Battle of the Admin Box The Battle of the Admin Box ( sometimes referred to as the Battle of Ngakyedauk or the Battle of Sinzweya ) took place on the Southern Front of the Burma Campaign from 5 to 23 February 1944 , in the South - East Asian Theatre of World War II . Japanese forces attempted a local counter - attack against an Allied offensive with the aim of drawing Allied reserves from the Central Front in Assam , where the Japanese were preparing their own major offensive . After initial setbacks , the Allies recovered to thwart the Japanese attack , pioneering the methods which would lead to further Allied victories over the following year . The battle takes its name from the " administration area " of the Indian Army ' s 7th Division , which became a makeshift , rectangular defensive position for Major - General Frank Messervy and his staff after their divisional headquarters was overrun on 7 February . Situation in early 1944 . During 1941 and early 1942 , the Japanese army had driven Allied troops ( British , Indian and Chinese ) from Burma . During 1943 , the Allies had tried a limited offensive into Arakan , the coastal province of Burma . The aim had been to secure Akyab Island at the end of the Mayu Peninsula . The island possessed an important airfield , from which the Japanese Army Air Force had launched raids on Calcutta and other Indian cities , and which also featured prominently in Allied plans to recapture Burma . This offensive had failed disastrously . Because the British Indian Army was being massively expanded , most of the Indian ( and British ) units committed to the attack lacked training and experience . Exhausted units were left in the front line , and their morale declined . Allied tactics and equipment were not suited to the jungle - covered hills , and Japanese units repeatedly achieved surprise by crossing rivers and hills which the Allies had dismissed as impassable . Finally , the Allied command structure was inefficient , with a single overworked division headquarters trying to control a large number of sub - units and also a large line - of - communications area . During the following months , the Allies reorganised , engaged in extensive jungle training , and prepared for a renewed effort in 1944 . Under British Fourteenth Army , the offensive was to be launched by Indian XV Corps , commanded by Lieutenant General Philip Christison . Second Allied offensive . The Mayu peninsula consisted of a coastal plain , indented by several " chaungs " ( tidal creeks ) , and separated from the fertile valley of the Kalapanzin River by the jungle - covered Mayu Range of hills . The 5th Indian Infantry Division , which had already experienced heavy fighting in East Africa and the Western Desert and was commanded by Major - General Harold Rawdon Briggs , attacked down the coastal plain . The comparatively inexperienced but well - trained 7th Indian Infantry Division under Major - General Frank Messervy attacked down the Kalapanzin Valley . The British 81st ( West Africa ) Division was advancing further east down the Kaladan River valley , but would not directly affect the battle . Two other divisions , the British 36th Infantry Division in Calcutta and 26th Indian Infantry Division at Chittagong , were in reserve . The advance began cautiously at first , but steadily gained momentum . On 9 January 1944 , 5th Indian Division captured the small port of Maungdaw . While they reduced Japanese positions south of the port ( the village of Razabil and a hill known from its shape as the " Tortoise " ) , the Corps prepared to take the next major objective . This was part of the Mayu Range where two disused railway tunnels provided a route through the hills linking Maungdaw to the towns of Buthidaung and Letwedet in the Kalapanzin Valley . To reposition troops and resources for this attack , the engineers of the 7th Indian Division improved a narrow track , known as the Ngakyedauk Pass , across the hills , while a large administration area was established at Sinzweya , near the eastern end of the pass . Japanese moves . The Japanese Twenty - Eighth Army , commanded by Lieutenant General Shōzō Sakurai , provided the troops in Arakan and in southern Burma . Its 55th Division under Lieutenant General Tadashi Hanaya occupied Arakan . Most of the division ' s troops ( five battalions ) were grouped as " Sakurai Force " in the Mayu area , under its Infantry Group headquarters commanded by Major - General Tokutaro Sakurai , no relation to the Army commander . ( A Japanese division had a separate headquarters to administer its infantry units which , as in this case , could take tactical control of any substantial detachment from the division . ) The Japanese were confident that they could repeat their success of the previous year in a local counter - attack , and perhaps even advance on Chittagong , the port on which Indian XV Corps relied for supplies . Also , it was intended that by launching their attack ( given the name HA - GO or Operation Z ) in the first week of February , they would force the Allies to send reinforcements to Arakan from the Central Front , thus clearing the way for the main Japanese offensive there , planned to begin in the first week of March . Beginning on 5 February , " Sakurai Force " infiltrated the front lines of the 7th Indian Division , which was widely dispersed , and moved north undetected on the small town of Taung Bazaar . Here they crossed the Kalapanzin River and swung west and south , and on 6 February they attacked the HQ of 7th Division . There was heavy fighting , but 7th Division ' s signallers and clerks eventually had to destroy their documents and equipment and split up into small parties and retreat to the Admin Box . ( Other radio operators listening on the division ' s frequency heard a voice say , " Put a pick through that radio " , then silence . ) Sakurai ' s force then followed up towards Sinzweya and the rear of 7th Division . A Japanese battalion ( I / 213 Regiment , known as " Kubo Force " from its commander ) , crossed the Mayu Range at a seemingly impossible place , to set ambushes on the coastal road by which the 5th Indian Division was supplied . The Japanese still holding the railway tunnels area ( " Doi Force " ) launched a subsidiary attack to link up with Sakurai , and smaller raids and diversions , while unexpectedly large numbers of Japanese fighter aircraft flew from Akyab to contest the skies over the battlefield . It was evident to all of XV Corps that the situation was serious . However , Fourteenth Army had spent much time considering counters to the standard Japanese tactics of infiltration and encirclement . The forward divisions of XV Corps were ordered to dig in and hold their positions rather than retreat , while the reserve divisions advanced to their relief . The next obvious objective for the Japanese was the administrative area at Sinzweya , defended by headquarters and line of communication troops , with 25 Light AA / Anti Tank Regiment , RA . As Messervy was in the jungle and out of contact , Christison , the Corps commander , ordered Brigadier Geoffrey Evans , who had recently been appointed commander of 9th Indian Infantry Brigade , part of the 5th Indian Division , to make his way to the Admin box , assume command and hold the Box against all attacks . Evans reinforced the defenders of the box with 2nd Battalion , the West Yorkshire Regiment ) from his own brigade , and 24 Mountain Artillery Regiment IA . The most vital reinforcements of all were two squadrons of M3 Lee tanks of the 25th Dragoons . The defenders were later joined by part of the 4th Battalion of the 8th Gurkha Rifles ( from the 89th Indian Infantry Brigade , part of 7th Indian Division ) and also the artillery of 8 Heavy AA Regiment RA and 6 Medium Regiment RA . Under Evans , the Box was converted into a defended area . The clearing measured a bare in diameter . Ammunition dumps were piled up at the foot of the western face of a central hillock , high , named " Ammunition Hill " . When Major - General Messervy reached the Admin Box , followed by several of his HQ personnel who had made their way in small parties through Japanese forces , he left the defence of the Box to Evans while he himself concentrated on re - establishing control over and directing the rest of the division . Meanwhile , Allied Dakota transport aircraft dropped rations and ammunition to the cut - off troops , including the defenders of the Admin Box . They flew a total of 714 sorties , dropping 2 , 300 tons of supplies . The Japanese had not foreseen this development . While they ran short of supplies , the Indian formations could fight on . The Japanese tried to supply " Sakurai Force " with a convoy of pack mules and Arakanese porters , following the route of Sakurai ' s original infiltration but this was ambushed and the supplies were captured . The first air - drop missions met opposition from Japanese fighters and some transport aircraft were forced to turn back but three squadrons of Spitfires , operating from new airfields around Chittagong , gained air superiority over the battlefield . Sixty - five Japanese aircraft were claimed shot down or damaged for the loss of three Spitfires ( though the Japanese fighters also shot down several Hawker Hurricane fighter - bombers and other aircraft . ) Whatever the true figures , the Japanese fighters were quickly driven from the area . On the ground , the fighting for the Admin Box was severe and for the most part hand to hand . On the night of 7 February , some Japanese troops captured the divisional Main Dressing Station . In what was undoubtedly a war crime , thirty - five medical staff and patients were murdered . This