6th Battalion, The Burma Rifles

The Battalion was raised at the Burma Rifles Depot at Maymyo on 15th February 1941 by milking the existing regular battalions.  The majority of men were Karens with one of the rifle companies being Burmese.  To the Battalion were posted three regular officers and a handful of regulare non-commissioned officers.  The officers were: the Commanding Officer, Lt. Colonel J.C. Cotton; the second-in-command, Major J. Exshaw, seconded to the 6th Burma Rifles from the 14th Punjab Regiment; the acting adjutant, Captain E.G. Brooke of the 2nd Battalion, 10th Gurkha Rifles.[1] [2] [3]  The remainder of the officers were all recently commissioned, nearly all of whom were employees of companies such as Steels, Burmah Oil, McGregors, the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company and other commercial houses in Burma.[4]

Basic training was given at Maymyo but the Battalion was woefully short of equipment.  There was a full complement of rifles but there were few automatic weapons and no heavy weapons such as mortars.  Wireless sets were in very short supply in Burma and the Battalion had to rely on semaphore and heliograph communications.  In November 1941, the Battalion moved from Maymyo to Tavoy.  The journey took two days, first by road to Mandalay then train to Martaban and on across the Sittang River Bridge.   At Martaban, the men transferred to a river ferry for the crossing of the Salween River estuary to Moulmein from where the Battalion completed the journey by road.[5]

In December 1941, the Battalion was located at Tavoy (present day Dawei), in Tenasserim, under the command of the 2nd Burma Infantry Brigade.  The Commanding Officer of the 6th Burma Rifles, Lt. Colonel Cotton, was Commander Tavoy and was responsible for all troops in the area bounded by the Mergui Command northern boundary to the south and as far north as Ye, including the landing ground there.[6] 

The Tavoy garrison consisted of:

- 6th Battalion, The Burma Rifles
- Tavoy Company, Tenasserim Battalion, Burma Auxiliary Force
- detachment Kokine Battalion, Burma Frontier Force, aerodrome guards
- detachment No. 1 Animal Transport Company
- small supply depot and hospital detachments.[7]

6th Burma Rifles at Tavoy

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One company, ‘A’ Company, of the 6th Battalion was at Kaleinaung, to the north of Tavoy, and another across the Tavoy River, patrolling the coast south of Maungmagan.  The Maungmagan company covered the area between Maungmagan and Sanlan with the object of dealing with any small enemy landing.  If a larger force were to be encountered, the company was to fight a delaying action.[8]  On 11th December 1941, there was an air raid on Tavoy aerodrome however the battalion suffered no casualties.  Sporadic enemy air activity continued into January 1942.[9]

‘A’ Company had been taken to Kaleinaung by Captain Andrews with orders to undertake a reconnaissance of the border area to the north east of Tavoy and to attempt to gather any news of Japanese activity on the Thai side of the border.  Andrews and his men left Tavoy and headed north by road using improvised motor transport consisting of a “boxcar” from the Battalion transport pool and two local buses hired for the purpose.  Upon arrival, Company Headquarters was established about half a mile outside of Kaleinaung, in the compound of the Government rest house.  Andrews decided to take a platoon-sized party up to the border area and hired two elephants to carry all the stores, equipment and spare ammunition.  Progress was slow for the trail led up and down across steep hillsides and there were frequent stops to allow the elephants to catch up.  The party took their first evening meal at a friendly village where the locals expressed their deep concern about a man-eating tiger that had been terrorising them for several months, reportedly having eaten ten men.  Agreeing to shoot the tiger if his party came across it, Andrews moved on the next day.[10] 

