The Battle of Sittang Bridge was part of the Burma campaign during 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 opposi ...

. Fought between 19 February and 23 February 1942, the battle was a victory for the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitu ...

, with many losses for the British

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

, which was forced to retreat in disarray.

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

Sir John George Smyth, V.C.—who commanded the British Indian Army at Sittang Bridge—called it "the Sittang disaster".Liddell Hart 1970, p. 218. The Sittang Bridge was an iron railway bridge spanning several hundred yards across the River Sittang (now Sittaung) near the south coast of 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 Wells explai ...

). The 17th Indian Infantry Division had given "everything it had" at the Battle of Bilin River and was already weak.Liddell Hart 1970, p. 216. Now in retreat, they finally received permission to withdraw across the Sittang on 19 February. They disengaged from the enemy under cover of night, and fell back westwards along the track that led to the bridge. The Japanese 214th and 215th Regiments advanced, aiming to cut the British forces off at Sittang. Lieutenant General

William Slim William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

(later Field Marshal Sir William Slim), who took command of the Burmese theatre shortly after the battle ended, called the Sittang Bridge "the decisive battle of the first campaign".Slim 1956, p. 18.

Battle

Retreat to the bridge

The War in the Far East- the Burma Campaign 1941-1945 CB(OPS)5008

21 February dawned bright and hot, and the 17th Division was short of water. Japanese aircraft strafed and bombed them on the road, inflicting serious casualties and forcing them to abandon vehicles and equipment. Many men took cover in a nearby rubber plantation, the Bogyagi Rubber Estate. At 05:00, the 17th Division's headquarters came under attack at Kyaikto, but the Japanese were beaten back. A small British Indian force made up of detachments from several different units (including the

Duke of Wellington's Regiment The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

) defended the bridge. On 22 February, the

Malerkotla Malerkotla is a city and district headquarters of Malerkotla district in the Indian state of Punjab. It was the seat of the eponymous princely state during the British Raj. The state acceded to the union of India in 1947 and was merged with ...

Sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing ...

s and Miners, led by Richard Orgill, had prepared the rail-cum-road bridge for demolition. However, the

16th Indian Infantry Brigade The 2nd Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in Rawalpindi in September 1939. In October 1940, it was renamed 16th (Independent) Indian Infantry Brigade in November 1941, ...

and

46th Indian Infantry Brigade The 46th Indian Infantry Brigade was an Infantry formation of the Indian Army during World War II. The brigade was formed in June 1941, at Ahmednagar in India and assigned to the 17th Indian Infantry Division. In February 1942, during the Japanes ...

of the 17th Division were still further to the east, cut off. Fearing paratroop landings, Smyth deployed the 1/4th Gurkhas to the western end of the bridge to hold it against attacks from the rear while the 17th Division crossed. He was obliged to send them back again when the Japanese 33 Division attacked from the east. Their first charge nearly took the east end of the bridge, and a British field hospital was captured. 3rd and 5th Gurkhas, approaching the bridge from the east, counterattacked and drove off the Japanese in "a furious battle".Liddell Hart 1970, p. 217. Jungle fighting at close quarters ensued, which lasted most of the day. The bridge was again nearly taken, and the attackers again beaten off. At dusk on 22 February, the British Indian Army still held the bridge.

"My unpleasant and devastating news"

Smyth had ordered his sappers to get ready to blow the bridge. At 4:30 am, in the early morning on 22 February, it became clear that it might fall within the hour. Smyth's choices were to destroy the bridge, stranding more than half of his own troops on the wrong side, or to let it stand and give the Japanese a clear march to Rangoon. According to Smyth, "Hard though it is, there is very little doubt as to what is the correct course: I give the order that the bridge shall be blown immediately." Yet only the Number 5 Span, counting from the east bank, dropped into the river, while Spans 4 and 6 were damaged but remained in place. Smyth reported this "unpleasant and devastating news" to General Hutton, overall commander of the Burmese forces. Slim (1956) says: "It is easy to criticize this decision; it is not easy to make such a decision. Only those who have been faced with the immediate choice of similar grim alternatives can understand the weight of the decision that presses on a commander." But Slim does not actually endorse Smyth's choice, and indeed Smyth was dismissed. He never received another command.

David "Punch" Cowan replaced him in command of the division. The Official History records that Smyth had wanted to move his troops across the Sittang much earlier, and had been refused. It says: "In view of the great importance of getting 17th Division safely across the Sittang, Hutton might have been wiser, once action had been joined on the Bilin, to give Smyth a free hand."

Aftermath

The Japanese could have wiped out the 17th Division, but they did not. They wanted to take Rangoon fast, and the delays involved in a mopping up operation were unacceptable; so they disengaged and headed north in search of another crossing-point. Later on 22 February, survivors of the 17th Division swam and ferried themselves over the Sittang in broad daylight. After smaller actions at the Battle of Pegu and Taukkyan Roadblock, the Japanese went on to take Rangoon unopposed, on 9 March. Fortunately for the survivors of 17th Division, they had dismantled their roadblocks, so those Indians who had escaped Sittang Bridge were able to slip away to the north. The 17th Division's infantry manpower after Sittang was 3,484—just over 40% of its establishment, though it was already well under-strength before the battle started. Most of its artillery, vehicles and other heavy equipment was lost. Between them, they had 550 rifles, ten Bren guns and 12 tommy guns remaining. Most had lost their boots swimming the river. Still, 17th Division could be replenished and re-equipped, and it was. The artillery losses were of

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

-vintage 18-pounders, and the anti-aircraft provision had only been Lewis guns. 17th Division remained in almost constant contact with the Japanese from December 1941 to July 1944, when it was taken out of the front line just before the

Battle of Imphal ) , partof = the Operation U-Go during the Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II , image = Imphalgurkhas.jpg , image_size = 300 , caption = Gurkhas advancing with Grant tanks ...

.Slim 1956, p. 294. According to Louis Allen, "The blowing of the Sittang Bridge with two brigades still on the wrong side of the river was the turning point in the first Burma campaign. Once the Sittang Bridge had gone and the 17th Division rendered powerless, the road to Rangoon was open, and the fate of Burma sealed."

References

Notes Bibliography * 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 . * Jeffreys and Anderson, ''British Army in the Far East 1941–45.'' Osprey Publishing, 2005. .

External links

A soldier's account
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sittang Bridge, Battle of Conflicts in 1942 1942 in Burma South-East Asian theatre of World War II Military history of Burma during World War II Battles and operations of World War II involving India World War II operations and battles of the Pacific theatre Sittang Bridge February 1942 events