Battle of Yenangyaung

Battle of Yenangyaung
	Part of theBurma campaign,theSouth-East Asian theatre of World War II,theSecond Sino-Japanese Warand thePacific TheaterofWorld War II
	; The Japanese conquest of Burma (the left red arrow represents Japanese movements to Yenangyaung)
Date	16–19 April 1942; (3 days)
Location	Yenangyaung,Burma
Result	Japanese victory
Belligerents
China; United Kingdom India;	Japan
Commanders and leaders
Sun Li Jen; Liu Fangwu; James Scott; John Anstice	Shozo Sakurai
Units involved
Chinese Expeditionary Force; 38th Division 113th Regiment; ; 1st Burma Division; 7th Armoured Brigade	33rd Division
Strength
:1,121; :7,000	10,000
Casualties and losses
204 killed; 318 wounded; 20 missing	700 killed

TheBattle of Yenangyaung(Chinese:Nhân An Khương Đại Tiệp;pinyin:Rén'ānqiāng Dàjié;lit.'Great Victory at Yenangyaung') was fought inBurma(nowMyanmar) from 16 to 19 April 1942. As part of theBurma CampaignofWorld War II,the battle was fought betweenChineseandBritishallied forces on one side andJapaneseforces on the other. The battle took place in the vicinity ofYenangyaungand its oil fields.

Background[edit]

The Japanese 55th Divisioninvaded Burmaon 22 December 1941. Following the capture of Rangoon in March 1942, the Allies regrouped in Central Burma. The newly formedBurma Corps,which consisted of British, Indian, and locally raised Burmese troops, was commanded by Lieutenant GeneralWilliam Slim.This force aimed to defend theIrrawaddy Rivervalley; meanwhile, theChinese Expeditionary Force in Burmaprotected theSittaung Rivervalley to the east. After Japanese forcescaptured Singaporeand theDutch East Indies,they were able to use divisions released due to their conquest. They also captured trucks to reinforce their army in Burma and launch attacks into Central Burma.

One objective for the Japanese forces in the Irrawaddy River valley was to capture theYenangyaungoil fields. The battle for these oil fields began on 10 April^[1]and lasted a week. The Japanese attacked the1st Burma Divisionon the Allied right and the48th Indian Infantry Brigadeat Kokkogwa at night during a storm; however, casualties stopped them.^[1]On the next day, the2nd Royal Tank Regiment(2nd RTR) was engaged nearMagweat Thadodan and Alebo. From April 13 to 17, the British forces retreated under Japanese assaults. On several occasions, Japanese roadblocks split theBurma Frontier Force(an internal security force acting as infantry), the1st Burma Division,the British7th Armoured BrigadeHQ and the 2nd RTR into three forces.

On April 15, Lieutenant General Slim gave orders for the oil fields and refinery to be demolished.^[2]GeneralHarold Alexander,who commanded the Burma Army, asked Lieutenant GeneralJoseph Stilwell,the American commander of theChina Burma India Theaterand Chief of Staff toChiang Kai-shek,to move theNew 36th Divisioninto the Yenangyaung area immediately.

Battle[edit]

On 16 April, almost 7,000 British soldiers, along with 500 prisoners and civilians, were encircled by an equal number of Japanese soldiers from theIJA 33rd Divisionat Yenangyaung and its oil field.

The 33rd Division was able to advance between Slim's 17th Division at Taungdwingyi and the 1st Burma Division south of Yenangyaung. Fearing that theBurma Corpsmay become trapped, Slim called uponSun Li-jen's Chinese 38th Division for help.^[3]

Fires at Yenanguang emanating from destroyed equipment and facilities

General Sun requested to lead his entire division to help the 1st Burma Division, but GeneralLo Cho-ying,the commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Burma, refused. On 17 April, General Sun led his 113th Regiment, which consisted of 1,121 men, 800 of whom were combat personnel, on the mission instead. Because the Chinese forces had no artillery or tanks, Lieutenant General Slim assigned the 7th Armoured Brigade, which was commanded byBrigadier John Anstice,to General Sun. The brigade consisted of two regiments (battalions) ofM3 Stuartlight tanks and a battery of25-pounderguns.^[4]

For the next three days, the Chinese forces attacked southwards. The temperatures reached 114 °F (46 °C) and smoke from the demolished oil wells and refineries hung over the battlefield.^[5]

Results[edit]

According to Allen,^{[clarification needed]}the British were "deprived of a supply port at Rangoon, [and] then of [their] source of fuel at Yenangyaung[;] the question was no longer whether to retreat, but where to?"^[3]^: 70

Notes[edit]

^^a ^bSlim, p.64
^Slim, p.72
^^a ^bAllen, Louis (1984).Burma: The Longest War 1941-45.London: Phoenix Press. p. 64.ISBN 9781842122600.
^Slim, pp.71-73
^Slim, p.74

Sources[edit]

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. Pg. 377
Slim, William (1956).Defeat into Victory.London: Cassell.ISBN 0-304-29114-5.

External links[edit]

[Slim,_p.64-1] Slim, p.64

[2] Slim, p.72

[la-3] Allen, Louis (1984).Burma: The Longest War 1941-45.London: Phoenix Press. p. 64.ISBN 9781842122600.

[4] Slim, pp.71-73

[5] Slim, p.74

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