The next night, the party made camp and protected the site with a ring of prickly bamboo, creating a hedge around the camp about five feet high and three or four feet thick.  Having eaten and posted sentries, everyone settled down for the night.  At around midnight, Andrews was woken up and told that one of the sentries had gone missing, possibly taken by the tiger.  At first, Andrews was disinclined to believe that this was what had occurred, for it would have been a fantastic coincidence.  An initial search revealed the sentry’s rifle inside the camp perimeter and fifteen minutes later the platoon subedar returned from outside to report the man’s hat had been found.  Still believing it to be impossible for the tiger to have leapt the barricade, grabbed the man and leapt back over whilst carrying the unfortunate victim, Andrews called a halt to any further search until daybreak.  As soon as dawn broke, another search party went out to look for the man.  They followed the trail for about 100 yards before losing it in thick jungle.  They found bloodstains and pieces of clothing but no trace of either man or tiger.  With nothing else to be done, the party moved on.  That night, they took no chances and negotiated with locals for the use of some huts in which to bed down.  Although the villagers had heard stories of the tiger, they had not been troubled themselves.  Of the Japanese, they had heard nothing.  Andrews’ patrol continued relatively uneventfully and some days later he and his men returned to ‘A’ Company Headquarters near Kaleinaung.[11]

On the ground, Japanese preparations for a full-scale attack on southern Burma from Thailand had been progressing since mid-December.  On 3rd January 1942, the 3rd Battalion, 112th Regiment and the Oki Branch Unit left Bangkok to attack Tavoy.  They first travelled by train and concentrated at Kanchanaburi, where they were helped by a group from the Burma Independence Army (B.I.A.).  These troops then made their way by motor boat up the notorious River Kwai to Wanpo (Wang Dong?).  From here they set off on foot to cross the Tenasserim Hills, with horses, oxen and several elephants carrying the heavy equipment and ammunition, the elephants provided by the Thai Army.  Once across the hills and the border into Burma, the Japanese followed the track to Sinbyudaing which was reached around 8th January.  Sinbyudaing, a village well to the east of Tavoy, is just inside the Burmese side of the border with Thailand.  The route the Japanese must follow next would take them to Myitta and from there onto the Tavoy-Myitta road.  The track from Sinbyudaing to Myitta ran along the south bank of the Tenasserim River and emerged from the hills about three miles to north east of Myitta.[12]

By about 10th January, the 6th Burma Rifles had one company at Minyat, one at Maungmagan, a platoon on the Tavoy-Myitta road and ‘A’ Company at Kaleinaung.  This left ‘C’ Company in Tavoy itself.[13]  The road from Myitta was reconnoitred daily as far as the Police station at Kyaukmedaung (Kyauk Me Taung) for signs of Japanese activity.  On 12th January, an enemy plane was seen to circle Kyaukmedaung for half an hour just before midday.  The plane dropped four bombs, apparently targeting oil storage tanks owned by the Tavoy Tin Dredging Company at milestone 23.4.  The tanks escaped unscathed but a bungalow belonging to an employee of the company was hit and burnt down.  The next day, a Buffalo fighter based at Tavoy shot down a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft.  Later that day, Tavoy aerodrome was bombed and machine gunned by Japanese light bombers  but there was no damage and no casualties.[14] 

At Kaleinaung, on 13th January, ‘A’ Company, under the command of Captain W.R. Andrews, was in the process of handing over to the 4th Battalion, 12th Frontier Force Regiment when a message was received from Tavoy.[15]  The message stated that there were reports of the Japanese having occupied Sinbyudaing as early as 8th January.  Andrews was ordered to return to Tavoy with ‘A’ Company forthwith.  They arrived in Tavoy that evening and the command of the company was transferred to C.G. Booker, Company Commander.[16]  Taking command of ‘C’ Company, Andrews and his men were sent out to the east towards Myitta, with orders to obtain information on the Japanese force and to delay any enemy advance.[17]

