Battle of the Yunnan–Burma Road

Battle of Yunnan-Burma Road (18 March – 24 May 1942; Chinese: 滇緬路戰役) was the name of the Chinese intervention to aid their British allies in the 1942 Burma Campaign. Its forces were composed of the Fifth, Sixth and Sixty-sixth Army under the command of the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Burma, commanded by Lt. General Joseph Stilwell, Lt. General Luo Zhuoying was his executive officer.

Battle of Yunnan-Burma Road
Part of the Burma campaign, the South-East Asian theatre of World War II, the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific Theater of World War II
Date (1942-03-18) (1942-07-12)March 18 – July 12, 1942 (3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days) Location Burma Result Axis victory
Belligerents
Axis Japan Thailand	Allies China United Kingdom Air Support: United States
Commanders and leaders
Shōjirō Iida Shozo Sakurai Masao Watanabe Takeshi Koga Yūzō Matsuyama Yutaka Hiroshi J.R.Seriroengrit	Luo Zhuoying Sun Li Jen Liu Fangwu Dai Anlan Liao Yaoxiang James Scott David Tennant Cowan John Anstice William Slim Joseph Stilwell Claire Lee Chennault
Strength
35,000	95,000
Casualties and losses
33rd Division 55th Division 56th Division Phayap Army	50,000

In February 1942, General Lo Cho-ying directed 5th Army to move from western Yunnan to the vicinity of Toungoo and further south in Burma. Advanced elements of the 200th Division of 5th Army arrived at Toungoo on March 8, 1942, and took over defensive positions from the British forces. The 6th Army was directed to move from Kunming to the Burma–Thai border. Its leading elements reached Mawchi, Mong Pan and Mong Ton in mid March. The 66th Army later arrived in Lashio and Mandalay as a reserve and to assist the British forces in their operations.

Battles of the Yunnan-Burma Road Campaign

• Battle of Tachiao March 18–19, 1942
• Battle of Oktwin March 20–23, 1942, in vicinity of Oktwin
• Battle of Toungoo March 24–30, 1942, in and around Taungoo
• Battle of Yedashe April 5–8, 1942, in vicinity of Yedashe
• Battle of Szuwa River April 10–16, 1942, at Szuwa River northwest of Yedashe
• Battle of Mawchi and Bato Early April 1942, in vicinity of Mawchi
• Battle of Bawlake April 17, 1942, in vicinity of Bawlakhe
• Battle of Yenangyaung April 17–19, 1942
• Battle of Pyinmana April 17–20, 1942, in vicinity of Pyinmana
• Battle of Loikaw April 20, 1942, in vicinity of Loikaw
• Battle of Hopong-Taunggyi April 20–24, 1942, in vicinity of Hopong and Taunggyi
• Battle of Loilem April 25, 1942, in vicinity of Loilem
• Battle of Lashio April 29, 1942, in vicinity of Lashio
• Battle of Hsenwe May 1, 1942
• Battle of Salween River May 6–31, 1942
• Battle of Hsipaw-Mogok Highway May 23, 1942

See also

• China Burma India Theater of World War II (CBI)
• The 1942 Japanese advance to the Indian frontier in the Burma Campaign
• Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan
• X Force and Y Force for Chinese forces which fought in the Burma Campaign

Sources

• Hsu Long-hsuen and Chang Ming-kai, History of The Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), 2nd Ed., 1971. Translated by Wen Ha-hsiung, Chung Wu Publishing; 33, 140th Lane, Tung-hwa Street, Taipei, Taiwan Republic of China.
• Jon Latimer, Burma: The Forgotten War, London: John Murray, 2004.
• Orbat of the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Burma – 1942
• Japanese forces in Burma, The 1942 Campaign
• 中国抗日战争正面战场作战记 (China's Anti-Japanese War Combat Operations)
  • Author : Guo Rugui, editor-in-chief Huang Yuzhang
  • Press : Jiangsu People's Publishing House
  • Date published : 2005-07-01
  • ISBN 7-214-03034-9
  • 第八部分：太平洋战争爆发后的中国抗战中国远征军入缅援英作战 1 (The Chinese Expeditionary Force enters Burma to help England to fight)

External links

• Map of Burma in World War II Showing railroads, roads and tracks.
• Topographic Maps of the battlefield area
  • Topographic Map NE 47-1 Pyinmana, for Battles of Yedashe, Szuwa River, Bawlake, Pyinmana and Loikaw
  • Topographic Map NE 47-5 Toungoo, for Battles of Taicho, Oktwin, Taungoo and Mawchi
  • Topographic Map NE 47-13 Yamethin, for Battle of Hopong - Taunggyi
  • Topographic Map NF 47-14 Mong Pan, for Battle of Loilem.
  • Topographic Map NF 47-6, for Battle of Lashio.
  • Topographic Map NF 47-5 Maymyo, for Battle of Hsipaw-Mogok Highway
• Japanese Map of the Battle of Toungoo, Axis History Forum
• Axis History Forum: Chinese 200th Division: descriptions of actions needed! Discussion and map of the battle of Toungoo and the actions leading up to it and subsequent battles of the campaign.
• Map of Burma in World War II Showing rails, roads and tracks.
• 1944 aerial photograph of Toungoo