The Battlefields of Imphal: The Second World War and North East India

by Hemant Singh Katoch

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Genres: India

182 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Randhir · Rating 4 out of 5]

It becomes very clear once one starts reading this book that Hemant Katoch has done a thorough job in studying the battlefields of World War 2 around Imphal. It was here that the Japanese conquering tide was arrested and finally rolled back in three hard fought months of 1944. The Battles of Imphal - Kohima are considered amongst the four greatest battles of the War. I got fully immersed into the book more so as my father was a part of the Retreat from Tiddim and was amongst the soldiers till Apr/ May when the Japanese offensive was arrested. The severe trials took a toll on him and he was eventually evacuated from Korengai suffering from severe dysentery. I myself served in the area for two years at the height of the Insurgency and came to know Bishenpur and its environs rather well. An effort to reach Mortar Bluff through the secondary jungles was backbreaking and we barely covered 800 yds in an hour. More the reason one can only be filled with admiration for those who fought pitilessly here. The Japanese soldier was a master of tactics and the manner in which he infiltrated through the Bishenpur defences fills one with admiration. I also admire the Author who painstakingly walked the trails and took photographs of all the features, that too in the teeth of an incipient insurgency. That be said he has been badly let down by his publishers, Routledge and their South Asia Edition. The map is indecipherable even with a magnifying glass, while the quality of photographs, so painstakingly assembled by the Author, have been grossly subverted. The Author brings out the battles along each of the axes leading into Imphal. It's apparent that the protagonists gave no quarter. However, because the allies had air superiority the edge was theirs, though it was still a close run thing. On each axis the role of the INA is sympathetically covered by Katoch. His is a mighty effort and his recommendations, at the end, are worth implementing. For as the saying goes, those who ignore history are bound to repeat it. This is a pioneering effort and deserves all encouragement.