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Assault Force: 26
Indian Division: Maj. General C.E.N.
Lomax CB CBE DSO MC 4
Indian Brigade: Brig. J.ER. Forman
CBE DSO 2nd
Bn. The Green Howards 2nd
Bn. 13th Frontier Force 2nd
Bn. 17th Rajput Regt 36th
Indian Brigade: Brig. L.C. Thomas
CBE DSO MC 8th
Bn. 13th Frontier Force 5thBn.
I6thPunjab 1st
Bn. 8th Gurkha Rifles 71st
Indian Brigade: Brig. G.G.E. Bull
DSO OBE 1st
Bn. Lincoinshire Regt. 5thBn.
lstPunjab 1st
Bn. Royal Garwhal Rifles Naval
Force: Battleship H.M.S Queen Elizabeth Cruiser
H.M.S. Phoebe Destroyers:
H.M.S’s: Napier, Pathfmder, Rapid, R.I.N. Sloops Kistna, Flamingo. Code
Name: Advance Force “W” commanded by Captain Eric Bush, DSO, DSC,
RN (Present at the Normandy Landings.) Air Support: Four
squadrons B24 Liberators 24
P47 Thunderbolts These
aircraft were provided by U.S. 12th Bombardment Group and came under the command
of Air Vice Marshal The Earl of Bandon Commanding 224 Group - 901,902,903 and
904 Wings. Assault
force sailed from Chittagong on S.S. Nevassa on 20th January 1945. Topography: RAMREE
ISLAND is about 50 miles long and 20 miles wide and lies about 12 miles from the
mainland with the smaller island of CHEDUIA about five miles south. RAMREE
ISLAND has, apart from the two towns of KYAUKPYU (on the north-western tip) and
RAMREE (half way down the east coast facing the mainland,) only small villages
and hamlets. The only road connecting the two towns runs down the west coast,
sometimes on the beach, and then swings east below the mangrove swamps which
fill the centre of the island. The rest of the island is covered with trees but
not true jungle. The swamp is a noisome place inhabited by crocodiles,
mosquitoes, scorpions and ifies. The water is salt and undrinkable with sharks
coming in from the sea. Apart from large rocks like miniature Gibraltars the
ground is fairly flat. When
the Japanese occupied the island they used it as a training base which meant
they knew the exact ranges between various points which helped them in their
eventual defence of the island. An airfield was built near KYAUKPU, the beaches
were heavily mined and gun emplacements were dug into the large rocks
overlooking the most likely beaches which would be used by any invading force.
As far as can be ascertained the Japanese behaved well towards the inhabitants
who none the less hated them bitterly. The
great importance for the Allies to occupy the island was to ease the task of IV
and XXXIII Corps advancing down central BURMA and who needed air support
increasingly as they moved south and out of range of the airfields in INDIA and
ASSAM. The Japanese airfields on AKYAB and RAMREE thus became vital for the
Allies in the capture of MANDALAY and MEIKTILLA and Mountbatten and SLIM started
making plans for alternatives ranging from an ad hoc operation in January 1945
to a full scale assault in March. This was to be called “Talon D”. However,
Lieut. General Christison, XV Corps, advanced more quickly down the ARAKAN
mainland than had been anticipated and Talon D was thus brought forward to
January. The operation was to cover both AKYAB and RAMREE. The
assault on AKYAI was to be carried out by 3 Commando Brigade supported by a
brigade from 25th Indian Division as well as a considerable Naval Task Force
comprised of units of the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Indian Navy and
South African Naval Forces. The
initial landings were made at MYEBON and KANGAW against fierce resistance - the
Commandos won a Victoria Cross - which was finally overcome. These mainland
landings were to facilitate the Akyab operation but this was an anticlimax as
the Japanese garrison had been withdrawn to go to the assistance of
their 54th Division fighting to hold open their escape routes eastward over
the ARAKAN YOMAS to SIAM. The Commandos, nevertheless, went ahead with the
landing treating it as a valuable training exercise. The
next step was the capture of RAMREE and this was given to 26 Indian Division and
its three Brigades made up as shown above. The battleship H.M.S Queen Elizabeth
was unable to lower its 15 inch guns - not fired in anger since they bombarded
the DARDANELLES forts in 1915 - and so she had to lie off below the horizon’
nevertheless they did considerable damage to the rock caves and
created considerable alarm and despondency amongst the Japanese. D
Day was set for 21st January 1945 but before this date units of C.O.P.P.
(Combined Operations Pilotage Parties) secretly at night surveyed the proposed
landing beaches and found them to be heavily mined as well as being covered by
artillery in the rock caves. It was therefore proposed that the landings would
be in KYAUKPU harbour area - much to the eventual surprise of the Japanese. On
20th January 1945 the Division sailed from CHITAGONG on S.S. Nevassa and the
landings began at 09.30 hours. There was some difficulty and hesitancy at first
which was put right by the Corps Command General Christison being one of the
first men ashore. For this action he was awarded the D.S.O. (Distinguished
Service Order) an award almost unique for an officer of his rank. The operation
then continued smoothly against now minor opposition with 71st Brigade moving
south while 4th Brigade consolidated the northern area and, taking up defensive
positions, sent out patrols who were more like search parties than fighting
units as the Japanese were, very surprisingly, doing their utmost to evade the
assault force. Their object seemed to be to form an effective
defence as 71st Brigade on their way south met a strong enemy position at
YANBAUK CHAUNG held with the stubbornness characteristic of the Japanese. Despite
strong infantry attacks, naval bombardment and strafing by heilcats from the
R.I.N. Carrier Ameer the position held so General Lomax decided to leave 4th
Brigade holding the enemy while sending 71st Brigade in a wide flanking move to
march on RAMREE while 36th Brigade landed on the southern tip of the island.
This meant that the Japanese position was turned and they withdrew east being
pursued by 4th Brigade up to the swamps. This was the end of Japanese organised
defence although units and individuals still resisted. Nearly all had to be
killed as they refused to surrender and only twenty became prisoners and they
because they were too badly wounded to commit suicide. The only exception was a
doctor who had studied in Britain and the United States and thus spoke good
English; he could stand no more and floated down a chaung on a log away from the
hell his compatriots were suffering. He offered to call on the others to follow
his example, but although be spent all day in a motor-launch cruising up and
down the chaungs calling on the Japanese to give themselves up but to no avail -
not a single Japanese appeared. As
no further fighting of any extent was taking place on the island all that
remained was for the naval forces to patrol the seaway between RAMREE and the
mainland killing the few enemy who tried to escape from the swamp and of these
few who drowned or were eaten by the sharks. Those, numbering about 1,000, who
remained in the mangroves, were suffering most horribly without food or drinking
water, attacked by malarial mosquitoes, scorpions and, most dreadfully, by the
crocodiles attracted to
them by the blood from their wounds which were covered in blowflies. What,
to the Allies, made it worse was that this total sacrifice was completely
unnecessary. On 22nd February 1945 the ships were
withdrawn for other duties and the RAMREE ISLAND campaign was officially ended
the objectives for which it had been occupied having been secured. However,
there were still a few Japanese who had hidden elsewhere than in the swamp and
they would emerge, invariably in suicidal positions and cause casualties. Regarding
the episode of the. Japanese and the crocodiles the Guinness Book of Records
included it under the heading “The Greatest disaster suffered from animals.”
(2550)
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