The last significant land battle of Western powers in World War II, resulting in catastrophic Japanese losses during a failed breakout attempt in Burma.
Key Facts
- Japanese casualties
- ~14,000
- British killed
- 95
- British wounded
- 322
- Japanese army conducting breakout
- Twenty-Eighth Army
- Date of event
- August 1945
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Surviving elements of the Imperial Japanese Army had been driven into the Pegu Yoma by advancing British forces. Facing encirclement and retreat, the Japanese Twenty-Eighth Army, with support from the Thirty-Third and Fifteenth Armies, planned a breakout eastward to link up with other Japanese forces retreating from the British.
As a diversion, the Japanese Thirty-Third Army attacked Allied positions at the Sittang Bend near the river mouth. Simultaneously, the main Japanese force attempted to break out eastward across the Pegu Yomas. British forces, having been forewarned of the attempt, were prepared and inflicted severe losses on the Japanese, with some formations entirely destroyed.
The breakout ended catastrophically for Japan, with around 14,000 casualties and more than half killed, while British losses were minimal at 95 killed and 322 wounded. The engagement became recognized as the last significant land battle fought by Western powers in the Second World War, marking the effective end of Japanese resistance in Burma.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent