Arthur Swinson�s account of his time in
the Japanese invasion of the British India from April to June 1944,
this book is a tour de force about the battle of Kohima.
On 7 March 1944 Tokyo announced that the Japanese invasion of British
India had begun. By mid-month, the Japanese 31st Division had crossed
the Chindwin River in northern Burma, advancing on a wide front towards
Imphal and Kohima. In bitter jungle fighting from early April, the
British Fourteenth Army under Field Marshal Slim held the Japanese
assault on Kohima Ridge. By late June the Japanese were in headlong
retreat.
Kohima ranks for strategic importance with Alamein, Midway and
Stalingrad. The increasing dominance of Allied airpower in the region in
the aftermath of the battle was a major factor in turning the tide of
the war in East Asia against the Japanese.
Drawing on documents and diaries from Japanese as well as Allied
sources, Arthur Swinson, who served at Kohima, not only presents a
thrilling and fascinating tale of heroism and combat action, but also
analyses the political background to and long-term impact of a clash
described by Mountbatten as �one of the greatest battles in history�.
