Battle of Sittang Bridge 1942
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 23 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 | 17.3667, 96.8833 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Sittang Bridge was part of the Burma campaign during the Second World War. Fought on 22 and 23 February 1942, the battle was a victory for the Empire of Japan, with many losses for the British Indian Army, which was forced to retreat in disarray. Brigadier Sir John George Smyth, V.C.—who commanded the British Indian Army at Sittang Bridge—called it "the Sittang disaster".
The Sittang Bridge was an iron railway bridge spanning several hundred yards across the River Sittang (now Sittaung) near the south coast of Burma (now Myanmar). The 17th Indian Infantry Division had given "everything it had" at the Battle of Bilin River and was already weak. Now in retreat, they finally received permission to withdraw across the Sittang on 19 February. They disengaged from the enemy under cover of night, and fell back 30 miles (50 km) westwards along the track that led to the bridge.
The Japanese 214th and 215th Regiments advanced, aiming to cut the British forces off at Sittang. Lieutenant General William Slim (later Field Marshal Sir William Slim), who took command of the Burmese theatre shortly after the battle ended, called the Sittang Bridge "the decisive battle of the first campaign".
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Sittang Bridge (revision 1370589470), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Japanese conquest of Burma
- Battle of Bilin River 1942
- Battle of Pegu 1942
- Battle of Prome (1942) 1942
All 4 battles of the Japanese conquest of Burma →
Browse more: battles in Myanmar · Asia · World War II era battles