Kohima- The Furthest Battle by Leslie Edwards

Author:Leslie Edwards [Edwards, Leslie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780750952606
Publisher: The History Press
Published: 2013-06-21T04:00:00+00:00

Right Hook

Lieutenant-Colonel Scott, CO of the Norfolks at Jotsoma, had spent the early part of 25 April reconnoitring for a possible attack on the nearby feature of Shrewsbury Hill. He returned to Jotsoma at 16.00 hours to be told by his second-in-command, Major Henry Conder, that ‘Operation Strident’, the ‘Right Hook’, was to start that evening. Lieutenant Sam Hornor, Signal Officer, Headquarters Company, 2nd Norfolks [72]:

Robert Scott called an ‘Orders’ Group [briefing] meeting. The attendees were Scott and his Tactical Headquarters with the intelligence and signals officers, the company commanders, specialist platoon commanders, mortars and so on, the artillery gunners and battery commanders, sappers, and others. Scott and the [4 Brigade] Intelligence Officer [Captain John Howard] gave us a situation report, telling everybody exactly where we were, what the Japanese position was, and so on, then who we all were, roughly what was happening, and what we were going to do, the whole position. He explained that 4 Brigade (less the Lancashire Fusiliers, which was detached to 5 Brigade, leaving us as a two Battalion Brigade), was going to do a right hook with Brigade Tactical Headquarters and try and come in behind the Japanese, get on to the road that led from Kohima to Imphal, cut that road, ‘and shoot them up the arse!’.

Howard explained that this plan was based on only a limited appreciation of the Japanese dispositions [72]:

We knew we were up against the Japanese 31 Division. There were three regiments in this Division: 58 Regiment which was very, very good indeed and 138 and 124 Regiments which were not quite as good or experienced in battle. A regiment is the same as a British brigade, having three battalions. Identification was simple as their identity discs bore the number of their regiment, so even I could read their regiment from their identity discs, in fact anybody could read it as Japanese numerals are not very difficult. We didn’t know where 124 Regiment was but we knew that Japanese were on GPT Ridge, although Aradura itself didn’t appear to be occupied.

Although there was no question of any kind of transport accompanying them, the men would not travel light. Sergeant Fred Hazell, ‘D’ Company, Norfolks [72]:

We were issued with 100 rounds of ammunition in addition to what we already had. These we each dangled round our necks in two bandoliers. Blankets were cut in half. We rolled one half up and put it on the back of our pack. One man was given a shovel, the next man a pick and the next man two carriers of mortar bombs.

Each man also carried three days’ rations, a gas cape and other personal items. Other heavy items such as signal sets, and in the case of the Manchesters, their machine-guns, also had to be carried. The stronger men carried even more. The men were laden like mules. The country through which the advance was to be made was a series of steep, rocky ridges covered by dense jungle. There were few known tracks and most of the advance had to be made along paths hacked through the undergrowth.

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