Defenceindia : Special Feature : Battle of POKOKU and Irrawaddy River

Battle of POKOKU and Irrawaddy River Operations By 4/ 5 Royal Gurkha Rifles {Frontier Force}{4/ 5 Gorkha Rifles {Frontier Force}} 4 Feb - 13 May 1945 {Burma - World War II}

Brigadier Rattan Kaul, 4/5 Gorkha Rifles {Frontier Force}

'Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash".
- General George Patton

In Preparatory Oprations
Early December 1944 Major General G C Evans CBE DSO took over. In the same month a special ceremonial parade was held at Imphal, when the Viceroy knighted the Army Commander Lieutenant General Sir William Slim, For. General KCB,DSO , MC and his three Corps Commanders. The Battalion represented the Offensive Gurkha,s of the 7th Division in this parade with a contingent under Major I M Brown, MC**, Jemedar 'Bomb' Bom Bahadur Thapa, MC, IDSM and a contingent of 98 GOR {Gurkha Other Ranks}. Japanese 31st Division had been decimated at Kohima and their 33rd and 15th Division had also met the same fate and had cost Japanese at least fifty thousand dead. In previous years there used to be lull during the monsoon period but not this year {1944-45}. It was time for general offensive, targeted at the heart of Japanese in Burma. General Slim's plan through the monsoon months had been pursuit of the defeated Japanese in Kohima and plains of Imphal with 5th Indian Division down the Tiddim Road and 11th East African Division down the Kabaw valley, until the two joined hand at Kalemyo. The next offensive plan centred on the occupation of Central Burma, as far South as Mandalay to exploit further South and destroy the Japanese Forces in the Shewbo Plains, North of Irrawaddy, where armour could be used. Allied Forces crossed River Chindwin and the spearheads of both Corps of the Fourteenth Army { IV and XXXIII Corps} were moving into selected battle areas, which surprised Japanese as they had not anticipated any major operations during the monsoon period. Fourteenth Army was now faced with a major obstacle {Irrawaddy} covered by determined Japanese. The Irrawaddy River in its middle is about two thousand yards broad and dotted with treacherous and shifting sand bars. An opposed direct crossing would have been very expensive with low percentage of success.

Revised Offensive Plans
The new situation required a different plan, revolving under surprise and crossing of the Irrawaddy River for fighting major battles in the plains around Mandalay and in the low hills of Meiktila {See Map Below}. Since there was not enough equipment to make an opposed river crossing, Slim planned more than one crossing with adequate deception plans as to where the real assault in strength was to take place. It was decided to make sufficiently strong crossing North of Mandalay to draw main enemy forces, while making the main crossing in the South of Japanese concentrations below Mandalay. The revised plan pertaining to 7 Indian Infantry Division was IV Corps less 19th Division { 7th and 17th Indian Divisions, 28th East African Brigade, Lushai Brigade and 255 Indian Tank Brigade} to move due South, down the Gangaw valley for nearly 300 miles, seize a bridgehead on Irrawaddy at Pokoku and then strike Southeast with mechanised forces at Meiktila and Thazi, with air maintenance.

7th Division Plan
Next operation across Irrawaddy River, was to be a magnificent stroke of bravery and deception, that was to make possible the destruction of the Japanese army in Burma. This involved advance through Gangaw Valley and crossing of Irrawaddy River at Nyungu. Thereafter a quick thrust to Meiktila, capture of which was to cut off Japanese Army fighting in the North and Central Burma. The operation of the7th Indian Infantry Division was initiated by 114th Indian Infantry Brigade by their move to Tamu, over a motorable road; constructing a stretch of 180 miles {Over 280 Kilometres} of motorable road from Tamu to Gangaw in 15 days 114th Brigade and Divisional Headquarters moving along the main axis Kaley Valley road,. The advance was to begin on 19 January 1945 and the 7 Indian Infantry Divisional tasks were:-

" Advance and seize the Pauk area up to and including crossing of Yaw Chaung by not later than 1 February 1945.
" To seize a bridgehead over the Irrawaddy between Chauk and Pokoku suitable for advance to Meiktila by not later than 15th February 1945.

