The Background to the Battle of Kohima

Kohima, a hill town in North-East India (Assam), 5000 feet above sea level in the middle of the Naga Hills, was from April to June 1944 the location of one of the most bitterly fought battles of the Second World War. Over the course of 18 months, the British and Indian Fourteenth Army, under the command of General William Slim, had been building up logistical bases at Dimapur and Imphal for an eventual offensive into Burma. The Japanese Fifteenth Army, under the command of Lt General Renya Mutagachi, received orders in early 1944 to put a stop to the British preparations in Assam. The fighting in and around Kohima in the spring of 1944 was part of a larger Japanese offensive, known as ‘U-Go’, in which three Japanese divisions, the 15th, 31st and 33rd, attempted to destroy the British/Indian forces at Imphal, Naga Hills and Kohima. The Japanese, however, were unaware that the British and Indian troops based in Assam in 1944, unlike their predecessors in 1942, were properly trained for the coming battles.

Kohima was an important hill station on the only road that led from the major British/Indian supply depot at Dimapur to Imphal. It was nearly 40 miles from Dimapur, and 80 miles from Imphal. The Japanese plan was for the 31st Division to split into three columns that would cut the Kohima–Imphal Road and envelop the village from three different angles. The Japanese operation, ‘U-Go’, began in mid-March 1944; by the 22nd elements of the British IV Corps (17th, 20th and 23rd Indian Divisions) based in and around Imphal, were engaging the first of the Japanese troops.

General Slim understood that a major Japanese offensive was under way. With most of IV Corps tied up in Imphal and the Imphal–Kohima road cut, he knew that Kohima would need to be reinforced. British military intelligence did not initially realise the threat to Kohima. It was assumed that no more than a few battalions would be able to traverse the high ridge system that existed between the Chindwin River and Kohima. Before long, however, reports confirmed that an entire Japanese division was on the move to Kohima.

Kohima battlefield showing Jail Hill and DIS Ridge

In mid-March, the only troops stationed in the Kohima area were a few units of Assam Rifles, 1st Assam Regiment and Line of Communications troops. The 1st Assam Regiment, which was stationed east of Kohima, was forced to withdraw before the Japanese advance after heavy fighting. Realising the state of affairs, Slim acted to move the 5th (and later 7th) Indian Divisions by air to reinforce both Imphal and Kohima. Both of these units had just completed an excellent defence and counter-offensive campaign in the Arakan region of Burma, against the Japanese Operation 'Ha-Go'. Slim also activated XXXIII Corps; the 2nd British Division, 268th Indian Brigade and the 23rd Infantry Brigade (Chindits) were all earmarked to relieve the garrison at Kohima and open the road to Imphal.

The battle-hardened and well-trained 161st Indian Brigade, 5th Indian Division was flown to the Dimapur area in late March. The brigade moved down the road towards Kohima and by early April was creating defensive positions in and around the village. Defending the area presented significant problems; the key feature, Garrison Hill, and a long wooded spur on a high ridge west of the village, were the scene of perhaps the bitterest fighting of the whole Burma campaign. The small area of terrain provided by this ridge and the surrounding area permitted the deployment of only one battalion, the 4th Royal West Kent Regiment. The rest of the 161st Indian Brigade - the 1/1st Punjab Regiment, the 4/7th Rajput Regiment and the brigade's artillery - were placed two miles west of Kohima, in Jotsoma. Over the course of the battle, units from Jotsoma were sent forward to reinforce areas covered by the 4th Royal West Kents.

Kohima Ridge and the Defended Localities

The defenders of the Kohima area, the 161st Indian Brigade, Assam Rifles and 1st Assam Regiment, contained the Japanese advance in the region and forced them into a battle of attrition. The battle included fierce hand-to-hand combat, especially in the garden of the Deputy Commissioner's (representative of the Government of India, Indian Civil Service) bungalow and around the tennis court. The defenders were cut off from Dimapur, and had to rely upon daily air re-supply. Despite these obstacles, they withstood 13 days of siege and heavy fighting without backing down. The battle for Kohima can be divided into two phases: the siege, which lasted for 13 days; and the clearance of the Japanese 31st Division from the area, followed by the opening of the Kohima-Imphal road, from mid-April until 22 June. This second stage occurred over the course of two months and caused more casualties for both armies.

