1st Garrison Battalion - 25th (Garrison) Battalion, The Burma Regiment

1st Garrison Battalion, The Burma Regiment

During the summer of 1942, plans were agreed to reorganise the Burma Army, most of that which survived the retreat to India having been collected at Hoshiarpur.  The men of the Burma Frontier Force, the Burma Military Police and those of Indian and Gurkha ethnicity of the Burma Rifles, were organised into the new Burma Regiment, which came into being officially on 1st October 1942.  The new regiment immediately began to raise or reorganise seven infantry battalions, a mounted infantry battalion, a training battalion and two garrison battalions.  These latter were the 1st and 2nd Garrison Battalions of the Burma Regiment.[1] 

The 1st Garrison Battalion, The Burma Regiment, when first formed at Hoshiarpur, comprised six rifle companies of three platoons each.  The ethnic or "class" composition of the battalion was Gurkha, Punjabi Mussalman, Sikh and Kumaoni.[2]  The intention was for the new battalion, when ready, to relieve the Kokine Garrison Battalion on the Assam-Burma frontier to allow that unit to form the 2nd Garrison Battalion, Burma Regiment.  On 9th February 1943, the 1st Garrison Battalion was reported as being ready to relieve the Kokine Battalion in Assam.  Battalion headquarters and four companies were subsequently sent to the Assam-Burma frontier to allow the Kokine Battalion to go to Hoshiarpur for reorganisation.  The balance of men from the 1st Garrison Battalion, roughly two companies, was posted to the 2nd Garrison Battalion.  In Assam, the 1st Garrison Battalion came under the command of Eastern Army.[3]

In January 1944, the Battalion was under the command of 202 Lines of Communication Area, with Battalion Headquarters at Shillong.  The Commanding Officer was Lt. Colonel J.E.L. Martin.[4]  During the month, 'A' Detachment (one company less one platoon) moved from Mariani to take up duties at Panchgram, Silchar and Chandranathpur.  In February, there was an additional detachment at Gauhati.  On 17th February, 56 Burma Army Other Ranks, men formerly of the 2nd and 4th Battalions, The Burma Regiment, left Shillong for Tinsukia Air Supply Depot for onward transport by air to Fort Hertz as reinforcements.  On 27th February, Captain W.P.G. Maclachlan went to Manipur Road (Dimapur) to take over the command of the Battalion's 'B' Detachment.[5]  This detachment would shortly play a part in the siege of Kohima.[6]

On 5th March 1944, 'B' Detachment moved from Dimapur to Kohima to undertake training in company and platoon jungle warfare.  The detachment was quartered with the Shere Regiment, of the Royal Nepalese Army, at milestone 45 on the Dimapur-Imphal road.  The Japanese offensive was now in full swing and it was known that Japanese troops were heading for Kohima.  As part of the shuffling of troops to meet this threat, on 9th March, the detachment came under the orders of the 50th Indian Parachute Brigade and was given responsibility for defensive positions covering the approaches to Phek from Meluri, Losaphoemi and Jessami.  These positions were taken up by the detachment on 17th/18th March and the relief of the Shere Regiment was completed on 19th March.  Guards and watch posts were established throughout the area and the balance of the detachment began constructing defensive positions 300 yards south west of Phek village.  Over the next few days, several reconnaissance patrols were sent out but no contact with the enemy was made.  The arrival of Japanese advance parties was realised when on 26th March, 'B' Detachment received information of the first clashes involving the 1st Assam Regiment at Jessami.  The next day, Major N.R. Giles was sent from the Kohima Garrison to take over command of the troops at Phek.  That same day, detachments of 'V' Force withdrawing from the Chindwin River arrived at Phek and were absorbed into the garrison.[7]  Later that day, orders were received to take up new positions and the old positions were filled in and new defences dug.  On 28th March, a fighting patrol was sent out along the track from Meluri with the object of setting up an ambush position and to gain information on the Japanese. Small patrols were sent out from there but there were no signs of the enemy.  Lt. Colonel N.A. Stanley of 'V' Force arrived and took over command of the Phek garrison.  A further detachment of 'V' Force also arrived that day.[8] [9]

