Kohima Today

VIEW OF THE CEMETARY AT KOHIMA

2nd Division War Memorial

2nd Division War Memorial
Kohima, the capital of Nagaland, today has a population of 40,000. It is located some 40 mountainous miles from the Burmese border, and has no air or rail link. It is sandwiched between Assam to the west, Burma to the east, Arunachal Pradesh to the north and Manipur to the south. Further north lie the Himalayas, further south the Chin Hills. It is hard to think of a more inaccessible place. The views are wonderful, through high mountains, deep forests, small turreted villages.

In Kohima the homes have tin roofs, the pets run wild, the roads are dusty and no-one ever seems to be in any great hurry. Relics of the battle can still be found on the battlefield, along with monuments to the Royal Scots at Aradura Spur, the Royal Norfolks on GPT Ridge, the Durham Light Infantry at Kuki Piquet, and the memorial to the 1st Battalion the Queen’s Royal Regiment inside the Kohima War Cemetery.

Kohima War Cemetery lies on the battleground of Garrison Hill. No trace remains of the DC’s bungalow, which was destroyed in the fighting, but white concrete lines mark for posterity the boundaries of the historic tennis court. The cemetery, which is completely terraced, now contains 1420 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War. At the highest point in the cemetery stands the Kohima Cremation memorial, commemorating 917 Hindu and Sikh soldiers who fought alongside the British as part of the British Indian Army, and whose remains were cremated, in accordance with their faith. At the lower end of the cemetery, near the entrance, is a memorial to the 2nd Division – a massive stone which was dragged by Naga tribesmen to its present position.

KEY FACTS

Kohima War Cemetery is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The Commission maintains over 1,179,000 war graves at 23,203 burial sites in 148 countries around the world. It also commemorates a further 760,193 Commonwealth war dead on memorials to the missing.

Commonwealth governments share the cost of maintenance in proportion to the number of graves of their war dead:
UK – 79%; Canada – 10%; Australia – 6%;
New Zealand – 2%; South Africa – 2%; India – 1%.
The cemetery also contains a memorial to the 2nd Battalion, the Dorsetshire Regiment; and a number of other regimental memorials have been erected on or near Garrison Hill

British and Indian Army Units awarded the Battle Honour of Kohima

FOURTEENTH ARMY, XXXIII CORPS

OTHER XXXIII CORPS UNITS

2ND BRITISH DIVISION:
2nd Manchester Regiment (Machine Gun Battalion)

4th Infantry Brigade:
1st Royal Scots
1/8th Lancashire Fusiliers
2nd Royal Norfolk Regiment
5th Infantry Brigade:
7th Worcestershire Regiment
1st Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders
2nd Dorsetshire Regiment
6th Infantry Brigade:
1st Royal Welch Fusiliers
1st Royal Berkshire Regiment
2nd Durham Light Infantry

10th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery

5TH INDIAN DIVISION:
161st Indian Infantry Brigade:
4th Royal West Kent Regiment
1/1st Punjab Regiment
4/7th Rajput Regiment

7TH INDIAN DIVISION:
33rd Indian Infantry Brigade:
1st Queen’s Royal Regiment
4/15th Punjab Regiment
4/1st Gurkha Rifles
114th Indian Infantry Brigade:
1st Somerset Light Infantry
4/14th Punjab Regiment
4/5th Royal Gurkha Rifles

11th Cavalry
45th Cavalry
149th R.A.C.

1st Burma Regiment
1st Chamar Regiment
1st Assam Regiment

Shere Regiment (Nepalese)
Mahindra Dal Regiment (Nepalese)

268TH INDIAN BRIGADE:
2/4th Bombay Grenadiers
5/4th Bombay Grenadiers
17/7th Rajput Regiment

3RD INDIAN DIVISION (CHINDITS):
23rd Infantry Brigade:
2nd Duke of Wellington’s Regiment
4th Border Regiment
1st Essex Regiment

LUSHAI BRIGADE
(UNDER DIRECT COMMAND OF FOURTEENTH ARMY):
1st Royal Battalion Jat Regiment
8/13th Frontier Force Rifles
7/14th Punjab Regiment
1st Bihar Regiment

50th anniversary of the battle of Kohima

Glossary

This booklet is intended to be of interest to young people, as well as veterans. As the former may not be acquainted with basic military terminology, a simple glossary of 1944 British Army terms relating to variously-sized commands is included here. These commands are listed in descending order of size with the rank of the commander shown in italics.

TERM	DESCRIPTION
Army Group General or Field Marshal	The largest military command deployed by the British Army, comprising two or more armies, and containing 400,000–600,000 troops.
Army Lieutenant-General	A military command controlling several subordinate corps, plus supporting forces, amounting to 100,000–200,000 troops.
Corps Lieutenant-General	A military command controlling two or more divisions, as well as other supporting forces, amounting to 50,000–100,000 troops.
Division Major-General	The standard 1944 British Army formation, an infantry or armoured division contained 10,000–20,000 personnel.
Brigade Brigadier	A formation that contains several battalions or regiments that amount to 3000–6000 personnel, which exists either independently or else forms part of a division.
Regiment Lieutenant-Colonel	A unit typically of armoured or artillery forces, amounting to 500–900 soldiers, that equates in status and size to an infantry battalion.
Battalion Lieutenant-Colonel	A unit usually comprising 500–900 soldiers (such as an infantry, engineer or signals battalion).
Squadron Major	Typically, a sub-unit of an armoured or recce regiment that equates in status and size to an infantry company.
Company Major	A small sub-unit of a battalion. A typical infantry company could contain around 150–180 soldiers.
Battery Major	A small sub-unit, usually of artillery, that forms part of a battalion.
Unit	A small military grouping that ranges in size from a section (of 10 soldiers) up to a battalion or regiment (500–900 personnel).
Formation	A large military grouping that ranges in size from brigade up to army group.
DC	Deputy Commissioner
DIS	Daily Issue Store
FSD	Field Supply Depot
GOC	General Officer Commanding
GPT	General Purposes Transport
MC	Military Cross
RAF	Royal Air Force

Map of Kohima Ridge showing the main landmarks and the location of principal regiments

Acknowledgements
This booklet has been produced with the help of:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Confederation of British Service and Ex-Service Organisations (COBSEO)
Department for Education and Skills
Imperial War Museum
Major G Graham MC & Bar
New Opportunities Fund
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Burma Star Association
The Royal British Legion
Remembrance Travel
The Victoria Cross and George Cross Association
Veterans Agency

Photography
All photography reproduced with the permission of the Imperial War Museum, Commonwealth War Graves Commission and HMSO.

Last Updated: 15 Jun 04