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Disaster on the Sittang: How Japanese Forces Smashed the 17th Indian Division in Burma The 17th Indian Division was virtually destroyed in combat against the Japanese in the Burmese jungle in 1942. Here s What You Need to Know: When it was all over, the 17th Indian Division was thoroughly wrecked. The Japanese looked unstoppable. Two divisions of the 15th Army had crossed from Thailand into Burma in mid-January 1942, bent on capturing Rangoon before the British could land reinforcements and block the seizing of the Burma Road. Burma was critical to the entire Allied defense of the Far East. By taking Rangoon and then the Burma Road, the Japanese would cut the vital land link to China, where half of the Imperial Army was already tied down fighting Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist forces. Burma was also the gateway to India, and Rangoon was the key to everything. In addition to being Burma’s administrative capital, it was a crucial communications and industrial center and had the

Mon stateUnited statesUnited kingdomSittang riverShan statesSeizo sakuraiThomasj huttonArchibald wavellLouis allenJohng jackie smythAlan hartleyBurma divisionDivision headquartersBurma armyImperial armyIndian division