Battle of Pegu 1942
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 7 March 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 | 17.0959, 96.2157 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Pegu was an engagement in the Burma campaign in the Second World War. Fought on 6 and 7 March 1942, it concerned the defence of Rangoon (now Yangon) in Burma (now Myanmar). Japanese forces closed in on the British Indian Army who were deployed near Pegu (now Bago).
With the 17th Infantry Division decimated and scattered, the forces available for the whole of Burma were the 1st Burma Division and the 7th Armoured Brigade, equipped with American-made Stuart or "Honey" light tanks. The British commanders had already decided not to contest Rangoon, but their new strategy relied on convincing the Japanese that Rangoon would be heavily defended.
British/Indian forces fighting at Pegu were the 7th Queen's Own Hussars, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), 2nd Battalion, 12th Frontier Force Regiment, and surviving elements of the 17th Infantry; the West Yorkshire Regiment, 1st Battalion, 4th Prince of Wales's Own Gurkha Rifles, 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles, and the 4th Battalion, 12th Frontier Force Regiment.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Pegu (revision 1370452985), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Insein · 26 km
- Battle of Rangoon (1852) 1852 · 34 km
- Battle of Yangon (1824) · 34 km
- Battle of Elephant Point 1945 · 73 km
- Battle of Sittang Bridge 1942 · 77 km
- Battle of Mepali Camp · 81 km
Other battles of the Japanese conquest of Burma
All 4 battles of the Japanese conquest of Burma →
Browse more: battles in Myanmar · Asia · World War II era battles