Conduct of 7 Division Operations
The prong led by 8th East African Brigade was successful but Japanese evaded encirclement by 89 Indian Infantry Brigade at Pauk. 114 Brigade fetched up at Tilin and Pokoku achieving surprise, while 33 rd Brigade was still at Gangaw, ready for the next phase. The Fourteenth Army had envisaged feint crossing of the Irrawaddy River at in Outline Pokoku by 7th Division. It was vital move as it was intimately related to proposed sudden attack on Meiktila by remainder of IV Corps. As part of deception measure 28th East African Brigade moved South of 7th Division, to create impression that the objective was Yenangyaung in the South, while 33rd Brigade made the crossing of Irrawaddy at Nyungu, roughly half way between Chauk and Pokoku. On 13 February 1945, 28 East African Brigade appeared on the West bank of Irrawaddy opposite Chauk and the 114 Brigade led by 4/5 GR {FF}, appeared in front of Pokoku. The Japanese sent reinforcements to these places leaving planned crossing places lightly held. The operations of the Battalion {4/5 GR {FF}} in this operation, nicknamed Operation Capital and Extended Capital, has been described in succeeding paragraphs.

Move Forward for Phase of Battle
Battalion left Merema in three parties, starting 4th December 1944 and by 12th Battalion concentrated near Thanan, Southeast of Palel. The first task of the Battalion was road construction for the move of the Brigade {Read above}. On 28th December Next next forward move took place, mostly at night, as secrecy was essential. On 5th January 1945, the Battalion arrived at Kan, having moved part on foot and part in Lorries. On the 15th January the Battalion continued its move through Gangaw Valley and arrived at Tilin on 25th. The Battalion had first clash with Japanese on 29th January since Kohima Battle when a patrol from D Company clashed with Japanese. After search by C Company no Japanese were found in the area. On the 3rd of February the Battalion was told of its next objective; Pokoku on the Irrawaddy River.

Assault on Japanese Positions at Kahnla {Pokoku}
For the next phase of the operation, capture of Pokoku, the Battalion moved on 4th February and began its approach to the next designated objective. This operation was part of bigger plan at the Fourteenth Army level {Read Above}. During the night C Company under Major Beytagh cleared the road and the Battalion followed up in lorries early on the 5th. There was some intermittent shelling and the Japanese were {Pokoku} found holding a strong position at Kahnla Buff, covering approach to the
town. Pokoku was a medium sized village on the Southern side of Irrawaddy River, which was given ample depth by Kahnla Buff. The main defences of Pokoku were based on Kahnla, just ahead of the town, which dominated the entry and the Pokoku village. In fact for any operation towards the river, it would necessitate securing Pokoku village, which in turn meant the Kahnla Buff. The task, therefore, was to capture Kahnla Buff and there after secure the village. On 5 Feb, A Company {Captain Fisher}, D Company {Major Brown, MC*} and Commanding Officer {CO} Lieutenant Colonel J H Turner's Group made encircling move of Kahnla position from North. Alfa Company dealt a Japanese outpost. Kahnla was hardly 200 yards ahead, when troops came under heavy fire. A Company moved further left and attacked from Northeast, while D Company forming up in Kahnla village for the attack from West; with Hotel Hour at 5-30 PM fought its way, overran half of the Japanese position, including a strong Medium Machine Gun {MMG} bunker. Not less than 30 Japanese were killed and many wounded, while two Medium Machine Gun's {MMG's}, three Light Machine Guns {LMG} and twenty rifles were recovered. One of the Battalion's wounded was CHM Bhagta Bahadur Gurung, whose outstanding courage and leadership in this attack brought him a well-earned Indian Order of Merit {IOM}. Major I M Brown MC** was awarded one more Bar to MC {Military Cross}. These were two of the 41 major awards won by the Battalion during operations in Burma Theatre.

