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

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Battle of Kohima:

Now that the siege is underway and the scene has been set. We'll leave the story for a few days, whilst we allow 1RWF to make the 2000 journey from W. India to Dimapur. The story will continue on the 13th April focusing almost exclusively on 1RWF and their battle. Meanwhile if you would like to read the account of the R.West Kents heroic, bloody defence of Kohima, I would recommend Fergal Keanes "Road of Bones"

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Battle of Kohima: Sitrep 1RWF. 12 April 1944. The 1st Bn The Royal Welch Fusiliers arrived at the supply area of Dimapur. Fully up to strength with 35 Officers and 869 Other Ranks. The command orbit was as follows:

CO - Lt Col Braithwaite
2I/C - Maj J Vaughan
Adj - Capt NF Goldman
RSM - WO1 Scammels

OC A - Maj JK Evans
OC B - Maj CO Hilditch
OC C - Maj PCR Carrington
OC D - Capt Lyman
OC HQ - Maj OH Owen

Only the CO and Maj JK Evans would emerge from the Kohima operation unscathed.

Their initial task as part of 6th Brigade was to assist in opening the road from Dimapur into Kohima, in order to relieve the defenders of Kohima, who have been cut off from the outside world for nearly two weeks.

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Battle of Kohima: Sitrep 1RWF. 14 Apr 1944 -1620hrs. The battalion deployed east from Dimapur to the village of Ghaspani on the main Dimapur to Kohima Rd. Relieving 1 Norfolks.

Tac located itself within the village, whilst the companies proceeded to prepare and improve the defensive positions.

Note: By 1900hrs Bravo Company deployed a patrol further east to clear the track at Milestone 22 (MS 22). This patrol returned to base at 0630hrs the next day and confirmed the area was clear of enemy.

Over the next 24hrs the battalion would continue to push south east towards Kohima, clearing the road in small chunks, using the milestone markers as a fixed point of reference.

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Battle of Kohima: Sitrep 1RWF 15 Apr 1944 -1145hrs.

During the morning the battalion has moved further east along the Dimapur-Kohima road. Pushing on past MS 36, they have now formed a defensive perimeter at Zubza. Enemy small arms & arty fire heard, south of the road.

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Battle of Kohima: Sitrep 1RWF 15 Apr 1944 -1215hrs.

Lt Darvell (att RWF) and Fusilier Davies injured by an enemy booby trap. Lt Darvell dies of his wounds. This is the first RWF fatality at Kohima.

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Battle of Kohima: Sitrep 1RWF 15 Apr 1944 -1400hrs. Zubza. B Company come under enemy mortar fire. Fusilier Alfred Lee killed. 2 others wounded. Alfred aged 34 was from Liverpool. En snipers account for a further 3 x wounded, including Lt PC Wilson-Wilcox.

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Battle of Kohima: Sitrep 1RWF 15 Apr 1944 -2030hrs.

Note: During the day, 1st Bn Camerons had destroyed a Japanese road block on the Dimapur-Kohima Rd in the area of MS 32(possibly an en encircling attempt), killing 50 enemy, with 17 of their own men becoming casualties. A classic Japanese tactic, that would have worked two years previous. This was a very different, better trained British Army to the one that had faced the Japanese in Malaya and Singapore in Feb 1942.

1830hrs - Deltas 1RWF move slightly further east, supported by an extra platoon from A Coy.

2000hrs - Lt HM Hill and 3 x men from Alphas set out to liaise with a patrol of the Burma Rifles. En-route they contacted with the enemy. Lt Hill killed a Japanese Officer, but suffered a sword wound to the shoulder in the process. The sword was recovered.

The battalion faced a long night at Zubza, as the enemy increased its activity around their positions.

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Battle of Kohima: Sitrep 1RWF 16 Apr 1944:

During the day the battalion continued to push eastwards towards Kohima. Delta Company came under sniper fire, but did not sustain casualties.

During the night Delta Company was attacked by a Japanese patrol who threw grenades into the company's defensive perimeter. 1 x OR, was killed. 1 x officer and a further 4 x OR's injured.

A Coy conducted a night patrol to confirm that the road towards MS 38½ was clear.

[Aled Roberts]

James Maddon was a pre war regular who had enlisted in January 1930. His name is on the nominal roll for No 5 Commando.