How Britain Stopped the Japanese Invasion of India in World War Two

The Battles of Imphal and Kohima were a crucial turning point in the attempted Japanese invasion of India during World War Two. By October 1942 Singapore, HongKong, Malaysia and Burma had all fallen to the Japanese; the Imperial army looked unbeatable. Yet it was then, when morale was at its lowest, that the new British commander Bill Slim set about reforming and rebuilding the AngloIndian British army. Slim aimed to revive Allied fortunes in the region something many believed was an impossible task. Meanwhile, Japanese commander Renya Mutaguchi had ambitious plans of his own: the conquest of British India. To initiate this plan the Japanese first had to capture one key strategic town: Imphal, the gateway to India. The very closerun battles that followed fought between March and July 1944 were clashes on epic proportions as each side attempted to execute a master plan of their respective visionary generals. If they succeeded, Slim knew the British would have a strong base from where they coul