Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan
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Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan ( Chinese: 滇西緬北戰役 October 1943 – March 1945) was the name of the
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
campaign with their allies in the 1943–45 Burma Campaign. The campaign ended in an Allied victory. It is one of the large-scale battles of the
War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese ...
, located in the border area between
Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
Province, China and northern
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 ...
, starting at the beginning of December 1943. The purpose of the battle is to open up the China-India Highway. At the end of March 1945, the
Chinese Expeditionary Force The Chinese Expeditionary Force () was an expeditionary unit of Republic of China (1912-1949), China's National Revolutionary Army that was dispatched to British rule in Burma, Burma and British Raj, India in support of the Allies of World War II ...
, the British Army, and the
Merrill's Marauders Merrill’s Marauders (named after Frank Merrill) or Unit ''Galahad'', officially named the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), was a United States Army long range penetration special operations jungle warfare unit, which fought in the Southe ...
joined forces in Muse, Burma (Myanmar), while the Japanese Army lost the North Burma Stronghold. The Allied Forces were jointly formed by the troops of China, the United States and the United Kingdom. Among them, the Chinese participating forces included the Chinese Army in India and the Chinese Expeditionary Force. The commander-in-chief of the campaign was General
Wei Lihuang Wei Lihuang () (16 February 1897 – 17 January 1960) was a Chinese general who served the Nationalist government throughout the Chinese Civil War and Second Sino-Japanese War as one of China's most successful military commanders. First joinin ...
of the Chinese National Army, and the deputy commander of the campaign was General
Joseph Stilwell Joseph Warren "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell (March 19, 1883 – October 12, 1946) was a United States Army general who served in the China Burma India Theater during World War II. An early American popular hero of the war for leading a column walking ...
of the US Army. The main force of the Japanese army was the Japanese Burmese front. The commander of the battle was
Masakazu Kawabe was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army. He held important commands in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War, and during World War II in the Burma Campaign and defense of the Japanese homeland late in the war. He was ...
, then Heitaro Kimura, later
Shinichi Tanaka is a Japanese ski jumper Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and oth ...
and others. The total strength was more than 400,000 for Allied and 150,000 for Japan.. The Battle of Northern Myanmar and Western Yunnan lasted one and a half years. At the cost of 31,443 people killed and 35,948 wounded, the Allies killed more than 25,000 Japanese soldiers, reopened southwest China to the
Burma Road The Burma Road () was a road linking Burma (now known as Myanmar) with southwest China. Its terminals were Kunming, Yunnan, and Lashio, Burma. It was built while Burma was a British colony to convey supplies to China during the Second Sino-J ...
, and recovered all the lost land on the west bank of the
Salween River , ''Mae Nam Salawin'' ( , name_etymology = , image = Sweet_View_of_Salween_River_in_Tang_Yan_Township,_Shan_State,_Myanmar.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Salween River in Shan State, Myanmar , map ...
in western Yunnan.


Background

At the turn of spring and summer in 1942, the Japanese army captured Burma and immediately prepared to attack west Yunnan. They were expected to fight along Burma Road, conquer Yunnan and threaten
Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
. On May 4, 1942, the Japanese army invaded
Longling County Longling County () is a county in Baoshan City, in the west of Yunnan Province, China, bordering Burma's Shan State to the south. Its capital is the large community Longshan (). The site of the Songshan Battlefield () (1944 during the Second S ...
, and at the same time dispatched 54 aircraft to carry out a violent bombing of
Baoshan, Yunnan (; historically also Yongchang, Burmese:ပေါက်ရှန်) is a prefecture-level city in Western Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China. Baoshan is the second-biggest metropolitan area in western Yunnan after Dali. Geography a ...
, the Millennium Ancient City; on the 10th, the Japanese army invaded the border city of
Tengchong Tengchong () is a county-level city of Baoshan City, western Yunnan province, People's Republic of China. It is well known for its volcanic activity. The city is named after the town of Tengchong which serves as its political center, previously kn ...
. At this point, a large area west of the Salween River (Nu River) fell into the hands of the Japanese army. The 71st Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force set up defenses on the east bank of the Nu River, repeatedly frustrated the Japanese army’s attempt to move eastward, and thus stabilized the war situation, and confronted it across the river for two years. At that time, after the Burma Road, which was once the only land international transportation artery, was cut off, a large amount of military supplies to China could only be transported by the US Air Force through "
The Hump The Hump was the name given by Allied pilots in the Second World War to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains over which they flew military transport aircraft from India to China to resupply the Chinese war effort of Chiang Kai-shek and t ...
" with much difficulty and no security. In order to regain control of the Burma Road, the six divisions of the Chinese Expeditionary Forces in India and the British and Indian forces jointly launched a counterattack against the Japanese army in northern Myanmar in late October 1943, and achieved initial results. On April 17, the following year, the Chinese Expeditionary Force carried out a counter-attack plan for crossing the river.


Battles in Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan

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Battle of Yupang A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
October - December 1943 *
Battle of Lashio A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
January 1944 * Battle of Maingkwan February - 5 March 1944 *
Battle of Mogaung The Battle of Mogaung was a series of engagements that was fought in the Burma Campaign of World War II between 6 and 26 June 1944 at the Burmese town of Mogaung. In brutal fighting, the 77th 'Chindit' Brigade under Brigadier Michael Calvert, l ...
March 1944 *
Siege of Myitkyina The siege of Myitkyina was an engagement during the Burma campaign of World War II. The Allied victory was part of the larger Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan which succeeded in opening the Ledo Road. Background Joseph Stilwell in ...
April - August 1944 *
Battle of Mount Song The Battle of Mount Song (), also known as the , in 1944 was part of a larger campaign in southwest China during the Second World War. Chinese Nationalist forces aimed to retake the Burma Road. Background The Japanese Army in Southern Yunnan ...
May - September 1944 * Battle of Mongyu December 1944 - January 1945 *
Battle of Lashio A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
March 1945 * Battle of Hsipaw March 1945


References


See also

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China Burma India Theater of World War II China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was officia ...
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Burma Campaign 1944-1945 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 ...
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Battle of Yunnan-Burma Road A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
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Northern Combat Area Command The Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC) was a subcommand of the Allied South East Asia Command (SEAC) during World War II. It controlled Allied ground operations in northern Burma. For most of its existence, NCAC was commanded by United States ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Northern Burma And Western Yunnan South-East Asian theatre of World War II Battles of the Second Sino-Japanese War Military history of Burma during World War II Military history of Yunnan 1943 in Burma 1944 in Burma 1945 in Burma