Battle of Tachiao
Encyclopedia
Battle of Tachiao March 18 - 19, 1942, was the first clash in the Battle of Yunnan-Burma Road
in the Burma Campaign
of World War II
and Second Sino-Japanese War
.
Advanced elements of the 200th Division arrived at Toungoo on March 8, 1942 and took over defensive positions from the British forces. The city of Toungoo itself would be the main defensive position of the Chinese forces, with an outpost a few kilometers to the south at Oktwin. Major-General Dai Anlan the divisional commander, sent the Motorized Cavalry Regiment and 1st Company, 598th Infantry Regiment to the banks of the Kan River 35 miles south of Toungoo and 12 miles south of the town of Pyu. The cavalry regiment plus a company of infantry pushed up to Kan River, with a platoon of cyclists taking up positions at the bridge over the river near the village of Nyaungchidauk.
At first light on March 18, about 200 Japanese reconnaissance troops from the 143rd Regiment of the 55th Division advanced right up to the bridge on motorbikes. Reaching the outposts they were ambushed by the Chinese troops hiding along the sides of the road. Chinese armoured cars joined the attack and after three hours of fighting the Japanese fell back, leaving some 30 dead behind together with some twenty rifles, two light machine guns and some 19 motorbikes. After night fell, the Japanese continued their attacks with small units, and the Chinese covering force fell back toward their line at Oktwin. Following up the next day, Pyu fell to the Japanese on the 19th.
External Links
Battle of Yunnan-Burma Road
Battle of Yunnan-Burma Road was the name of the Chinese intervention to aid their British allies in the 1942 Burma Campaign. Its forces were composed of the Fifth, Sixth and Sixty-sixth Army under the command of the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Burma, commanded by Lt. General Joseph Stilwell, Lt...
in the Burma Campaign
Burma Campaign
The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan, Thailand, and the Indian National Army. British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from...
of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
.
Advanced elements of the 200th Division arrived at Toungoo on March 8, 1942 and took over defensive positions from the British forces. The city of Toungoo itself would be the main defensive position of the Chinese forces, with an outpost a few kilometers to the south at Oktwin. Major-General Dai Anlan the divisional commander, sent the Motorized Cavalry Regiment and 1st Company, 598th Infantry Regiment to the banks of the Kan River 35 miles south of Toungoo and 12 miles south of the town of Pyu. The cavalry regiment plus a company of infantry pushed up to Kan River, with a platoon of cyclists taking up positions at the bridge over the river near the village of Nyaungchidauk.
At first light on March 18, about 200 Japanese reconnaissance troops from the 143rd Regiment of the 55th Division advanced right up to the bridge on motorbikes. Reaching the outposts they were ambushed by the Chinese troops hiding along the sides of the road. Chinese armoured cars joined the attack and after three hours of fighting the Japanese fell back, leaving some 30 dead behind together with some twenty rifles, two light machine guns and some 19 motorbikes. After night fell, the Japanese continued their attacks with small units, and the Chinese covering force fell back toward their line at Oktwin. Following up the next day, Pyu fell to the Japanese on the 19th.
Sources
- [1] 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. 376
- [2] China's Anti-Japanese War Combat Operations
- Author : Guo Rugui, editor-in-chief Huang Yuzhang
- Press : Jiangsu People's Publishing House
- Date published : 2005-7-1
- ISBN 7-214-03034-9
- [3] Yuan zheng Yin Mian kang zhan (Battles of the Expeditionary Force in India and Burma)
- Publisher: Zhongguo wen shi chu ban she
- Date published: Monday, January 1, 1990
- A collection of memoirs and first hand accounts by KMT officers.
External Links
- Axis History Forum: Chinese 200th Division: descriptions of actions needed! Discussion and map of the battle of Toungoo and the actions leading up to it.