Battle of Bilin River 1942
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 18 February 1942 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1942 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Location | Myanmar | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Japanese conquest of Burma | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 17.1824, 97.2467 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Bilin River was among the early major battles of the Burma Campaign in World War II. Fought between 14 and 19 February 1942, the battle was a tactical victory for Japan over the British Indian Army, and it led to a decisive victory for Japan immediately afterwards at the Battle of Sittang Bridge.
Brigadier Sir John George Smyth, V.C.—who commanded 17th Infantry Division of the British Indian Army at Bilin River—said the Bilin River "at that time of year was only a ditch, but a good co-ordinating line". 17th Division was, at that time, a new formation that had yet to see its first battle.
The Japanese 112th Battalion of the Southern Army entered Burma (now Myanmar) on 15 January. They took Tavoy (now Dawei) on 19 January, cutting off the garrison at Mergui (which escaped by sea). In the process, they captured three small airfields, giving them close air support. They then advanced towards Kawkareik.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Bilin River (revision 1376107005), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Sittang Bridge 1942 · 44 km
- Battle of Mepali Camp · 47 km
- Fall of Manerplaw 1995 · 80 km
- Battle of Pegu 1942 · 110 km
- Battle of Rangoon (1852) 1852 · 123 km
- Battle of Yangon (1824) · 123 km
Other battles of the Japanese conquest of Burma
- Battle of Pegu 1942
- Battle of Prome (1942) 1942
- Battle of Sittang Bridge 1942
All 4 battles of the Japanese conquest of Burma →
Browse more: battles in Myanmar · Asia · World War II era battles