 ‘C’ Company headed for Kyaukmedaung, about 28 miles from Tavoy on the road to Myitta, where there was a Police station.  The road is hilly and passes through a tin mining area.  Although an all weather route as far as milestone 31.6, just before Myitta, in 1942 the road did not have a hard surface.  Ten miles from Tavoy, the road branches north to Harmeingyi (Har Myin Gyi) Mine, also accessible from points further along the road by way of hill and jungle tracks.[18]  Captain Andrews’ orders were to send one platoon each to Myitta, about eight miles to the east of Kyaukmedaung, and to Seinpyon, about 20 miles to the north east.  Company Headquarters were at Kyaukmedaung.  The Company’s third platoon, the Company reserve, was co-located with the Headquarters.  The platoon at Seinpyon was ordered to watch the track running from the border that the Japanese might use to outflank the Myitta-Kyaukmedaung road.  The platoon at Myitta was to set up a defensive position to the east of the village on the river junction and to send patrols along the track to the east out to about eight miles.  Communications between Company Headquarters in Kyaukmedaung and Battalion Headquarters in Tavoy were to be maintained by bus or telephone; between Kyaukmedaung and Seinpyon by bicycle; and between Kyaukmedaung and Myitta by bus.[19]  Around 100 Japanese were reported to be at Tantaung, to the north of Seinpyon.[20]

Situation: 13th-14th January 1942

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Captain Andrews received a message from Battalion Headquarters on 14th January that the Japanese had been in Sinbyudaing since 8th January.  It was reported that the enemy had been seen preparing the track along the Tenasserim River towards Myitta.  They were thought to be about 200-300 in strength.  The local District Superintendent had been asked to send a patrol of local villagers down the track towards Sinbyudaing to gather more information.  The Japanese were also trying to gather information on their enemy and sent one of their reconnaissance aircraft over both Kyaukmedaung and Myitta on each of 13^th, 14th and 15th January.  On 15th January, Captain Andrews accompanied a patrol along the south bank of the Tenasserim River to a distance of about six miles.  The objective of the patrol was to identify possible places where they could ambush the Japanese.  After the return of the patrol, during the afternoon, Andrews was visited by the Battalion Adjutant and a Lt. Colonel of engineers.  The party was on its way from Kyaukmedaung to inspect Myitta when, at around 16:30, an orderly caught up with them bearing a message saying that the Japanese had been seen on the opposite bank of the Ban Chaung river.  Andrews went forward to the Myitta position, sending the Adjutant back to Kyaukmedaung to inform Battalion Headquarters in Tavoy and to send the reserve platoon forward to Myitta.  The reserve platoon came up quickly and was immediately put in position.  Interestingly, it was this platoon that was to see most of the fighting in the ensuing action.[21] 

The Japanese attacked at 17:00 that evening, launching an attempt to cross the river in front of Myitta.  However, as their leading section entered the water they were fired upon and quickly returned to their own side of the river to seek cover.  Reports from ‘C’ Company’s forward sections suggested that around 20 of the enemy had been hit but Andrews was unable to confirm this.  Then, a member of a Police patrol that had been sent out earlier returned to report that a large number of Japanese were in the area to the south-east of the Myitta position.  Andrews reported this information back to Tavoy and proposed that if an additional company could be sent up to him, it could be deployed on his right flank and together they would be better able to hold up the Japanese crossing.  As the light began to fade that evening, the Japanese launched a second attempt to cross the river, this time to the south of Myitta, on Andrews’ right flank.  As the Japanese began their crossing attempt, under cover of mortar fire, Andrews received new orders from Battalion Headquarters.  He was to conduct a reconnaissance of the area where the additional company now being sent from Tavoy would deploy.  However, the orders also stated that if the reconnaissance could not be done before dark or before the Japanese attacked, then Andrews was to abandon Myitta, fall back on Kyaukmedaung and take up a defensive position on the hills.  By 18:45, the Japanese had managed to get a number of men across the river and the Myitta position was in danger of being outflanked.  Given this situation, at 19:00, Andrews withdrew the two ‘C’ Company platoons as ordered.  Andrews found it difficult to estimate the number of the enemy trying to cross the river given the Japanese tactic of making a lot of noise by both shouting and firing to distract and deceive the defenders.  He thought there might have been 200 at most and probably fewer.  The promised reinforcements, ‘A’ Company, 6th Burma Rifles arrived later that night and both companies took up a position astride the road at milestone 25.[22]

