Battle of Kohima

The Battle of Kohima was the turning point of the Japanese U-Go offensive into British India in 1944 during the Second World War. It took place in three stages from 4 April to 22 June 1944 around the town of Kohima, now the capital city of the state of Nagaland in Northeast India. From 3 to 16 April, the Japanese attempted to capture Kohima ridge, a feature which dominated the road by which the besieged British and Indian troops of IV Corps at Imphal were supplied. By mid-April, the small British and British Indian force at Kohima was relieved.

From 18 April to 13 May British and British Indian reinforcements counter-attacked to drive the Japanese from the positions they had captured. The Japanese abandoned the ridge at this point but continued to block the Kohima–Imphal road. From 16 May to 22 June the British and British Indian troops pursued the retreating Japanese and reopened the road. The battle ended on 22 June when British and British Indian troops from Kohima and Imphal met at Milestone 109, ending the Siege of Imphal.

The Battles of Kohima and Imphal have been referred to by authors such as Martin Dougherty, Frank McLynn, and Jonathan Ritter as the "Stalingrad of the East".

Background

The Japanese plan to invade India, codenamed U-Go, was originally intended as a spoiling attack against the British IV Corps at Imphal in Manipur, to disrupt the Allied offensive plans for that year.