Battle of Sangshak The Battle of Sangshak took place in Manipur in the forested and mountainous frontier area between India and Burma , from 20 March to 26 March 1944 . The Japanese drove a parachute brigade ( fighting as infantry ) from the British Indian Army from its positions with heavy casualties , but suffered heavy casualties themselves , and the delay imposed by the battle allowed British and Indian reinforcements to reach the vital position at Kohima before the Japanese . Background . In March 1944 , the Japanese launched Operation U - GO , a major invasion of India . While most of the Japanese Fifteenth Army attacked IV Indian Corps at Imphal , the Japanese 31st Division advanced on Kohima , to cut the main road on which the troops at Imphal depended for supply . The Japanese division advanced over a wide front . It was divided into Left , Centre and Right Assault forces . The Left Assault Force consisted of two battalions of the Japanese 58 Regiment , with the regimental headquarters and detachments from the division ' s supporting arms . The regiment ' s commander was Colonel Utata Fukunaga , but the force was accompanied by the division ' s Infantry Group commander , Major General Shigesaburo Miyazaki , who was the senior officer . On 18 March , the force was approaching the village of Ukhrul , about north - east of Imphal and north of Sangshak . British dispositions . Early in 1944 , the 49th Indian Infantry Brigade of the 23rd Indian Infantry Division had been stationed at Sangshak to guard the road from Tonhe on the Chindwin River to Imphal . As the Japanese offensive began , the Japanese surrounded the 17th Indian Infantry Division at Tiddim , south of Imphal . Lieutenant General Geoffrey Scoones , the commander of IV Corps , was forced to send 23rd Division ( including 49th Brigade ) to help the 17th Division break out of encirclement . At the time , the 50th Indian Parachute Brigade were conducting advanced jungle training in the Kohima area . The brigade consisted of 152 ( Gurkha ) and 153 ( Indian ) Parachute battalions , with a machine gun company , a mountain artillery battery and other supporting arms . Its commander was Brigadier Maxwell Hope - Thompson . Even before the Japanese attack opened , they had received preliminary orders to move to Sangshak . Because of shortage of transport , they required four days ( from 14 March to 18 March ) to arrive . They took under command the 4th Battalion , 5th Mahratta Light Infantry , which had been part of 49th Brigade , and two companies of the Nepal ese Kalibahadur Regiment . The battle . Preliminaries . The 50th Brigade initially deployed over a large area , with outposts east of Sangshak and the machine - gun company in Ukhrul . On 19 March , the Japanese overran an isolated company ( C Company of the 152 Parachute Battalion ) deployed on a hill known as Point 7378 . The company was reduced to 20 men . Urged by his second - in - command ( Colonel Abbott ) that the brigade risked defeat in detail if it remained strung out as isolated posts , Hope Thomson ordered his forces to concentrate . Most of the force initially concentrated at Sheldon ' s Corner , east of Sangshak on 21 March , but that afternoon , Hope - Thomson pulled them back , first to " Kidney Camp " to the west , and then to Sangshak itself , where they took up a defensive position on a hill just east of the village , with an American missionary church at its north end . The position measured only by , and had no fresh water . Hard rock was found only below the soil , and only shallow trenches could be dug . The II Battalion of the Japanese 58 Infantry Regiment had meanwhile captured Ukhrul from 50th Brigade ' s machine - gun company . Major General Miyazaki was present with the battalion . He was aware that there was a British brigade at Sangshak . Although Sangshak was in the sector assigned to 31st Division ' s neighbouring formation , the Japanese 15th Division , Miyazaki knew that this formation was lagging behind his force . He therefore decided to clear the British from Sangshak to prevent them interfering with his advance . Fighting at Sangshak . The Japanese battalion attacked Sangshak from the north on the night of 22 March . Miyazaki was prepared to wait for his regimental guns and some attached mountain guns to arrive to support the attack , but the battalion commander ( Captain Nagaya ) attacked hastily without artillery support . They suffered heavily from British artillery and mortar fire . One of the Japanese officers killed in the Parachute brigade ' s positions was found to be carrying vital maps and documents , which contained all of 31st Division ' s plans . Brigadier Hope - Thompson sent two copies of the documents through the encircling Japanese to IV Corps HQ in Imphal . These were vital to IV Corps ' and Fourteenth Army ' s response to the Japanese attack on Kohima . The next day ( 23 March ) , Allied aircraft tried to drop supplies to the 50th Brigade , but the brigade ' s position was so small that many of the supplies went to the Japanese . The Gurkhas of 152 Parachute battalion attacked to recover them , supported by fighters which had escorted the transport aircraft . They were beaten back , but the Japanese also suffered heavy casualties . On 24 March , the Japanese were reinforced by the III Battalion of the 58 Regiment , accompanied by the regimental commander and Miyazaki . They attacked immediately , but they too were repulsed . The III Battalion of the Japanese 60 Regiment , belonging to the 15th Division , also began attacking the defended position from the east on 25 March . Although their commander ( Major Fukushima ) insisted that his officers properly reconnoitre the objective and plan their approach in contrast to 58 Regiment ' s hasty tactics , his infantry became lost trying to approach the position at night . During the following day , their two attached mountain guns destroyed many of the defenders ' shallow trenches . On 26 March , Fukushima ' s infantry of the 60 Regiment again became lost trying to attack at night and were caught in the open at dawn . The Japanese planned a last all - out assault on 27 March ( although Miyazaki tried to insist that 58 Regiment alone should attack , so that they would have the sole honour of the victory ) . By that date however , the defenders were exhausted and desperately short of water . There were 300 wounded in the position , and the smell of decomposing bodies ( including those of the mules belonging to the attached mountain artillery , and supply column ) was unbearable . At 6 : 00 pm , Hope - Thompson received orders to withdraw . His brigade moved out under cover of darkness , although several men were captured by another battalion of the Japanese 60 regiment ( " Uchibori battalion " ) which had cut the track from Sangshak to Litan . Aftermath and results . The 50th Indian Parachute Brigade had suffered 652 casualties . The Japanese reported capturing 100 prisoners , most of whom were wounded . The Japanese also captured plenty of air - dropped supplies which had missed the defenders at Sangshak , and other equipment including heavy weapons , vehicles and wirelesses . Japanese casualties were also heavy . The II Battalion , 58th Regiment was the hardest - hit unit , with more than 400 casualties . However , the prolonged battle had also delayed Miyazaki ' s advance on Kohima by a week . His Left Assault Force had the shortest and easiest route to Kohima . They arrived at the vital Kohima ridge only on April 3 , by which time Allied reinforcements had also reached the area . In the ensuing Battle of Kohima , the Japanese failed to capture the entire ridge , and were eventually forced to retreat by British counter - attacks and shortage of food .