07/06/2024
"The Stalingrad of the East"
As the Allied Forces landed on the Beaches of Normandy, half way round the world on Kohima Ridge the invasion of India by the Japanese Imperial Army was halted by the bravery of a small garrison of just 1500 British and Indian soldiers, who, although outnumbered by about 10:1, held out for 14 days, until relieved by the British 2nd Division. The Battle ended on 22 June when the siege of Imphal was lifted.
In the words of King Charles III ""...let us never forget that the soldiers who fought in the campaign launched from this place came from thirty nations, from across the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and Allied countries; while elsewhere in Europe Allied forces continued to make vital progress in their successful Italian campaign; and while halfway around the world, at that same moment, the critical battles of Imphal and Kohima raged on in what was then Burma."