https://www.teabox.com/blog/war-came-assam
Interesting find while pursuing something else : )
Interesting find while pursuing something else : )
The Assam-Kunming road and rail links were vital and the Hump airlift operated from multiple airfields. It referred to the Himalayas, the Hump that cost the mainly US aircrews 700 planes. 500 of which have never been recovered. Flights took off every two minutes, with just a one in three chance of the pilot surviving the next 1,000 mile round trip.
The Assam region was the nexus of the defense against Japan because it provided the few pathways through the Himalayas. The Japanese invaders brought with them 5,000 mules, an indicator of the terrain. These were not enough. None survived and most were eaten; that’s an indicator of the conditions. The battles were slugfests, with very high casualties. Professional soldiers and historians increasingly recognize the critical importance of Kohima; it was they who voted it the greatest battle in Britain’s entire history.
“When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today.”
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