Situation: 15th January 1942

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On 16th January, there was an air raid on Tavoy aerodrome however there were no military casualties.  The 6th Burma Rifles company at Minyat was brought across to Tavoy and on this day or the next, the 6th Burma Rifles company at Maungmagan, under Captain N.R. Watts, was also ordered back to the town.[23]  Watts, who had returned from a course in India only twelve days earlier, was told to organise a defensive position to the east of the town with his company, to run from the Mergui road to the south, around to the north across the Myitta road and half way towards the road to Ye, on a line passing through the Panktin (Pauktaing) and Myitta Bridges.[24]  Reinforcements from Mergui (present day Myeik) were expected imminently.  The reinforcements were the ‘B’ (Karen) and ‘D’ (Chin) Companies of the 3rd Battalion, Burma Rifles, supported by a detachment from the 3rd Battalion Headquarters.  Some of these troops were travelling down by road in lorries and were expected later that evening.  The remainder were being transported by boat and were due the following morning.[25]

During the day, from their position at milestone 25, ‘A’ and ‘C’ Companies, 6th Burma Rifles attacked Kyaukmedaung.  Finding the place undefended, the advance continued eastwards as far as milestone 31.  The two companies stayed in and around Kyaukmedaung for the remainder of the day.  Late that evening, reports were received that the Japanese had been seen on the move to the south of Kyaukmedaung.  In response, the two companies withdrew to their former position at milestone 25.[26]

The two companies of the 3rd Battalion, The Burma Rifles, arrived in Tavoy from Mergui in the early morning of 17th January.   That afternoon, a platoon was detached from one of these companies to bolster Major Watts’ company defending the east of the town.[27]  As for the Myitta road, Battalion Headquarters decided that ‘A’ and ‘C’ Companies, 6th Burma Rifles should continue to hold the defence position at milestone 25.  ‘A’ Company of the 6th Battalion remained astride the road and ‘C’ Company was sent to cover the right flank, to the south of the road, from the vicinity of a hill feature called Yebu Taung (taung is Burmese for mountain).[28]  In the meantime, at least one of the 3rd Burma Rifles companies was sent up from Tavoy to reinforce the 6th Burma Rifles defending the road. This company arrived in the area of milestone 25 during the afternoon. [29]  A small, improvised headquarters was also present to command the three detached companies now operating in the area.  Captain Andrews, with ‘C’ Company at Yebu Taung, was visited by Captain W.R. Williams, the battalion adjutant, at 22:00 that evening.[30]  Williams passed on orders that Andrews was to withdraw his company at 08:00 the following morning.  He was to join the Detachment Headquarters at milestone 25 and, or so Andrews surmised, be part of a fresh attack on Kyaukmedaung.  In fact, the detachment had received orders to withdraw further to west towards Tavoy.[31] 

Situation: 17th-18th January 1942

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However, at 23:00 that night, Andrews saw a huge fire in Kyaukmedaung and shortly afterwards the Japanese attacked the position at milestone 25.  Andrews thought that the main Japanese thrust came straight down the road and that an outflanking force passed through the hills to the north of the road and attacked from the rear, their objective being the Detachment Headquarters.  In this action, Major V.A. Chiodetti, in command of ‘D’ Company, 3rd Burma Rifles was killed and Captain H.E. Le, commander of ‘B’ Company, 3rd Burma Rifles was wounded.[32] [33]  It seems that most of the fighting fell to the 3rd Burma Rifles and a single platoon of ‘A’ Company, 6th Burma Rifles.[34]  During the fight, the Japanese captured the detachment’s motor transport.[35]  According to a Japanese account, the Japanese advanced along the road from Myitta after dark on the evening of 17th January.  After about two hours they bumped into the Burma Rifles position near milestone 25 whereupon the Burma Rifles opened fire, killing three of the Japanese advance party.  The Japanese brought the British position under fire from their medium machine guns and fired five shells into it from a mountain gun.  After this the Burma Rifles retreated and the Japanese continued down the road.[36]

Andrews expected to see the signal flare that would indicate his withdrawal from Yebu Taung but it was never fired.  The fight at milestone 25 continued until the early hours of the morning of 18th January.  At 06:30, Andrews began to withdraw his company north towards the road.  The company was split into two, with two platoons taking a track to the west and one platoon and Company Headquarters following another track to the east.  Unfortunately this detachment lost their way and were half an hour late getting to the road.  By this time however, the other two platoons had reached the village of Wagon (Wa Hone) and bumped into the Japanese rearguard.  By the time Andrews’ headquarters and the third platoon arrived, only the company Subedar and his orderly could be found.  On a small hillock to the north of the road, Andrews found a dead Bren gun team, but no other troops were found from his two missing platoons and neither from ‘A’ Company nor from the 3rd Burma Rifles.  Giving up the search, Andrews and Williams went to a bungalow owned by the nearby mine and telephoned Tavoy for instructions.  They were told to take their men to Harmeingyi Mine (Har Myin Gyi Mine) where they would be collected and brought back to reinforce Tavoy.[37]

During the night of 18th January, Andrews and Williams set off for Harmeingyi Mine.  Upon reaching the mine, they found around 100 men of the two Burma Rifles battalions.  Many of the men had moved north of the road during the battle.  There in the jungle, they met a local Karen, a man under the command of Lt. Colonel A. Ottaway who, in civilian life, was the general manager in Tavoy of the Consolidated Tin Mines of Burma Ltd.  He was also the commanding officer of the part-time Tenasserim Battalion, Burma Auxiliary Force.[38]  Unknown to anyone else present, he was also working for the Oriental Mission (Special Operations Executive (S.O.E.)) and was most likely on a mission to destroy the local tin mines to prevent their use by the Japanese.[39]  His man now led the Burma Rifles survivors through the jungle at night to a place called Padaung, where Ottaway had his headquarters, and here they met up with other survivors, about 60 men from the main force led by Captain (temporary Major) H.G.V. Boulter.[40]  Among those present were men from the two platoons of ‘A’ Company, previously unaccounted for, who had held their positions south of the road throughout the night battle with the Japanese and who did not leave their positions until 11:00 on the morning of 18th January.  They only withdrew when they realised that everyone else at milestone 25 had left.[41]  After one or two day’s rest, the Burma Rifles party headed north through the jungle, hoping to meet up with British and Indian troops at Ye.[42]

Situation: 18th-19th January 1942

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In the meantime, during the 18th January, the entire Japanese force had pressed on from Wagon towards Tavoy.  The following morning, the Japanese launched their attack on the town from the direction of Zaha Camp, to the north of the town.  The attack began at around 07:30 and Watts’ company was involved in the defence, fighting against superior numbers.  The detachment of the Kokine Battalion, Burma Frontier Force, put up a spirited defence of the aerodrome before being forced to withdraw.  Captain Watts held out until about 11:00 when he received orders to move his company across the aerodrome and inflict as many casualties on the Japanese as possible as they moved unopposed across the aerodrome towards the bazaar.  By midday, the defence of Tavoy had all but collapsed and the Commanding Officer gave orders to evacuate the town.  Captain Watts was sent to remove the wire from the Myitta Bridge after which he scouted the Myitta road.  About one mile above the bridge he ran into another enemy column advancing on Tavoy.  He quickly returned to the Battalion and warned them of the new threat.  The remnants of the Burma Rifles in Tavoy then withdrew north through the hills.[43]  These and other survivors of the garrison passed through the hills and headed for Ye, held by the 4th Battalion, 12th Frontier Force Regiment, which had been sent down from Moulmein to support the defenders of Tavoy.  Parties of the Tenasserim Battalion stayed behind to blow up bridges and roads, some staying long after the Tavoy garrison had left, and most eventually got back having given good account of themselves.  By 15:00, the Japanese had occupied the town.  Their total casualties for the whole Tavoy operation were 23 killed and 40 wounded.  A Burma Independence Army detachment followed the Japanese into the town to set up an administration to run the town.  It also began to recruit volunteers for the B.I.A.[44] 

