Win over Netaji's INA is UK's greatest battle

LONDON: Britain's struggle to repel a combined force of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose-led Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army) and Japan during World War II, around Imphal and Kohima in 1944 has been adjudged as the 'greatest ever battle involving British forces', a report said. 

The clashes that took place in northeastersn corner of India were voted the winner of a contest run by the National Army Museum here, to identify 'Britain's greatest battle'. 

The battles of Imphal and Kohima saw the British and Indian forces, under the overall command of lieutenant-general William Slim, repel the Japanese invasion of India and helped turned the tide of the war.in the Far East. 

The Japanese, along with soldiers of the Azad Hind Fauj, eventually lost (dead and missing) 53,000 in the battles. The British sustained 12,500 casualties at Imphal while the fighting at Kohima cost them another 4,000. 

The campaign of Imphal-Kohima was on a shortlist of five battles which topped a public poll. Finally, it was selected as the winner by an audience of more than 100 guests at a special event at the museum in Chelsea on Saturday. 

Imphal-Kohima received almost half of all votes. It was far ahead of D-Day and Normandy, in 1944 which received 25% of the vote and came second, followed by the Battle of Waterloo, in 1815 (22%). 

At the event, each contender had their case made by a historian giving a 40-minute presentation. The case for Imphal and Kohima was made by Dr Robert Lyman, an author and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. 

"I had thought that one of the bigger names like D-Day or Waterloo would win so I am delighted that Imphal-Kohima has won. You have got to judge the greatness of a battle by its political, cultural and social impact, as much as its military impact," he was quoted by the Telegraph as saying. 

"Imphal and Kohima were really significant for a number of reasons, not least that they showed that the Japanese were not invincible and that that they could be beaten, and beaten well. The victories demonstrate this more than the US in the Pacific, where they were taking them on garrison by garrison," Lyman added. 

The fight for Imphal went on longer than that for Kohima, lasting from March until July. Kohima was smaller in scale, and shorter, from April to June - but the fighting was so intense it has been described as the 'Stalingrad of the East'. In one sector, only the width of the town's tennis court separated the two sides. When the relief forces of the British 2nd Division arrived, the defensive perimetre was reduced to a shell-shattered area only 350 metres square.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Win-over-Netajis-INA-is-UKs-greatest-battle/articleshow/19671555.cms

A little-known, but crucially important jungle engagement from World War Two has taken the title of Britain's greatest battle.

Waterloo topped the online poll, but fell short in the final round

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Waterloo and the D-Day landings have lost the title of Britain's greatest battle to a vital - but lesser known - clash against the Japanese in World War Two.

The Battle of Imphal and the simultaneous Battle of Kohima saw British Empire troops fight Japanese forces in horrendous jungle conditions in northeast India in 1944.

Imphal/Kohima was picked over the more celebrated land battles in a contest organised by the National Army Museum in London.

Rorke's Drift in the 1879 Zulu War and the Battle of Aliwal in the Anglo-Sikh War in Punjab in 1846 brought up the rear.

"Great things were at stake in a war with the toughest enemy any British army has had to fight," historian Robert Lyman said of Imphal/Kohima.

Gurkhas supported by an M3 Grant tank advance along the Imphal/Kohima road

If Lieutenant General William Slim's army of British, Indian, Gurkha and African troops had lost, the consequences for the Allies would have been catastrophic, he said.

The criteria of the contest included the battles' political and historical impact, the challenges the troops faced, and the strategy and tactics employed.

Waterloo had topped an online poll which produced a list of 20 land battles fought since the English Civil War. The top five were then debated at the museum before going to an audience vote.

The winner was something of a surprise given the enduring prominence of Waterloo and D-Day/Normandy in Britain.

The troops who fought in India and Burma in World War Two called themselves The Forgotten Army.

Rorke's Drift saw just over 150 troops fight off up to 4,000 Zulu warriors

The Battle of Imphal/Kohima took place in 1944 in Nagaland when Japanese troops poured over the Burmese border to strike at India.

Fought over a vast area of jungle and mountain, it was marked by vicious hand-to-hand fighting.

The successful British defence meant they were then able to push into Burma and roll back the Japanese from mainland Asia.

"The victory was of a profound significance because it demonstrated categorically to the Japanese that they were not invincible," said Mr Lyman.

"This was to be very important in preparing the entire Japanese nation to accept defeat."

Saving Private Ryan depicted the US view of the Normandy landings

He ranked it with Midway, El Alamein and Stalingrad as the main turning point battles of World War Two.

His adversary in the debate, former Parachute Regiment Colonel Stuart Tootal, argued a strong case for the D-Day landings and subsequent Battle for Normandy against Nazi Germany in 1944.

Although movies such as Saving Private Ryan have highlighted the US role in the campaign, the operation was under the command of Britain's Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.

 

http://news.sky.com/story/1080949/waterloo-good-but-not-uks-greatest-battle