page_title: Japanese occupation of the Andaman Islands
hierarchical_section_title: Japanese occupation of the Andaman Islands
caption_attribution_description: English: Members of the Imperial Japanese Navy disembarking during the occupation of the Andaman Islands.
context_page_description: The Japanese occupation of the Andaman Islands occurred in 1942 during World War II. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, are a group of islands situated in the Bay of Bengal at about 1,250 km from Kolkata, 1,200 km from Chennai and 190 km from Cape Nargis in Burma. Until 1938 the British government used them as a penal colony for Indian and African political prisoners, who were mainly put in the notorious Cellular Jail in Port Blair, the biggest town on the islands. Today they form a Union Territory of India.
  The only military objective on the islands was the city of Port Blair. The garrison consisted of a 300-man Sikh militia with 23 British officers, augmented in January 1942 by a Gurkha detachment of 4/12th Frontier Force Regiment of the 16th Indian Infantry Brigade. Following the fall of Rangoon on March 8, however, the British recognized that Port Blair had become impossible to defend, and on March 10 the Gurkhas were withdrawn to the Arakan peninsula.
context_section_description: The Japanese occupation of the Andaman Islands occurred in 1942 during World War II. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands (8,293 km² on 139 islands), are a group of islands situated in the Bay of Bengal at about 1,250 km (780 mi) from Kolkata,  1,200 km (750 mi) from Chennai and  190 km (120 mi) from Cape Nargis in Burma. Until 1938 the British government used them as a penal colony for Indian and African political prisoners, who were mainly put in the notorious Cellular Jail in Port Blair, the biggest town (port) on the islands. Today they form a Union Territory of India.
  The only military objective on the islands was the city of Port Blair. The garrison consisted of a 300-man Sikh militia with 23 British officers, augmented in January 1942 by a Gurkha detachment of 4/12th Frontier Force Regiment of the 16th Indian Infantry Brigade. Following the fall of Rangoon on March 8, however, the British recognized that Port Blair had become impossible to defend, and on March 10 the Gurkhas were withdrawn to the Arakan peninsula.
caption: Japanese disembarking in Andaman, March 1942.
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