Imphal 1944

In March 1944, the Japanese Fifteenth Army launched an offensive into India from Burma. Named "U Go," its main objective was the capture of the town of Imphal, which provided the easiest route between India and Burma. Whoever controlled it, controlled access between the two countries. Facing off against the Japanese was the British Fourteenth Army and its Imphal-based 4 Corps. For the next four months, over 200,000 men clashed in the hills and valley of Manipur in what has since been described as one of the greatest battles of World War II.

Although numbers vary, it is estimated that some 30,000 Japanese soldiers died and 23,000 were injured at Imphal–Kohima in 1944 due to fighting, disease and in the retreat back to Burma. It remains the largest defeat on land ever for the Japanese Army.

With fully commissioned artwork and maps, this is the complete story of the turning point in the Burma campaign in World War II.

About the Author

Hemant Singh Katoch is an independent scholar based in New Delhi. His research has focused on the battles of Imphal and Kohima of 1944, and he has pioneered battlefield tours around them. He conceived of the original idea to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the battle of Imphal and helped organize a series of remembrance events in 2014. In the past he has worked for the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva, the United Nations in Timor-Leste, and the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His first book The Battlefields of Imphal: The Second World War and North East India (Routledge India) was published in 2016.

Peter Dennis was born in 1950. Inspired by contemporary magazines such as Look and Learn he studied illustration at Liverpool Art College. Peter has since contributed to hundreds of books, predominantly on historical subjects, including many Osprey titles. A keen wargamer and model maker, he is based in Nottinghamshire, UK.