ABSTRACT

In 1944, the British Fourteenth Army and the Japanese Fifteenth Army clashed around the town of Imphal, Manipur, in North East India in what has since been described as one of the greatest battles of the Second World War. Over 200,000 soldiers from several nations fought in the hills and valley of Manipur on the India–Burma (Myanmar) frontier.

This book is the first systematic mapping of the main scenes of the fighting in the critical Battle of Imphal. It connects the present with the past and links what exists today in Manipur with what happened there in 1944. The events were transformative for this little-known place and connected it with the wider world in an unparalleled way. By drawing on oral testimonies, written accounts and archival material, this book revisits the old battlefields and tells the untold story of a place and people that were perhaps the most affected by the Second World War in India. The volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of military history, especially the Second World War, defence and strategic studies, area studies, and North East India.

chapter |3 pages

Introduction

A truly forgotten tale

chapter 1|8 pages

North East India

The canvas to the Second World War

chapter 2|36 pages

Manipur

On the front lines

chapter 3|9 pages

Imphal 1944

The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Armies clash

chapter 4|100 pages

The Battlefields

Hub and spokes

chapter 5|10 pages

Battlefield Tourism

Ideas for the future

chapter |6 pages

Conclusion

The ‘greatest’ battle