the Victoria Cross recipients from the Battle of Kohima?
Three Victoria Crosses were awarded for actions during the Battle of Kohima. Lance Corporal John Pennington Harman of the 4th Battalion Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment received a posthumous VC for destroying two Japanese machine gun posts single-handedly on the nights of the 7th-8th and 8th-the 9th of April 1944 before being killed. Captain John Niel Randle of the 2nd Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment and Jemadar Abdul Hafiz of the 9th Jat Regiment also received the award; at 18 years old, Abdul Hafiz became the youngest VC recipient from the British Indian Army and is buried in Imphal Indian War Cemetery.
What is the Kohima Epitaph and where is it displayed?
The Kohima Epitaph reads: "When you go home, tell them of us and say, For your tomorrow, we gave our today." It is carved on the memorial of the 2nd British Division in the Kohima War Cemetery, which holds 1,420 Allied war dead and is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on the slopes of Garrison Hill. The verse is attributed to John Maxwell Edmonds (1875-1958) and is thought to have been inspired by the epitaph Simonides wrote for the Spartans who fell at Thermopylae in 480 BC.