Battle of Hill 170

20°07′13″N 93°26′34″E / 20.120225°N 93.442866°E / 20.120225; 93.442866

Battle of Hill 170
Part of the Burma campaign, the South-East Asian theatre of World War II and the Pacific Theater of World War II

A Sherman tank of the 19th King George's Own Lancers, getting into position to fire at Japanese lines in the Arakan hills, 22 January 1945
Date22–31 January 1945
Location
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
 British Empire  Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
United Kingdom Campbell Hardy Empire of Japan Shigesaburō Miyazaki
Units involved
3 Commando Brigade 54th Division
Casualties and losses
45 dead
90 wounded
Minimum 340 dead
Wounded unknown

The Battle of Hill 170 was a battle between the British 3rd Commando Brigade and the Japanese 54th Division during the Second World War. The battle was fought in January 1945, as part of the Burma Campaign.

The 3rd Commando Brigade were given the task of assaulting the Arakan Peninsula at Myebon. Here they were to take and hold the dominant features of the southern Chin Hills. If they could achieve this, they would cut off the supply and escape routes of the Japanese to Rangoon and secure the bridgehead. The battle for Hill 170 was the climax of the Arakan operations, and its outcome broke the spirit of the Japanese 54th Division. Had the commandos' positions fallen, this would have endangered all the Allied units that had landed on the Myebon Peninsula.

After the battle, the commander of the XV Indian CorpsLieutenant General Sir Philip Christison—stated in a special order of the day to the 3rd Commando Brigade, "The Battle of Kangaw had been the decisive battle of the whole Arakan campaign and that it was won was very largely due to your magnificent defence of Hill 170."[1]

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