The Battle of Kohima April/May 1944 - 70 Years On

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Battle of Kohima: Sitrep 2 April 1944 - 1800hrs. Kohima Ridge. A patrol from the Shere regiment's Nepalese soldiers report Japanese soldiers approximately 3 miles away from Kohima. They produce 3x enemy ears as proof! (Source - Road of Bones).

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Battle of Kohima: Sitrep 3 April 1944 - 0800hrs. Kohima Ridge. Recce patrols deployed by Col Richards to try and discover the extent of the Japanese advance. Assam Regt survivors of the delaying actions at Jessama and Kharasom begin to emerge from the jungle. The healthy will be used to reinforce the defences. At least 20 are sick/wounded and need evacuating to Dimapur.

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The Royal Welch involvement is still quite a few days away, but we will cover their involvement in detail, day by day. At the moment its all about setting the scene.

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Battle of Kohima: Sitrep. 3 April 1944 - 1600hrs. Kohima Ridge. Jap forces spotted edging around the right flank of the defensive position at GPT Ridge, which is half a mile south of the main garrison position.(Source: Road of Bones)

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Battle of Kohima: Sitrep 3 April 1944 - 2100hrs. Kohima Ridge. Sporadic enemy sniping at the troops on GPT Ridge. A short time later a platoon of Shere troops withdrew. Leaving a small adhoc group to hold that crucial feature.

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Battle of Kohima: Sitrep 4 April 1944 - 1600hrs. GPT Ridge comes under enemy heavy mortar and small arms fire. Enemy probes begin.

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Battle of Kohima: Sitrep 4/5 April 1944. At 2300hrs 4 Apr, a large number of allied troops fled GPT Ridge. British officers were struggling to maintain discipline as the enemy moved in closer. By 0200, the enemy had also been spotted moving in on the tribal village of Naga, north of the garrisons main position on Kohima Ridge. Meanwhile 30 miles away at the supply dump of Dimapur, the Royal West Kents as part of 161 Indian Brigade were readying themselves to move back to Kohima in motor transport at first light.

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Battle of Kohima: Sitrep 5 April 1944 - 1000hrs. The RW. Kents, as the lead element of 161 Bde arrive at Kohima. Civilians and non-combatants are streaming away from Kohima towards Dimapur. The R.W Kents come under heavy contact almost immediately and they began to dig in on Garrison Hill. The Japanese are shelling from Adura Ridge in the south. GPT Ridge and Jail Hill in the south are in danger of falling to the enemy.

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Battle of Kohima: Sitrep 5 April 1944 -2100hrs The Japanese encirclement of Kohima is complete. Fortunately one battle hardened unit The Royal West Kents plus a company of 4/7 Rajputs managed to get in before the enemy closed the door. Their presence bolstered by effective artillery would ultimately mean the survival of the garrison over the next two weeks. The remainder of 161 Brigade are trapped outside Kohima at Jotsoma. They are unable to move back to Dimapur, as the enemy has also managed to encircle them as well. 1RWF as part of the 2nd British Division are starting their 2000mile journey from the west of India to join the battle. Their first task will be to clear the road from Dimapur to Kohima.

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[Drew5233]

Cheers Don,

I'm already in comms with Richard Ward about citations from this battle, my intention is to publish them on the day they were earned. Interesting about Oscar….B Company made that fatal attempt to take Kukis Picquet on the 4th May, with a further assault attempted on the 5th May.

Regarding David Graves and Reuben Jones, that action was at Donbaik, the previous year. Brave men.

If you need any original citations let me know - I have all of them from WW2 on Pdf. All I need is the no. name, unit, medal etc and I'll dig it out for you. It beats paying TNA £3.36 for each one.

Ps As long as there's not shed loads that you want