This battle was ultimately to prove to be the turning point of the Burma Campaign. Earl Mountbatten described it as 'probably one of the greatest battles in history... in effect the Battle of Burma... naked unparalleled heroism... the British/Indian Thermopylae'.

The Siege

By 5 April, the 4th Royal West Kents and the remainder of the 161st Brigade were set up in their respective positions in and around Kohima. The 4th Royal West Kents and the supporting troops from the Assam Rifles and Assam Regiment were positioned in a series of trenches along the Kohima Ridge. The Kohima ridge consisted of features such as Garrison Hill, Jail Hill, Field Supply Depot (FSD) Hill, and Detail Issue (DIS) Hill; these areas, along with the Deputy Commissioner's (DC) Bungalow, were used as the main lines of defence.

The Japanese 31st Division, which had deployed more than 12,000 men in the Kohima region, opened the attack on the evening of 5/6 April. The 4th Royal West Kents, recognising their numerical inferiority and need to shorten their defences, withdrew from the more isolated positions on the ridge after the first major assault. The Japanese had made significant inroads into the ridge and were preparing their own positions for defence. By 7 April, reinforcements from the Rajputs arrived from Jotsoma, providing a boost for morale.

The Japanese launched a series of attacks into the north-east region of the defences on 8 April, and by the 9th the British and Indians there had been forced back to the tennis court. At this juncture, the Japanese cut the tracks between Jotsoma and Kohima and the road between Jotsoma and Dimapur. The Japanese forced the garrison at Kohima to withdraw further into their lines on 10 and 11 April with attacks on DIS and FSD.

Remains of the Deputy Commissioner's bungalow and tennis court

On 13 April, the Japanese pressed their advantage against the British and Indian positions on the ridge. The troops defending near the DC's bungalow and the tennis court came under increasingly heavy artillery and mortar fire, and had to repel frequent infantry assaults. This area was the scene of some of the hardest, closest and grimmest fighting, with grenades being hurled across the tennis court at point-blank range. The War Diary of the 4th Royal West Kent Regiment opposite describes the scene.

In the end the attacks were beaten off with the help of remarkably accurate fire from the Royal Artillery positioned at Jotsoma ridge. This fact did not escape the Japanese commanders, and they turned much of their attention against the positions of the 161st at Jotsoma. The British and Indian troops were able to repel these attacks.

14 April was to mark a turning point in the siege. While the Japanese continued to shell and fire upon the Kohima and Jotsoma garrisons, they did not send any infantry attacks. The 2nd British Division, newly arrived from an air and land 1500-mile transportation, and the 161st Brigade had broken the Japanese roadblock on the Dimapur-Kohima road. The garrison in Kohima received word of this on the 15th and morale soared. They were bolstered by the knowledge that the lifting of the siege was inevitable and fast approaching.

Knowing that reinforcements were on the way, the Japanese launched a last deadly and desperate attack against the positions at FSD on the evening of 16/17 April. Each side took the positions more than once, only to be thrown out by their opponents. The heavy fighting and the casualties sustained forced the British and Indian troops to withdraw from FSD to the Garrison Hill positions. This action left the defenders hemmed in from the south, north and east.

13-14th April KOHIMA	Night 13/14 Apr also saw bitter fighting. At the FSD the Rajputs were forced from their trenches by direct hits from the 75mm guns opposite, so that A Coy at KUKI p. had to send one pl. forward to save the front positions... .The Japs made a heavy rush attack at B Coy from the DC bungalow, and succeeded in penetrating into a shed on a small but important hillock when a Bren jammed. The pln. comd, Lt King, restored the situation by driving them out with grenades, but not before the Bren gunner himself picked up a shovel and cracked at his assailants with it.
14th April KOHIMA	Early morning brought a further attack on B Coy, supported by grenade discharge bombs, but it was repulsed with many casualties to the enemy. Air supply drop of water very successful. Enemy mortar activity continued throughout the day, interspersed with smoke bombs which was taken to mean that his stock of captured ammunition was running low. This assumption was correct.
Extract From 4 Battalion Royal West Kents War Diary 13–14 April 1944

With matters reaching crisis level, on the morning of 18 April British artillery opened up from the west against the Japanese positions. Elements of the 2nd British Division, 161st Brigade and tanks from XXXIII Corps pushed into the area north-west of Garrison Hill and forced the Japanese from their positions. The road between Dimapur and Kohima had been opened, and the siege was lifted.

The Relief and Clearance of Kohima »

Last Updated: 15 Jun 04