The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
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Dimapur (93.731E
25.888N) was the railhead for the main overland route from India to Burma,
which ran through Kohima and Imphal to the Chindwin Valley.
By 1944, it was also an
important supply depot for the airlift over "The
Hump" from Assam to China. The supply dump was eleven miles (18 km) long and a mile or more (1.6 km) wide by early 1944.
The Japanese invaded India in 1944 with the objective of seizing Dimapur. However, the British rapidly reinforced Dimapur with 5 Division and sent 161 Indian Brigade up the road to Kohima to relieve the garrison there. The Japanese were stopped at both Imphal and Kohima and forced to retreat back over the mountains to Burma. Japanese logistics broke down, turning the retreat into a rout, with thousands of starved Japanese corpses littering the way.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007, 2011 by Kent G. Budge. Index