Enemy activity was observed on 30th March on the ridge known by its highest part, Point 6353, and the Phek garrison stood to in perimeter defence.  A supply drop of rations, 3-inch mortar bombs and ammunition was made.  However, as the defenders readied themselves to meet the Japanese, an officer arrived from the Kohima Garrison with orders for the withdrawal of the Phek garrison to Kohima on the night of 31st March/1st April.  Despite suggestions made by the Phek garrison commander that the ambush detachment on Point 6353 remain to harass the enemy, the withdrawal orders were confirmed and the Phek garrison, including 'B' Detachment, 1st Garrison Battalion, The Burma Regiment, marched out for Kohima.  During the night, the troops were met at milestone 38 by transport which picked them up and drove them into Kohima, which was reached at midday on 1st April.  'B' Detachment immediately took up defensive positions on Jail Hill.  The next day, the detachment commander, Captain Maclachlan, was appointed to the staff of the Kohima Garrison and employed in the mobile reserve.  Subedar Ali Zhan took over command of 'B' Detachment.  On 5th April, Captain N. Lunn of the 7th Gurkha Rifles, attached to The Shere Regiment, took over command of the 'B' Detachment.  Sadly, Captain Nunn was killed the next day when heavy enemy mortar fire fell on the 'B' Detachment positions on Jail Hill.  Having been subject to fierce attacks throughout the morning, at midday, renewed attacks by the Japanese on Jail Hill forced the detachment to withdraw to the main positions.  Later that afternoon, Captain A.J. Hoyt, 4th Gurkha Rifles, attached to The Shere Regiment, took over command of the detachment.  Unfortunately, a number of men appear to have left the scene of the fighting for on 11th April, the Commanding Officer, Lt. Colonel Martin, and the Battalion Adjutant went to Dimapur to make contact with Jemadar Pahlwan Khan and 39 other ranks, whom the war diary describes as stragglers, from 'B' Detachment in Kohima.  Those of 'B' Detachment who remained were now allotted positions in Sector II on the perimeter, on Garrison Hill, overlooking the Dimapur-Imphal road at milestone 46.5.  The detachment had suffered heavy losses: two men had been killed; Subedar Ali Zaman, Jemadar Budhi Ballabh and 14 other men wounded; three men missing believed prisoners of war and seven others missing.  'B' Detachment, 1st Garrison Battalion remained at Kohima until 20th April when the relief force fought its way through.  The entire original garrison was now withdrawn and sent to No. 3 Rest Camp at Manipur Road.  Four days later, 'B' Detachment under Captain Maclachlan entrained at Dimapur and left for the Battalion depot at Shillong, arriving the next day.[10]

View of the Garrison Hill battlefield with the British and Japanese positions shown. Garrison Hill was the key to the British defences at Kohima.

Elsewhere during April 1944, while the Kohima Garrison battled for its life, the balance of the 1st Garrison Battalion maintained guards at various positions throughout Assam.  On 2nd April, Captain Calvin Ogh took command from Captain H. Le of the 'D' Detachment at Furketing (Furkating) and took the detachment, less one platoon, to Nazira, and one platoon to Umguri to relieve detachments of the Chamar Regiment.[11] [12]  Captain Le, meanwhile, took command of a platoon from 'C' Company at milestone 16.5 on the Bokajan-Kohima road, to the north of Dimapur and of the fighting around Kohima.  Over the next couple of days, patrols were sent out to relieve their counterparts belonging to the Chamar Regiment.  On 7th April, Captain Calvin Ogh and Captain Htoon with 'D' Detachment were ordered to Badarpur via Lumding, to the west of Silchar.[13]  Captain Le was ordered to take his platoon back to Manipur Road (Dimapur).  However, the next day, 'D' Detachment was ordered to concentrate at Dhansiri, to the north of Dimapur on the Brahmaputra River.  By 10th April, one platoon of 'C' Detachment and two of 'D ' Detachment were at Dhansiri under Captain Le.  The 1st Garrison Battalion came under the orders of the 3rd Special Service Brigade on 13th April and Lt. Colonel Martin began to concentrate the 'D' Detachment of his battalion at Badarpur where he was to establish his headquarters as the Officer Commanding, Railway and Pipe Line Troops, Badarpur.  In addition to his own men, Martin took under command the 18th Battalion, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry, itself a garrison battalion, and also the Chamar Regiment.  Together with the commanding officer of the 18th Mahrattas, Martin set about organising the guarding and patrolling of the railway and pipeline between Bardapur and Dimapur.  There was a reminder that disease could still be a problem if precautions were not undertaken when on 24th April, 21 men out of one platoon of 'C' Company were hospitalised with malaria as a result of their duties in the Mokokchung and Dhansiri area.  By May, Lt. Colonel Martin's advance headquarters was at Mahur where he was joined on 3rd May by Captain Maclachlan, who arrived to report on the details of the action and casualties incurred at Kohima.  Some excitement was caused on 7th May when Lieutenant Harman, U.S.A.A.F., landed his helicopter at Mahur to avoid an approaching storm.  The helicopter was most likely a Sikorsky R4, a number of which were being used experimentally to rescue down airmen from inaccessible areas.  Harman left the next day.  The main headquarters of the 1st Garrison Battalion remained at Shillong throughout this period.  The 1st Garrison Battalion continued with its duties guarding the Assam railway and pipeline throughout May and June and into July.  [14]

