Very Rare
Battle of Kohima
Overview
The Battle of Kohima, along with Imphal, marked the turning point of the Burma Campaign. A small British and Indian force held a strategic hilltop position against the Japanese 31st Division, which was attempting to invade India.
Obscure Facts & Hidden Details
The fighting was so intense that the District Commissioner's tennis court became the boundary between British and Japanese positions—shells landed on one side while men played on the other. The battle was nicknamed 'Stalingrad of the East.'
The Royal West Kent Regiment and 4th Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment held positions just 300 yards from the Japanese, separated by the DC's bungalow. The perimeter was so small that artillery had to fire almost vertically.
The siege lasted 64 days. When relief forces arrived, they found the defenders reduced to eating their own mules and living in trenches filled with corpses and body parts.
The Royal West Kent Regiment and 4th Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment held positions just 300 yards from the Japanese, separated by the DC's bungalow. The perimeter was so small that artillery had to fire almost vertically.
The siege lasted 64 days. When relief forces arrived, they found the defenders reduced to eating their own mules and living in trenches filled with corpses and body parts.