History In Time

Season 1 · Episode 003 ·

Battle of Kohima (1944)

The Battle of Kohima, 1944: how Japan's offensive into India was turned back in the Naga Hills.

Battle of Kohima (1944): cover, an illustrative reconstruction Play the video on YouTube

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In March 1944 Japan’s Fifteenth Army, commanded by Lieutenant-General Renya Mutaguchi, launched Operation U-Go, an offensive into India’s north-east1,2. Its aims were the British base at Imphal and the road from the supply depot at Dimapur, which ran through Kohima3. Kohima is a hill town on a ridge in the Naga Hills4. The Japanese 31st Division, under Lieutenant-General Kotoku Sato, was sent against it5.

Jessami

Men of the 1st Assam Regiment at Jessami held up the Japanese advance on Kohima for several days in late March 1944, then withdrew6. It was India’s youngest regiment, and its troops were new to battle7. An Indian National Army division took part in the offensive, and INA soldiers fought alongside the Japanese at Jessami8.

The siege

By early April the heavily outnumbered Kohima garrison was cut off on its ridge and relied on supplies dropped from the air9. The siege lasted from about 5 to 18 April 194410. In one sector, by the Deputy Commissioner’s bungalow, only the width of a tennis court separated the two sides11.

The Naga people

Naga people served the Allied forces as guides, porters, spies and stretcher-bearers12, and Naga women and girls also carried ammunition and water13. The 2nd Division’s own memorial text of November 1944 says the victory could not have been won without Naga stretcher-bearers, porters and guides14. Several Naga villages, including the one at Kohima, were destroyed in the fighting15.

Relief and the road

Relief forces reached the Kohima garrison on 18 April 194416. By the end of May, the Japanese 31st Division began to withdraw from Kohima17. On 22 June 1944 the forces from Kohima and Imphal met on the road, reopening it18. The battles of Kohima and Imphal were a turning point: a decisive Japanese defeat19.

Remembered

Kohima War Cemetery incorporates the tennis court across which the battle was fought20. On the 2nd Division Memorial is the Kohima Epitaph: “When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today.”21

What is uncertain

  • The size of each side. Sources differ: the numbers given for the Kohima garrison and for the Japanese force at Kohima vary from one account to another22,23.

On the map

Relief map of the Naga Hills marking Dimapur, Kohima and Imphal
Illustrative reconstruction Dimapur, Kohima and Imphal in the hills, from the video. The road from the depot at Dimapur ran through Kohima to Imphal.

Pictures

Garrison Hill, Kohima, 1944
Garrison Hill, Kohima, 1944
Photo: Imperial War Museums IND 3698
Archival photograph: No. 9 Army Film & Photographic Unit, 1944, Imperial War Museums IND 3698 (Garrison Hill) (UK Crown copyright expired; public domain), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IND_003698_Garrison_Hill_Kohima.jpg
The tennis court terraces, Kohima, 1944
The tennis court terraces, Kohima, 1944
Photo: Imperial War Museums IND 3483
Archival photograph: No. 9 Army Film & Photographic Unit, 1944, Imperial War Museums IND 3483 (the tennis court terraces) (UK Crown copyright expired; public domain), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_War_in_the_Far_East-_the_Burma_Campaign_1941-1945_IND3483.jpg
The link-up on the Kohima–Imphal road, 22 June 1944
The link-up on the Kohima–Imphal road, 22 June 1944
Photo: Imperial War Museums IND 3495
Archival photograph: No. 9 Army Film & Photographic Unit, 1944, Imperial War Museums IND 3495 (the link-up, 22 June) (UK Crown copyright expired; public domain), via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Soldiers_of_the_two_wings_of_the_14th_Army_link-up_at_Milestone_109_during_the_Battle_of_Imphal-Kohima.jpg
Angami Naga house · modern replica, Kohima
Angami Naga house · modern replica, Kohima
Photo (2009): Acavnala, Wikimedia Commons
Photograph of an Angami Naga house (a modern replica at the Naga Heritage Village, Kohima), 2009: Acavnala, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Naga_hut.jpg

Timeline

  1. March 1944 Operation U-Go begins
  2. March 1944 Assam Regiment at Jessami
  3. April 1944 Kohima cut off
  4. 18 April 1944 Garrison relieved
  5. 22 June 1944 Road to Imphal reopened

Narration

Read what the video says

One of the turning points of the Second World War was fought in the hills of Northeast India.

In March 1944, Japan attacked India's northeast. Its targets: Imphal, and the road that supplied it from Dimapur.

Its 31st Division struck at Kohima, a hill town on that road.

At Jessami, men of the young Assam Regiment held it up for days.

By early April, Kohima's outnumbered garrison was cut off on its ridge, supplied only from the air.

In one sector, the two sides were just a tennis court apart.

Naga people, in their own homeland, served as guides, porters, spies and stretcher-bearers.

On 18 April, relief forces broke through. The road to Imphal reopened on 22 June.

Together, Kohima and Imphal turned back Japan's offensive into India. Today, a war cemetery surrounds that tennis court.

