Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan

Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan (Chinese: 滇西緬北戰役 October 1943 – March 1945) was the name of the Chinese campaign with their allies in the 1943–45 Burma Campaign. The campaign ended in an Allied victory.

Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan
Part of the Burma campaign, the South-East Asian theatre of World War II, the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific Theater of World War II
Chinese soldiers fight along the Salween River in Burma
Date October 1943 – March 1945 Location Northern Burma and Western Yunnan 22.83°N 97.14°E / 22.83; 97.14 Result Allied victory
Belligerents
China United Kingdom United States	Japan Thailand
Commanders and leaders
Long Yun Wei Li-huang Song Xilian Sun Li-jen	Masakazu Kawabe Heitarō Kimura
Strength
Western Claim : 400,000 Chinese Claim[1] : X Force (Chinese army in India) : 60,266 troops Y Force (Second Chinese Expeditionary Force) : 153,441 troops	Western Claim : 150,000 Chinese Claim[1] : In Northern Burma : 60,408 troops In Western Yunnan : 33,822 troops
Casualties and losses
Western Claim : 107,000 Chinese Claim : Chinese army in India : 12,729[2] or 18,609[3] killed, wounded, or missing Second Chinese Expeditionary Force : 31,443 killed and 35,948 wounded[4][1]	Western Claim : 108,000 (at least 30,000 Japanese soldiers dead) Chinese Claim : In Northern Burma[2] : 27,666 killed 42,760 wounded 395 captured In Western Yunnan:[1] 25,102 killed, wounded, or captured Japanese Claim : In Western Yunnan Counterattack against the Second Chinese Expeditionary Force (29 April until 5 July 1944):[5] 1,719 killed 1,257 wounded about 200 died of illness about 4,500 fallen ill First phase of the 'Disrupt' operation (6 July until 5 October 1944)[6] : 56th division : 4,868 killed 1,430 wounded 386 died of illness 11,081 fallen ill 2nd division : about 800 killed about 800 wounded Second phase of the 'Disrupt' operation (5 October 1944 until 26 January 1945):[7] 1,803 killed 3,194 wounded 27 died of illness 1,822 fallen ill Total : about 9,190 killed about 6,681 wounded about 613 died of illness about 17,403 fallen ill In Northern Burma unknown

It is one of the large-scale battles of the Second Sino-Japanese War, located in the border area between Yunnan Province, China and northern Myanmar, 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 British Army, and Merrill's Marauders 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 of the Chinese National Army, and the deputy commander of the campaign was General Joseph Stilwell of the US Army. The main force of the Japanese army was the Japanese Burmese front. The commander of the battle was Masakazu Kawabe, then Heitaro Kimura, later Shinichi Tanaka and others. The total strength was 200,000-400,000 for Allied and 90,000-150,000 for Japan.

The Battle of Northern Myanmar and Western Yunnan lasted one and a half years. At the cost of more than 80,000 casualties, the Allies claimed to have killed more than 30,000 Japanese soldiers,^[8] reopened southwest China to the Burma Road, and recovered all the lost land on the west bank of the Salween River 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. On May 4, 1942, the Japanese army invaded Longling County, and at the same time dispatched 54 aircraft to carry out a violent bombing of Baoshan, Yunnan, the Millennium Ancient City; on the 10th, the Japanese army invaded the border city of Tengchong. 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" 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

• Battle of Yupang October - December 1943
• Battle of Lashio January 1944
• Battle of Maingkwan February - 5 March 1944
• Battle of Mogaung March 1944
• Siege of Myitkyina April - August 1944
• Battle of Mount Song May - September 1944
• Battle of Mongyu December 1944 - January 1945
• Battle of Lashio March 1945
• Battle of Hsipaw March 1945

Aftermath

In June 1945, the Nationalist Government awarded the Flying Tiger Flag to eleven units. The 36th, 87th, 88th, and honorary 1st divisions made outstanding achievements in recapturing Longling. The 54th corps, 198th division, and 103rd division made outstanding achievements in recapturing Mount Song and Tengchong. The new 1st army and new 6th army completed their missions in foreign lands. The new 22nd division made outstanding achievements in Maingkwan, Kamaing, Shwegu, Hsipaw, and other places. The new 38th division made outstanding achievements in Yupang, Mogaung, Bhamo, Lashio, and other places.^[9] On September 27, 1945, the Nationalist Government awarded the Flying Tiger Flag to the 9th division of the 2nd army.^[10]