Two companies, ‘B’ and ‘D’ of the 4th Battalion, 12th Frontier Force Regiment were at Kaleinaung about midway between Tavoy and Ye to the north.  At Ye itself, on the north bank of the Ye River, were the Battalion Headquarters and ‘A’ Company of the 4th/12th Frontier Force Regiment together with the headquarters of the 2nd Burma Infantry Brigade.  Refugees from Tavoy began to pass through Ye during 19th January, bearing conflicting rumours.  The next day many wounded arrived from Tavoy and on 21st January, Lt. Colonel Cotton and five other officers arrived.  They were followed by more evacuees.  The Headquarters of the 2nd Burma Brigade moved back to Moulmein that day and in the evening ‘B’ and ‘D’ Companies of the 4th/12th Frontier Force Regiment withdrew to Ye.  The 4th/12th Frontier Force Regiment left for Moulmein the next day, leaving ‘A’ Company and a detachment of sappers as rearguard at Ye.  These men rejoined their battalion at Moulmein on the afternoon of 24th January.[45]

The action at Tavoy effectively finished the 6th Burma Rifles as a battalion, however many stragglers made it back to British lines.  The party led by Ottaway, Boulter, Andrews and Williams had set off for Ye around 22nd January.  Their original plan had been to move on the east side of the road to Ye, but this proved to be slow going to the party crossed the road and followed the route of the telephone line.  They now made much better progress and fund time to cut the telephone line in several places.  They reached a point about twelve miles south of Ye around 31st January, only to find that Ye was occupied by the Japanese.  With all land routes effectively blocked by the Japanese, the only escape route remaining was by sea.  All but 30 men were released; most of those released were local Karens who had homes or relatives in the hills.  The remainder turned west and headed for the sea, hoping to find boats big enough to take them all.  Arriving at an abandoned coastal village after dark, a single boat was found.  As the moon rose, it was decided that Ottaway, Williams and 20 men should go in this boat.  After this boat put to sea, Boulter, Andrews and the remaining ten men continued the search for another boat.  They eventually found one under a hut in the village.  A further search of the village was undertaken to look for food and containers to hold water for the voyage.  When all was loaded into the boat together with the officers and their men, it seemed very precarious and the boat sat very low in the water.  The boat was paddled out to sea and when far enough from the shore, the sail was hoisted and a course set to the north.  Around 2nd February, some local fishing boats were encountered and from the fishermen it was learned that a paddy barge was present at a nearby island.  The barge was approached and the crew surprised.  After some discussion, they were eventually bribed to take the Burma Rifles men to Rangoon.  At dawn, as the barge was made ready to sail, the other boat with Ottaway and Williams was sighted and this party now joined Boulter and Andrews on the barge which immediately set off for Rangoon.  Towards the evening of 5th February, a ship was sighted which turned out to be manned by the Burma Navy.  All now transferred to the ship and within a few hours were safely disembarked in Rangoon.[46]

Other survivors, meanwhile, headed overland for Moulmein.  One party of around 21 men made their way to Moulmein with 30 men of ‘D’ Company, the 3rd Burma Rifles.  They were taken under command of the 3rd Battalion but were soon sent back to Rangoon as they were completely dispirited. [47]  Not a single man of ‘B’ Company of the 3rd Burma Rifles was seen again.  A bugler of the 3rd Burma Rifles, Rifleman Vai Thio, was recommended for a gallantry award for his actions on the Tavoy-Myitta road on the night of 17th/18th January.  The recommendation was put forward by Major Boulter, who appears to have assumed command of the 6th Burma Rifles either during the Tavoy fighting or subsequently.[48]  Some officers of the 6th Burma Rifles reached Moulmein, one joined the Headquarters 2nd Burma Brigade and a Major was attached to the 3rd Battalion for a few days.[49]  Lieutenant Khin Mg Gyi reported to the 2nd Burma Brigade Headquarters at 08:00 on 30th January having escaped Japanese capture.  He had been taken prisoner at Peinne Gon on the Kyaikmakan road the previous evening.  When the captured lorry he was being driven in overturned at a corner, he managed to escape and find his way to Moulmein.[50]  Captain N.R. Watts became the Officer Commanding Aerodrome Defences at Moulmein and won the Military Cross for his leadership there and at Tavoy previously.  Throughout the remainder of January and early February stragglers continued to report in, being joined by a few more men returning from courses or hospital, a number being recorded as arriving by the 9th and 10th Battalion Burma Rifles at Meiktila and Mingaladon respectively.  On 23rd February, a small party from the 10th Battalion ‘proceeded to join the 6th Burma Rifles at Mandalay’.[51]

