The Battle of Pegu was an engagement in the Burma campaign in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Fought from 3–7 March 1942, it concerned the defence of Rangoon (now

Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

) in Burma (now

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

forces closed in on the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

who were deployed near Pegu (now

Bago Bago may refer to: Places Myanmar * Bago, Myanmar, a city and the capital of the Bago Region * Bago District, a district of the Bago Region * Bago Region an administrative region * Bago River, a river * Bago Yoma or Pegu Range, a mountain range ...

). With the 17th Infantry Division decimated and scattered, the forces available for the whole of Burma were the

1st Burma Division First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

and the

7th Armoured Brigade 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

, equipped with American-made Stuart or "Honey"

light tank A light tank is a tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller in size with thinner armor and a less powerful main gun, tailored for better tactical mobility and ease of ...

s. The British commanders had already decided not to contest Rangoon, but their new strategy relied on convincing the Japanese that Rangoon would be heavily defended.Liddell Hart 1970, p. 218. British/Indian forces fighting at Pegu were the

7th Queen's Own Hussars The 7th Queen's Own Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first formed in 1689. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in ...

, the

Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Army, the only regiment of rifles amongst the Scottish regiments of infantry. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 26th Cameronian Reg ...

, 2nd Battalion,

12th Frontier Force Regiment The 12th Frontier Force Regiment was formed in 1922 as part of the British Indian Army. It consisted of five regular battalions; numbered 1 to 5 and the 10th (Training) Battalion. During the Second World War a further ten battalions were raised. ...

, and surviving elements of the 17th Infantry; the

West Yorkshire Regiment ) , march = ''Ça Ira'' , battles = Namur FontenoyFalkirk Culloden Brandywine , anniversaries = Imphal (22 June) The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was ...

, 1st Battalion,

4th Prince of Wales's Own Gurkha Rifles The 4th Gorkha Rifles or the Fourth Gorkha Rifles, abbreviated as 4 GR, is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army comprising Gurkha soldiers of Nepalese nationality, especially Magars and Gurungs hill tribes of Nepal. The Fourth Gorkha Rifles h ...

7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles The 7th Gurkha Rifles was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army, before being transferred to the British Army, following India's independence in 1947 and after 1959 designated as the 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles. History F ...

, and the 4th Battalion, 12th Frontier Force Regiment.Rodger, p. 343

The battle

Payagyi

"B" Squadron of the 7th Hussars, Maj. G. C. Davies-Gilbert commanding, arrived in the village of Payagyi to find the Japanese already there. Visibility was poor, and radio communication difficult. After a brief infantry engagement, the Stuart

s (nicknamed "Honeys" in the British and Commonwealth militaries) opened fire, destroying two

Type 95 Ha-Go The was a light tank used by the Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War, at Battles of Khalkhin Gol, Nomonhan against the Soviet Union, and in the Second World War. It proved sufficient against infantry but, like the American M3 Stu ...

Japanese tanks. A confused battle ensued, in which two more Type 95s were destroyed, another Type 95 was abandoned by its crew, and four Japanese anti-tank guns captured. Then the order came for the British to move to

Hlegu Hlegu ( my, လှည်းကူး, ) is a small city in Yangon Division, Burma (Myanmar) about 45 km north-east of Yangon. It is located on both sides of the Ngamoyeik River (Ngamoyeik Chaung).molotov cocktails A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flammab ...

, knocking out one of the Honeys. In the end, they were forced to retreat in the face of heavy fire from the tanks. The 7th Hussars' regimental chaplain, the Revd Neville Metcalfe, was awarded an immediate

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

for his actions in helping the British wounded, and conducting burial services for the dead, despite being wounded by mortar fire.

Aftermath

General Alexander realised that Rangoon was doomed, and his new plan involved a withdrawal to Prome, some 200 miles to the north. The objective, to convince the Japanese that Rangoon would be defended, had been achieved. The British Indian Army moved on to Taukkyan that evening.

Battle honours

The British and Commonwealth system of

battle honours A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

recognised participation in the Battle of Pegu in 1956, 1957 and 1962 by the award to one unit the battle honour Pegu and the award to six units the battle honour Pegu 1942 for resisting the Japanese invasion of Burma on 6–7 March 1942.

References

Sources

* Liddell Hart, B.H., ''History of the Second World War.'' New York: G.P. Putnam, 1970. . * * Slim, William (1956), ''Defeat Into Victory''. Citations from the Four Square Books 1958 edition which lacks an ISBN, but also available from NY: Buccaneer Books , Cooper Square Press ; London: Cassell , Pan .

External links

* An account of the Battle of Pegu. {{coord missing, Myanmar

Pegu Bago (formerly spelt Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon. Etymology The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon lang ...

1942 in Burma

March 1942 events