Battle of Yenangyaung The Battle of Yenangyaung ( ) was fought in Burma , now Myanmar , during the Burma Campaign in World War II . The battle of Yenaungyaung was fought in the vicinity of Yenangyaung and its oil fields . Background . After the Japanese captured Rangoon in March 1942 , the Allies regrouped in Central Burma . The newly formed Burma Corps , commanded by Lieutenant General William Slim and consisting of British , Indian and locally raised Burmese troops , attempted to defend the Irrawaddy River valley , while the Chinese Expeditionary Force ( in Burma ) defended the Sittaung River valley to the east . After the Japanese captured Singapore and the Dutch East Indies , they were able to use divisions released by these successes and captured trucks to reinforce their army in Burma and launch attacks into Central Burma . One of the Japanese objectives in the Irrawaddy River valley was the Yenangyaung oil fields . The battle for the oil fields started on 11 April and continued for a week . The Japanese attacked 48th Indian Infantry Brigade at Kokkogwa at night in a storm . On the next day , 2nd Royal Tank Regiment ( 2nd RTR ) was in action near Magwe at Thadodan and Alebo . From 13 to 17 April , the British fell back under attacks by the Japanese . On several occasions Japanese roadblocks split the Burma Frontier Force ( an internal security force acting as infantry ) , 1st Burma Division , the British 7th Armoured Brigade HQ and 2nd RTR into three forces . On 15 April , Lieutenant General Slim gave orders for the oil fields and refinery to be demolished . The situation became so critical that General Harold Alexander , commanding 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 Chinese 38th Division immediately into the Yenaungyaung area . Battle . On 16 April , almost 7 , 000 British soldiers , and 500 prisoners and civilians were encircled by an equal number of Japanese soldiers from the Japanese 33rd Division at Yenangyaung and its oil field . The 33rd Division had cut the Magwe road between Slim ' s two divisions , who were now about apart . The 1st Burma Division was hampered by large numbers of wounded men and short of water . Major General Bruce Scott , commanding the 1st Burma Division , telephoned General Sun Li Jen , commanding the Chinese 38th Division , asking for rescue soon after the 38th Division entered the area . General Sun requested to lead his entire division to the rescue of 1st Burma Division , but General Lo Cho - ying , commanding the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Burma , refused . On 17 April , General Sun instead led his 113th Regiment with only 1121 men , of which only 800 were combat personnel , in the rescue mission . Because the Chinese had no artillery or tanks , Lieutenant General Slim assigned the 7th Armoured Brigade commanded by Brigadier John Henry 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 attacked southwards . The temperatures reaches as high as 114 degrees Fahrenheit and pall of smoke from the demolished oil wells and refineries hung over the battlefield . Meanwhile , 1st Burma Division fought its way to and across the Pin Chaung river where they met with the relief column on 19 April . On the next day , the Allied force attacked south toward Yenaungyaung and Pin Chaung . The attack caused the Japanese to suffer heavy casualties , but the Allied forces were too weak to hold the oil fields and had to retreat to the north . Results . The rescue mission had been a resounding success , but the 1st Burma Division had lost most of its heavy equipment and was exhausted and disorganised . Many of its Burmese troops had deserted . King George VI rewarded Sun Li Jen with the Commander of the Order of the British Empire , and honoured the Regiment Commander Colonel F . W . Liu and some other officers with medals .