page_title: Gloucestershire Regiment
section_title: Retreat from Rangoon
hierarchical_section_title: Gloucestershire Regiment / Second World War / Retreat from Rangoon
caption_attribution_description: Japanese Conquest of Burma April-May 1942
context_page_description: The Gloucestershire Regiment, commonly referred to as the Glosters, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 until 1994. It traced its origins to Colonel Gibson's Regiment of Foot, which was raised in 1694 and later became the 28th Regiment of Foot. The regiment was formed by the merger of the 28th Regiment with the 61st Regiment of Foot. It inherited the unique distinction in the British Army of wearing a badge on the back of its headdress as well as the front, a tradition that originated with the 28th Regiment after it fought in two ranks back to back at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801. At its formation the regiment comprised two regular, two militia and two volunteer battalions, and saw its first action during the Second Boer War.
  Before the First World War, the regiment's four auxiliary battalions were converted to three Territorial Force battalions and a Special Reserve battalion, and a further 18 battalions were added to the regiment's establishment during the war.
context_section_description: In March 1942, the 1st Battalion provided the rearguard for the British retreat from Rangoon during the Japanese conquest of Burma. It saw its first significant action of the war on 7 and 8 March at the Taukkyan Roadblock, and for the rest of the month operated independently to cover the retreat, fighting battles at Letpadan on 17 March and Paungde on 27 March. In a subsequent battle near Padigong, 5 miles (8 km) from Paungde, D Company became isolated for 17 hours and had to fight its way back to the battalion at Shwedaung. In the meantime, the battalion became part of the 63rd Indian Infantry Brigade in the 17th Infantry Division, which had to fight its way to and through Shwedaung when Japanese forces infiltrated between the rearguard and the main column. By the end of March, the 1st Battalion had been reduced to 140 all ranks, its commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Bagot, among the wounded.
  In mid-April, the under-strength battalion became so dispersed while protecting demolition parties at oil installations around Yenangyaung and Chauk that when Bagot returned from hospital he was informed the battalion had ceased to exist. He was nevertheless able to gather the remnants, now numbering 7 officers and 170 other ranks, at Shwebo on 27 April, and the battalion was subsequently reinforced by a draft of 3 officers and 120 other ranks. When the Japanese threatened Monywa, Bagot took command of all the troops in the area, which included the 1st Battalion, to form Bagot Force. This mixed group of units fought a delaying action at Budalin, 40 miles (60 km) north of Monywa, on 4 May before withdrawing to Ye-u. The battalion continued to act as rearguard, crossing the River Chindwin at Kalewa on 9 May and into India at Tamu at the end of the month. At the same time, the Japanese halted operations in Burma. Since the start of the retreat from Rangoon on 7 March the battalion had lost 8 officers and 156 other ranks killed in action or died of sickness, and many more wounded. The battalion was rested and brought back up to strength in India, where it spent the remainder of the war, and saw no further action.
caption: Japanese Conquest of Burma April–May 1942
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