By now, the 17th Indian Division had become so concerned by the performance of the Burma Rifles battalions under its command that on 25th January it issued an order for their reorganisation.  All weapons and equipment except rifles and gas masks were to be removed from 3rd, 4th and 6th Battalions and given to the 16th Indian Brigade to replace losses in the brigade.  The 3rd and 4th Battalions were to be amalgamated into one battalion under the command of the 16th Indian Infantry Brigade. Officers and men of the 6th Battalion considered valuable for this new amalgamated battalion were to remain and the rest were to return to their Depot.  At this time the 3rd Battalion and survivors of the 6th Battalion were in Moulmein and the 4th Battalion was reorganising near Martaban, on the other side of the Salween River.  In fact several officers and men of the 6th Battalion fought with the 3rd Battalion at Moulmein, whilst others were sent back to Rangoon, as described in the preceding paragraph.  The 3rd and 4th Battalions did not merge until after the Sittang disaster.

In March, the 6th Battalion was effectively disbanded when it was decided that the surviving Karens were to form a Garrison Company.  Surviving Chins from the battalion joined with others from the 3rd Battalion to form a reinforcement company intended for the 2nd Burma Rifles.  This Chin Company arrived with the 2nd Battalion at Chaung from Minhla on 13th April 1942 and was equipped, armed and renamed “C” Company.[52]

Remnants of the 6th Battalion were at Mandalay Hill at the end of April.  Many of these men were Chins from other battalions of the Burma Rifles and had been sent back and collected together.  There were in total around 270 Chins and some 80 Burmans under the command of 2nd Lieutenant G.L. Merrells. The detachment was ordered to accompany the 9th (Reserve) Battalion, The Burma Rifles to Bhamo.  On 20th April Merrells met Major E.H. Cooke of the 9th Battalion and the two officers made arrangements for Merrells’ detachment to board the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company launch “Shwemyo” on the morning of 24th April by which time it was thought the 9th Battalion would have completed loading.  On the appointed day, Merrells and the 6th Battalion arrived at Mandalay Shore, loaded what little gear they possessed and set sail at midday with the 9th Battalion for Bhamo.  The “Shwemyo” reached Bhamo on early on the morning of 1st May.  Bhamo was evacuated on 2nd May, just ahead of the Japanese who captured the town on the evening of the next day after a brisk fight with a small detachment of Chinese troops.  It is not known if Merrells and his men left Bhamo with the 9th Battalion or other troops or made their own way but Merrells did reach India and later went on to serve with the Civil Affairs Service, Burma.[53] [54]

Officers who served with the 6th Battalion, The Burma Rifles are:

- Lt. Colonel John Colson Cotton, Commanding Officer
- Major James Exshaw, seconded from the 14th Punjab Regiment
- Captain Walter Rigby Andrews, Company Commander, ‘C’ Company
- Captain (temporary Major) Henry George Victor Boulter, Company Commander, ‘D’ Company, seconded from the 9th Jat Regiment
- Captain (temporary Major) Edmund Godson Brooke, seconded from the 10th Gurkha Rifles
- Captain C.G. Booker, Company Commander, ‘A’ Company
- Captain George William Macloy Cockburn[55]
- Captain Norman Reginald Watts
- Captain Walter Robert Williams
- Lieutenant Khin Mg Gyi
- 2nd Lt. George Luen Merrells.

[No war diary or other documents relating to the 6th Burma Rifles survived the war.[56]]

After their successful invasion of Burma in 1942, the Japanese made use of the airfield at Tavoy. Defences were constructed to protect the airfield, including this pillbox which survives today.

Photo: Yeyint Kyaw

16 November 2019