25th (Garrison Battalion, The Burma Regiment

On 18th July 1944, Battalion Headquarters at Shillong was advised that the battalion had been re-titled and from then on was to be known as the 25th (Garrison) Battalion, The Burma Regiment.  Towards the end of July, orders were received to stop providing close railway defence and the troops involved were concentrated at Mahur before returning to Shillong by way of Badarpur.  By the end of July, the Battalion was complete in Shillong where it remained under the command of 202 Lines of Communication Area.  On 22nd August, Captain Maclachlan returned to the area of his recent action when he led 'C' Detachment, consisting of 'C' Company less two platoons and one platoon of 'D' Company, back to Manipur Road.  From here, the detachment went directly to milestone 8 of the Manipur Road-Kohima road where it relieved 41 Garrison Company, 6th Rajputana Rifles.  'D' Detachment remained at Gauhati.  The dispositions of the Battalion through September and October into December 1944 remained unchanged, with headquarters at Shillong and detachments at Gauhati, Manipur Road and Panchgram, the latter being the location of 'A' Detachment.[15]

The round of guard duty, detachment interchanges and inspections continued into 1945 until on 11th March 1945, the Battalion received a warning order to prepare for a move to Burma for internal security duties.  This was followed by further information on 25th March 1945, indicating that the 25th Battalion would be relieved by the 7th Battalion, King's African Rifles, where after the 25th Battalion was to concentrate at Gauhati and await further orders.  This was achieved by 5th April, but unfortunately within four days of arrival, Gauhati was struck by a cyclone, injuring three men of the Battalion and destroying 34 'bashas'.  It took until 18th May before orders arrived instructing the Battalion to move from Gauhati to Chittagong, to arrive at Chittagong on 30th May 1945.  On 27th May, the Battalion moved to 71 Reception Camp at Pandu and entrained the next day for Chittagong.  On arriving at Chittagong on 30th May, the Battalion proceeded to 'A' Camp, 452 Lines of Communication Sub-Area.  The next day, the Battalion was honoured with the announcement of mentions in despatches for Lt. Colonel Martin, Captain Maclachlan and three other ranks.  On 5th June 1945, the 25th Battalion embarked on board the M.T. "Rajula" for Rangoon.  Altogether, seven British Officers, 22 Governor's Commissioned Officers and 547 Burma Army Other Ranks boarded the vessel.  The ship reached Rangoon on 9th June, and that afternoon, the Battalion transferred into landing craft to be ferried to the Hpongyi Street Jetty where all disembarked.  That evening, the Battalion marched to its new quarters, the A.B.M. Girls' School at Kemmendine.  Duties were organised and on 12th June instructions were received for the Battalion to provide a number of guards throughout No. 1 Area, Rangoon, under the overall command of Headquarters, South Burma District.  On 15th July 1945, the 25th Battalion provided a Guard of Honour which was inspected by the Supreme Allied Commander, Lord Louis Mountbatten as part of his visit to Rangoon.[16]

There was some excitement when on 2nd August, a report came in that a party of 'dacoits' had shot up two policemen in the Station Point area of Kamayut.  The 25th Battalion sent two sections to Kamayut Police Station before proceeding to the area of the trouble.  However, upon arrival it was found that the Civil Police had already apprehended the 'dacoits' and that no further action by the troops was needed.  The two sections returned to their quarters.  On 13th August, the Battalion was relieved of internal security duties in order to begin constructing three new transit camps.  Work began straight away and by September the Battalion had returned to internal security duties.  On 9th October, the 25th Battalion provided a detachment as Guards of Honour at a farewell parade held at Government House for the departing Supreme Allied Commander, Lord Mountbatten.  The next day, Mountbatten wrote, "..how impressed I was with the bearing and turnout of the Detachment of the 25th Burma Regt which took part in the farewell ceremony".  The Battalion was again honoured when it provided a street lining party and Guard of Honour at Government House during the arrival from India of His Excellency, The Governor of Burma, Sir Reginald Hugh Dorman-Smith.  Other than participation in these ceremonies, the Battalion continued to provide guards for several locations in the area.  On 25th October, 'D' Company moved to Rangoon Jail where it took over the guard duties.  The inmates were Japanese prisoners of war and Indian National Army personnel.[17] 

In a signal from Headquarters, Twelfth Army to Headquarters, A.L.F.S.E.A, dated 18th November 1945, several units were identified as not being required in the eventual post war Burma Army.  The future government of Burma desired that only Burmese nationals should make up its new army upon independence.  Disbandment dates for these units were proposed.  The 25th (Garrison) Battalion, The Burma Regiment, manned by Indians and Gurkhas, was one such unit identified for disbandment, the proposed date for which was October 1946.[18]