During World War II. The assault indicated that the remainder of the objective was strongly held. Further reconnaissance on 6 Feb indicated remainder objective strongly held and on 7 Feb 4/1 Gurkha Rifles established firm base for the Battalion. On 8 Feb, D Company {Brown} cleared another Japanese position, killing twelve and wounding three Japanese with no causalities to own troops. The main attack was planned for 10th February with Hotel Hour at 6-45 AM. The adverse weather conditions precluded preparatory air bombardment. The assault began with C Company {Beytagh} and tanks of Gordon Highlanders. Troops charged and in-spite of the tank fire support own causalities in one platoon were nearly fifty percent. A Company {Fisher} was immediately pressed into assault in the rear of the position from East, while D Company {Brown} assaulted onto the right of the C Company, with tanks in support. The Commandant Lieutenant Colonel J H Turner had hardly given these orders when he was hit by a snipers bullet and Major D E Owen, Second-in-Command took over. Resistance by Japanese position defended by a battalion was fanatical; they fought till killed. The objective was fully captured by the afternoon of 10th February. The whole Battalion reorganised on the objective, which probably had been held by a Japanese Battalion. One Prisoner of War {POW} was taken and fifty-one bodies counted. During night 10/11Feb, Japanese launched six unsuccessful counterattacks and on night 11/12 Feb tried to infiltrate into the Battalion position, without success. On night 13 Feb, B Company {McBride}, C Company {Beytagh} occupied position closer to Pokoku Village, called Sinlan The Battalion finally entered, searched the village same night and also occupied the Northern portion of Pokoku. With this operation, unique as it was, decimating nearly battalion strength of Japanese, the first stage of 7 Indian Infantry Division task was completed and foothold gained on the West Bank of Irrawaddy River, for further operations. The operation was magnificent stroke of bravery and deception, making possible the next phase of offensive for destruction of Japanese in Burma. Equipment captured included one 75mm Gun {Now with the Centre- 58 GTC} and one Medium Machine and One Light Machine Gun. The Medium Machine Gun was held by 58 GTC as War Trophy and taken back in 1963. This is prominently displayed now in the Battalion Quarterguard.

Commandant Becomes Battle Causality
Battalion casualties were five killed and twenty six wounded. Lieutenant Colonel J H Turner died next day due to battle wounds. On 18th February Lieutenant Colonel A D MacConachie from 7th Gurkha's arrived evening and took over command of the Battalion from Major D E Owen. Turner had earned respect of his men. His quick grasp of the situation and prompt decisions during the two assaults at
Kahnla {Pokoku} had much to earn the success, which he was not spared to see, while his coolness, particularly under the heavy shelling and small arms fire prior to the first assault at Kahnla {Pokoku} was a fine example.

Consolidation at Pokoku and On Irrawaddy Banks
On 19th February Battalion was ordered to clear an island in the Irrawaddy River lying off Pokoku, fire from which was interfering with forward movement The island was five miles long by three miles broad, quite flat, dotted with small villages, few paddy fields, clumps of trees and elephant grass. A Company {Fisher}and B Company {McBride} cleared the East and South portion of the island towards Pokoku. D Company {Brown} was held up by intense fire from well dug Japanese, holding a bridgehead to cover their route to the rear areas. C Company {Beytagh} then moved forward for further clearance and occupied the position, as Japanese withdrew under heavy pressure. With all the enemy positions cleared, the Battalion concentrated back at Pokoku.

Pokoku The Hinge of 7th Division Task
Everything possible was done to make Japanese believe that a crossing of Irrawaddy would be made at Pokoku. 33rd Brigade had slipped quietly to the South and on the 14th February, when the Battalion had captured Pokoku, made a surprise crossing with, as General Slim described it; " a few bamboos and a ball of string" and secured a of bridgehead at Nyungu, just North of ancient Burmese capital of Pagan On the 20th February, forces, crossed the river and captured Meiktila as planned.. The role of the 7th Division opened the way for 17th Indian Infantry Division, with achievement of surprise and the Battalion's task had been to win the first round by the capture of Pokoku.

Move to Nyungu Bridgehead
On 24th February the Battalion moved south from Pokoku, crossed Irrawaddy River and took over part of Nyungu bridgehead. There were enough indications that Japanese may attack the bridgehead. After three weeks of stay and patrolling the Battalion was ordered to clear Japanese position at Kyaukpadaung road, some eleven miles Southeast of Pagan, at a village named Myauke Ngaliang. A squadron of 116th Regiment RAC {Gordon Highlanders} supported the assault by the Battalion less two Companies {B and D} on 25 February. The Japanese had dug in on the banks of an artificial reservoir, which was cleared by Guerrilla Platoon and a troop of tanks under Lieutenant Buckley, while A Company {under Major D E Owen, the Second-in-Command} prepared to take the village. Since the Japanese had constructed their defences inside the village, in the houses, it was decided to destroy them to force out Japanese. The village was soon secured, in which seven Japanese including an officer were killed. The large number of prisoners during these battles, many wounded, were carried on tanks and later handed over to the Divisional Headquarters. The Battalion remained in the Nyungu bridgehead for next six weeks. Though Japanese maintained pressure against the bridgehead there were no major activities in the area, barring minor patrol clashes. One not so comfortable feature of the area was the large number of Cobras it harboured and one of the men from mess staff had been bitten. This led to drill of inspecting beds and bedding very carefully. Even the commanding officer's camp cot was lost when another welcome visitor was dealt with, perhaps overzealously, with sticks.

