Victory in Arakan
Geoffrey Evans describes how British and Indian forces recovered Burma from the Japanese during the Second World War.
‘You have given the Japanese a crack they will remember. Three weeks ago the enemy sent a large and formidable force through the jungle to cut your lines of communication and attack you in the rear. You have met the onslaught with courage, confidence and resolution.’
‘The enemy forces which infiltrated have been destroyed and scattered. The threatened passes are clear, the roads are open. You have gained a complete victory.’
These are extracts from the Order of the Day issued on February 29th, 1944, by the Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia Command, Admiral Mountbatten, to 14th Army, Eastern Air Command and Arakan Naval Coastal Forces.
Almost exactly twenty-five years to the day have elapsed since this Order was published and since this momentous battle was fought in the dense jungles of Arakan, the most westerly province of Burma. Those who fought there will not forget their experiences, and historians will regard this battle as the turning point of the campaign in Burma.
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