Battle of Yenangyaung

The Battle of Yenangyaung was fought in Burma (now Myanmar) from 16 to 19 April 1942. As part of the Burma Campaign of World War II, the battle was fought between Chinese and British allied forces on one side and Japanese forces on the other. The battle took place in the vicinity of Yenangyaung and its oil fields.

Background
The Japanese 55th Division invaded Burma on 22 December 1941. Following the capture of Rangoon in March 1942, the Allies regrouped in Central Burma. The newly formed Burma Corps, which consisted of British, Indian, and locally raised Burmese troops, was commanded by Lieutenant General William Slim. This force aimed to defend the Irrawaddy River valley; meanwhile, the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Burma protected the Sittaung River valley to the east. After Japanese forces captured Singapore and the Dutch East Indies, they were able to use divisions released due to their conquest. They also captured trucks to reinforce their army in Burma and launch attacks into Central Burma.

One objective for the Japanese forces in the Irrawaddy River valley was to capture the Yenangyaung oil fields. The battle for these oil fields began on 10 April and lasted a week. The Japanese attacked the 1st Burma Division on the Allied right and the 48th Indian Infantry Brigade at Kokkogwa at night during a storm; however, casualties stopped them. On the next day, the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment (2nd RTR) was engaged near Magwe at Thadodan and Alebo. From April 13 to 17, the British forces retreated under Japanese assaults. On several occasions, Japanese roadblocks split the Burma Frontier Force (an internal security force acting as infantry), the 1st Burma Division, the British 7th Armoured Brigade HQ and the 2nd RTR into three forces.

On April 15, Lieutenant General Slim gave orders for the oil fields and refinery to be demolished. General Harold Alexander, who commanded the Burma Army, asked Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, the American commander of the China Burma India Theater and Chief of Staff to Chiang Kai-shek, to move the New 36th Division into the Yenangyaung area immediately.

Battle
On 16 April, almost 7,000 British soldiers, along with 500 prisoners and civilians, were encircled by an equal number of Japanese soldiers from the IJA 33rd Division at Yenangyaung and its oil field.

The 33rd Division was able to advance between Slim's 17th Division at Taungdwingyi and the 1st Burma Division south of Yenangyaung. Fearing that the Burma Corps may become trapped, Slim called upon Sun Li-jen's Chinese 38th Division for help.



General Sun requested to lead his entire division to help the 1st Burma Division, but General Lo Cho-ying, the commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Burma, refused. On 17 April, General Sun led his 113th Regiment, which consisted of 1,121 men, 800 of whom were combat personnel, on the mission instead. Because the Chinese forces had no artillery or tanks, Lieutenant General Slim assigned the 7th Armoured Brigade, which was commanded by Brigadier John Anstice, to General Sun. The brigade consisted of two regiments (battalions) of M3 Stuart light tanks and a battery of 25-pounder guns.

For the next three days, the Chinese forces attacked southwards. The temperatures reached 114 F and smoke from the demolished oil wells and refineries hung over the battlefield.

Results
According to Allen, the British were "deprived of a supply port at Rangoon, [and] then of [their] source of fuel at Yenangyaung[;] the question was no longer whether to retreat, but where to?"