Operations West Bank Irrawaddy River
On the West Bank of Irrawaddy 28 East African Brigade had moved south to make a feint crossing in Chauk Area {See Map}. The reaction by Japanese was violent on forcing the East Africans to fall back. The situation was stabilised by the move of a battalion {4/14th Punjab} of the brigade to the area and the remainder of the brigade of {114th} was ordered to move to Letse to drive out Japanese. The Battalion moved on 7th April, following 2nd South Lancashire Regiment, part by Lorries and part on foot. During the move it was found that information about the Japanese was scanty. The Battalion and other units of the brigade reached Letse on 9th April. On 18th April Battalion was on the move again on the heels of retreating Japanese. The move continued uninterrupted for 4 days and on 21/22 April Seikpyu was reached. A search disclosed only one badly wounded Japanese , who died during the night. On the morning of 22 April, a reconnaissance party under Subedar Anaram crossed Irrawaddy River in a small boat to gain contact with troops advancing down the East Bank. As they approached Chauk {See Map } they were fired upon, much to their indignation, by own British Troops. The mistake was understandable as, owing to the unbearable heat and humidity, they had stripped to the waist and the naked Gurkha torso is by no means different from that of Japanese. The advance continued on 22, 23 and in the night stopped at a place ten miles {16 Kilometres} North of Salin. On the morning of 24 the move was resumed with A Company {Fisher} in the lead. There was a ridge with a prominent Golden Pagoda and a monastery and soon the leading troops were pinned down with heavy fire. The task of clearing the opposition was allotted to B Company {Captain G W Maycock} supported by heavy artillery concentration, while C and D Companies were to continue their advance from a flank and block the road from the rear. The whole position was captured but not before Japanese had given a determined fight. Thirty-nine Japanese bodies were recovered. The Battalion too had suffered nine dead and ten wounded. Next day {25th} the advance was resumed. Even the administrative company column under Captains Mackenzie and Nunn ran into three Japanese, killed two and wounded the third. A rifleman of D Company catching a fleeting glimpse of a Japanese Officer, gave a chase and caught and bayoneted his quarry. On 30th April Battalion reached Pwinbu without any further incident and remained there till 3rd May, when ordered to move and clear another Japanese position at Pagan village. On the 5th May heavy opposition was met and B Company was held up, wounding the company commander {Maycock} and his second-in-command Subedar Harka Bahadur Pun {He was awarded Military Cross for his bravery}. Meanwhile D Company under Lieutenant R J Singleton cleared part of the position. By 6th May evening C Company and D Company put a ring around the position from the South. A roadblock in the rear of the Japanese was established on 7th and plans made to assault the position on 8th May. The village of Pagan was secured on 8th May itself as the Japanese had withdrawn during the preceding night. For the first time the Battalion had suffered more causalities in this operation than they inflicted on the Japanese.

Final Blow
While these subsidiary operations, minor in comparison, had been taking place West of Irrawaddy River, the Battle of Mandalay had been fought out. The Japanese had been decisively and finally beaten. The Japanese Army in Burma except for those still East of Sittang River had ceased to exist as an organised and integrated force. On 2nd May 1945 Rangoon had been reoccupied and General Slim's plans had been brought to a triumphant conclusion. The monsoon was about to break and the next phase was to be a large scale mopping up operations. On 14th May the Battalion left Pagan for what it hoped would be a fairly permanent monsoon location. After several changes of location, the Battalion arrived at Allanmyo, forty mile North of Prome. Orders were soon received on 27th May to move to Prome for further operational tasks.