may have increased the resolve of the defenders who were now aware what fate would befall them if they surrendered . Japanese fire caused heavy casualties in the crowded defences and twice set ammunition dumps on fire . All attempts to overrun the defenders were thwarted by the tanks , to which the Japanese had no counter once their few mountain gun s were out of ammunition . The Japanese tried an all - out attack on the night of 14 February and succeeded in capturing one hill on the perimeter . The 2nd West Yorkshire with support from the tanks recaptured it the next day , although they suffered heavy casualties . By 22 February , the Japanese had been starving for several days . Colonel Tanahashi , commanding the Japanese 112th Infantry Regiment , which provided the main body of Sakurai ' s force , stated that his regiment was reduced to 400 men out of an original strength of 2150 and refused to make further attacks . On 24 February , he retreated without authorisation . On 26 February , Sakurai was forced to break off the operation . The 26th Indian Division had relieved 5th Division , which sent a brigade to break through the Ngakyedauk Pass to relieve 7th Division . " Kubo force " was cut off and suffered heavy casualties trying to regain the Japanese lines . Aftermath . Although total Allied casualties were higher than the Japanese , the Japanese had been forced to abandon many of their wounded to die . Five thousand Japanese dead were counted on the battlefield . For the first time in the Burma Campaign , the Japanese tactics had been countered and indeed turned against them . This was to be repeated on a far larger scale in the impending Battle of Imphal . In terms of morale also , the fact that British and Indian soldiers had held and defeated a major Japanese attack for the first time was widely broadcast . The value of Allied air power had been demonstrated , and was to be a vital factor in the overall Allied victory in the Burma campaign . At the Japanese surrender meetings in Rangoon on 11 September 1945 , Major General Ichida read a statement which identified two unforeseen and vital factors which had put the Japanese at a " disastrous disadvantage " : ( a ) Allied air supply , which permitted ground forces in Burma to consolidate their positions without being forced to retreat and thus rendered the enemy ' s infiltration and encircling tactics abortive . < br > ( b ) Allied air superiority , which so disrupted Japanese supply lines , both in Burma and further afield , that starvation and illness overtook thousands of Japanese troops facing Fourteenth Army and also denied them the essential supplies of fuel , equipment and material with which to fight a better equipped and supplied , Allied Force . In the second week of March , the 161st Indian Infantry Brigade ( part of the 5th Division ) finally captured the " Tortoise " and the other fortifications around Razabil , by a flanking manoeuvre , before the division was withdrawn into reserve . The 26th Indian and 36th British Divisions resumed the offensive in late March and early April . The 36th Division captured the railway tunnels by 4 April . On 6 April , troops from the 26th Division captured a vital hill , named Point 551 , which dominated the area and where the Japanese had won an important victory just under a year earlier . At this point , operations were curtailed to free transport aircraft and troops for the Imphal battle . As the monsoon began , it was found that the low - lying area around Buthidaung was malarial and unhealthy and the Allies actually withdrew from the area to spare themselves losses to disease . The Japanese , with support from a unit of the Indian National Army and local Arakanese , also mounted a successful counter - attack in the Kaladan Valley , forcing the understrength and isolated 81st West African Division to retreat . Akyab remained in Japanese hands until January 1945 , when a renewed Allied advance combined with amphibious landings drove the Japanese from Arakan , inflicting heavy casualties by landing troops to cut off their retreat down the coast . Indian National Army contribution . The lightly armed 1st battalion of the Indian National Army ' s 1st Guerrilla Regiment had been directed to participate in this diversionary attack . They left Rangoon in early February , but by the time they reached Akyab in early March , the Japanese offensive was nearing its end . The battalion subsequently marched up the Kaladan river and progressed slowly but successfully against Commonwealth African units before crossing the Burma - India border to occupy Mowdok , near Chittagong . Awards for valour . Major Charles Ferguson Hoey of the 1st Battalion , The Lincolnshire Regiment was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross , for conspicuous valour during the fighting at the Ngakyedauk Pass .