Notes

Each number in the text leads here: the fact, how well it is supported, and where it is written. How we grade the evidence.

  1. In March 1944 Japan's Fifteenth Army launched Operation U-Go, an offensive into India's north-east. Verified: two independent sources agree Museum; Agency (2004); Museums; Armouries ↩
  2. Lieutenant-General Renya Mutaguchi commanded the Japanese Fifteenth Army. Verified: two independent sources agree Museum; Armouries ↩
  3. Its aims were the British base at Imphal and the road from the supply depot at Dimapur, which ran through Kohima. Verified: two independent sources agree Museum; Agency (2004) ↩
  4. Kohima is a hill town on a ridge in the Naga Hills. Verified: two independent sources agree Agency (2004); Museum ↩
  5. The Japanese 31st Division, under Lieutenant-General Kotoku Sato, was sent against Kohima. Verified: two independent sources agree Museum; Division (1944) ↩
  6. Men of the 1st Assam Regiment at Jessami held up the Japanese advance on Kohima for several days in late March 1944, then withdrew. Verified: two independent sources agree Armouries; Museum; Agency (2004) ↩
  7. The 1st Assam Regiment was India's youngest regiment, and its troops were new to battle. Supported: one solid source Museum ↩
  8. An Indian National Army division took part in the offensive, and INA soldiers fought alongside the Japanese at Jessami. Verified: two independent sources agree Museum; Armouries ↩
  9. By early April the heavily outnumbered Kohima garrison was cut off on its ridge and relied on supplies dropped from the air. Verified: two independent sources agree Museums; Agency (2004); Museum ↩
  10. The siege of the Kohima garrison lasted from about 5 to 18 April 1944. Supported: one solid source Museum ↩
  11. In one sector, by the Deputy Commissioner's bungalow, only the width of a tennis court separated the two sides. Verified: two independent sources agree Museum; Agency (2004); Museums ↩
  12. Naga people served the Allied forces as guides, porters, spies and stretcher-bearers. Verified: two independent sources agree Division (1944); Museum; Khrienuo (2013) ↩
  13. Naga women and girls also carried ammunition and water. Supported: one solid source Khrienuo (2013) ↩
  14. The 2nd Division's own memorial text of November 1944 says the victory could not have been won without Naga stretcher-bearers, porters and guides. Supported: one solid source Division (1944) ↩
  15. Several Naga villages, including the one at Kohima, were destroyed in the fighting. Supported: one solid source Museum ↩
  16. Relief forces reached the Kohima garrison on 18 April 1944. Verified: two independent sources agree Museum; Division (1944) ↩
  17. The Japanese 31st Division began to withdraw from Kohima at the end of May. Disputed: sources disagree Agency (2004); Museum; Museum ↩
  18. On 22 June 1944 the forces from Kohima and Imphal met on the road, reopening it. Verified: two independent sources agree Museum; Agency (2004); Museums; Division (1944) ↩
  19. The battles of Kohima and Imphal were a turning point: a decisive Japanese defeat. Verified: two independent sources agree Museum; Museums; Agency (2004) ↩
  20. Kohima War Cemetery incorporates the tennis court across which the battle was fought. Verified: two independent sources agree Commission; Agency (2004) ↩
  21. The Kohima Epitaph, on the 2nd Division Memorial: 'When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today.' Verified: two independent sources agree Commission; Agency (2004) ↩
  22. Size of the Kohima garrison. Disputed: sources disagree Museum ↩
  23. Size of the Japanese force at Kohima. Disputed: sources disagree Museum ↩

Sources

  • National Army Museum, Battles of Imphal and Kohima (). institution · Read it
  • Veterans Agency, Ministry of Defence (UK), Kohima, 4 April – 22 June 1944 (commemorative booklet) (2004). institution · Read it
  • Imperial War Museums, 10 Photos of the Battles of Imphal and Kohima (). institution · Read it
  • Royal Armouries, The Battles of Imphal and Kohima, 1944 (). institution · Read it
  • British 2nd Division, Order of service, 2nd Division Memorial Service, Kohima, 19 November 1944 (1944). primary · Read it
  • Kohima Museum, Introduction; The Naga (Kohima Museum, York) (). institution · Read it
  • Khrienuo, Nagas' Role in World War II (2013). scholarly · Read it
  • Commonwealth War Graves Commission, History of Kohima War Cemetery (). institution · Read it

How this video was made

Maps show places only: no front lines or routes are drawn, and locations marked "approximate" are not known precisely. The 3D scenes are computer-generated: the terrain comes from elevation data, while the trees and light are illustrative. The photographs are real: the 1944 photos were taken by the British Army Film and Photographic Unit (Imperial War Museums), and the Angami house is a modern replica at the Naga Heritage Village, Kohima.

  • Terrain: SRTM and GMTED2010 courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey; ETOPO1, NOAA.
  • Rivers and coastlines: Natural Earth (public domain).
  • Narration: synthetic voice made with the open Kokoro-82M text-to-speech model.
  • Music and sound effects: generated in code for this channel.
  • 3D scenes: rendered with Blender (free, open source).

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