The routine of the 25th Battalion hardly varied into 1946, and was disturbed mainly by the comings and goings of officers and men leaving the Battalion or being posted to it, and of those fortunate to be given leave.  Preparations were made for the resettlement of the men to be discharged when the Battalion was disbanded.  On 20th February 1946, the unit was visited by Mr Zafar-Uk-Ashan, a member of the team of Indian Resettlement Officers, who addressed 275 men on resettlement plans for Indian ex-servicemen.  The Commanding Officer, Lt. Colonel Martin, became involved in the trials of fourteen Japanese accused of war crimes, when he was given the duty of reading out the charges against the men at Rangoon Jail.[19]  This was the lead up to the start of the first war crimes trial to be held in Rangoon, Burma, 22nd March 1946.  The 14 Japanese were charged with the murder of 637 civilians in the village of Kalagon.  The accused were later found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in Rangoon Jail.[20]

Major Ichikawa, commanding officer of the 3rd Battalion, 215th Infantry Regiment, was the first war criminal to be tried at Rangoon. He was accused, with 13 of his men, of killing 600 inhabitants of the village of Kalagan, a few miles to the east of Moulmein.

Note the soldier standing guard behind the Japanese officer. He might possibly be a solider of the 25th (Garrison) Battalion, The Burma Regiment (see text above).

Japanese prisoners in the dock during the first war crimes trial to be held in Rangoon, Burma, 22 March 1946. These men were charged with the murder of 637 civilians in the village of Kalagon.

The prisoners were held in Rangoon Jail where, since 25th October 1945, the guard had been provided by 'D' Company, 25th (Garrison) Battalion, The Burma Regiment.

On 15th March in Rangoon, Lt. Colonel Martin left the Battalion to take command of 6 Indian Transit Camp.  He was succeeded by Major (temporary Lt. Colonel) S.P. Fearon.[21]  Towards the end of March, detachments from the 25th Battalion were sent to Maubin ('C' Detachment) and Pyapon ('D' Detachment).  During April 1946, a party of men from  10 Platoon of 'D' Detachment at Bogale was sent to assist the Civil Police in carrying out a raid at Koeindan village in order to round up 'dacoits' and escaped prisoners.  The raid took place at dawn on 18th April and although a number of shots were fired, there were no casualties and three 'dacoits' were captured.  On 20th April, the 25th Battalion took over the guard duties at Government House from the 2nd Burma Rifles.  In May, on the 9th, a section from 'D' Detachment at Pyapon accompanied the Civil Police on a raid near Bogale and captured two 'dacoits'.  A patrol was sent out the next day in search of yet more 'dacoits' but none were encountered.  This was in contrast to the experience at Maubin, where on 11th May, a platoon from 'C' Detachment was sent to assist the Civil Police in tracking a gang who had attacked a sampan, killing three passengers.  The patrol met the 'dacoits' at a place between the village of Maletto and Yegyaw and a fire fight broke out during which three 'dacoits' were killed and one captured.  Sadly, two men of the patrol were also killed in the exchange.  On 21st May, Captain K.W. Battson attended a conference at Headquarters, South Burma Area to discuss the relief of the two detachments at Maubin and Pyapon.[22]  Given the imminent disbandment of the 25th Battalion, it was agreed to relieve them by the end of the month.  On 25th May, a party of 56 men of the Battalion embarked for India on release.  The next day, a clash occurred between a section from 'D' Detachment, together with some local Police, and a party of eleven armed 'dacoits', during which two men of the section were killed.  Two 'dacoits' were also killed and six captured.  The Chamar Regiment relieved 'C' Detachment at Maubin on 29th May.  'D' Detachment at Pyapon was relieved, also by the Chamar Regiment, on 1st June and returned to Rangoon in two ramped cargo lighters (R.C.L.s).  That same day, the Chamar Regiment and the 1st Nigeria Regiment relieved the 25th Battalion of all guard duties in Rangoon with the exception of the guard mounted at Government House.  With the relief of most duties, the release of men ahead of the Battalion's disbandment now began.  On 17th June, 130 Indian men left for India on release on board the S.S. "Islamia", followed the next day by another 130 Indian men for release on board the S.S. "Miranda".  A further 70 left on 23rd June on board the S.S. "Empire Guinevere".  Lt. General H.R. Briggs, the General Officer-in-Command, Burma Command, visited the 25th Battalion on 26th June to give a farewell address to the remaining men of the Battalion on its imminent disbandment.  On 30th June, 128 men left for India on board the S.S. "Empire Rani".  Another 74 left on 5th July, giving a total of 532 Governor's Commissioned Officers and Other Ranks who had left the Battalion within a period of three weeks.  The regimental flag was handed in at Government House on 15th July 1946 and it is thought that the 25th (Garrison) Battalion, The Burma Regiment was formally disbanded by October 1946.[23]

[The war diary of the 25th (Garrison) Battalion ends on 29th July 1946.]

1 April 2018