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{{short description|Battle of World War II}}
{{coord|20.120225|N| 93.442866|E|display=title}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Battle of Hill 170
| partof = the [[Burma
| image = The British Army in Burma 1944 SE1231.jpg
| image_size = 300px
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| date = 22–31 January 1945
| place = [[Rakhine State|Arakan]], [[Burma]]
| casus =
| territory =
| result = [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] victory
| combatant1 = {{flag|British Empire}}
| combatant2 = {{
| commander1 = {{flagicon|UK}} [[Campbell Hardy]]
| commander2 = {{flagicon|Empire of Japan}}
| units1 = [[3 Commando Brigade]]
| units2 = [[54th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|54th Division]]
| casualties1 = 45 dead<br />90 wounded
| casualties2 =
| campaignbox =
}}
{{Campaignbox Burma}}
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The '''Battle of Hill 170''' was a battle between the British [[3rd Commando Brigade]] and the Japanese [[54th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|54th Division]] during the [[World War II|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 [[Rakhine State|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 Corps]]—[[Lieutenant 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."<ref name=mo82/>
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
==Background==
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===Japanese counter-attack===
The plan was for 3 Commando Brigade to withdraw on 30 January but the plans were halted by a new Japanese counter-attack on the brigade's positions by the 154th Infantry Regiment. The next morning at 05:45, the 2nd Battalion, 154th Infantry Regiment launched a surprise attack on Hill 170 under cover of a fierce artillery bombardment and heavy machine gun fire.<ref name=mo79/> The focus of their attack was the northern end of Hill 170 defended by No. 4 Troop, No. 1 Commando. The troop's position was ringed by gunfire in a preliminary to a major attack. Throwing grenades in front of them, the Japanese attacked at 07:30 on a {{convert|100|yd|m|abbr=on}} front platoon by platoon.<ref name=bsa/>
Hill 170 was now defended by No. 1 and No. 42 commandos supported by a tank troop from the 19th Lancers. The tanks at the northern end of the hill were attacked in a suicidal assault by Japanese engineers armed with explosive charges on the end of bamboo poles. The engineers destroyed two of the three Sherman tanks after a hand-to-hand battle by climbing on top of them and exploding their charges.<ref name=bsa/>
The Japanese infantry attacked Hill 170 throughout the rest of the day, the brunt of these attacks falling on No. 4 Troop of No. 1 Commando.<ref name=mo79/> At 09:30, a counter-attack was launched by W Troop, No. 42 Commando and No. 3 Troop, No. 1 Commando, that had to be abandoned after advancing only {{convert|20|yd|m|abbr=on}} against massed machine gun fire.<ref name=bsa/> The next counter-attack was by X Troop, No. 42 Commando supported by the remaining Sherman tank that also failed in the face of the heavy Japanese fire. The commandos then responded by bringing all available artillery and mortar fire down on the Japanese positions.<ref name=bsa/> At 14:00, No. 6 Troop, No. 1 Commando put in a counter-attack but this also failed, with the troop losing nearly half of its men.<ref name=bsa/> To the east of Hill 170 on "Pinner", No. 5 Commando was by then relieved by the 8/[[19th Hyderabad Regiment]] from the 51st Brigade and rejoined the 3rd Commando Brigade on Hill 170, their machine guns adding to the weight of fire brought to bear on the Japanese.<ref name=bsa/> At 16:00, the 2/[[2nd Punjab Regiment]] from the 51st Brigade managed to work their way around the left flank of Hill 170 and engaged the Japanese from there. At the same time No. 5 Commando were moved forward to take over the front line from No.4 Troop except for one section that had been cut off and overrun.<ref name=bsa/> Just after 17:00 some Japanese were seen to be withdrawing from the hill and the 2/2nd Punjabi Regiment started a flanking night attack but this failed to drive the Japanese off their positions on the hill. The Japanese responded with a night attack of their own against No. 5 Commando's positions that also failed.<ref name=bsa>{{cite web |
An estimated 700 Japanese shells landed on the hill during the last day of the battle.<ref name=mo79/> In a day of continuous fighting, much of it hand-to-hand, the men of No. 1 and No. 42 commandos had repulsed and counter-attacked the waves of Japanese infantry.<ref>{{cite web|
==Aftermath==
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{{quote|
In Burma on 31 January 1945, near Kangaw, Lieutenant Knowland was commanding the forward platoon of a Troop positioned on the extreme North of a hill which was subjected to very heavy and repeated enemy attacks – throughout the whole day. Before the first attack started, Lieutenant Knowland's platoon was heavily mortared and machine gunned, yet he moved about among his men keeping them alert and encouraging them, though under fire himself at the time. When the enemy, some 300 strong in all, made their first assault they concentrated all their efforts on his platoon of 24 men, but, in spite of the ferocity of the attack, he moved about from trench to trench distributing ammunition, and firing his rifle and throwing grenades at the enemy, often from completely exposed positions. Later, when the crew of one of his forward Bren Guns had all been wounded, he sent back to Troop Headquarters for another crew and ran forward to man the gun himself until they arrived. The enemy was then less than {{convert|10|yd}} from him in dead ground down the hill, so, in order to get a better field of fire, he stood on top of the trench, firing the light machine gun from his hip, and successfully keeping them at a distance until a Medical Orderly had dressed and evacuated the wounded men behind him. The new Bren team also became casualties on the way up, and Lieutenant Knowland continued to fire the gun until another team took over. Later, when a fresh attack came in, he took over a 2-inch mortar and in spite of heavy fire and the closeness of the enemy, he stood up in the open to face them, firing the mortar from his hip and killing six of them with his first bomb. When all bombs were expended he went back through heavy grenade, mortar and machine gun fire to get more, which he fired in the same way from the open in front of his platoon positions. When those bombs were finished, he went back to his own trench, and still standing up fired his rifle at them. Being hard pressed and with enemy closing in on him from only 10 yards away, he had no time to re-charge his magazine. Snatching up the Tommy gun of a casualty, he sprayed the enemy and was mortally wounded stemming this assault, though not before he had killed and wounded many of the enemy. Such was the inspiration of his magnificent heroism, that, though fourteen out of twenty four of his platoon became casualties at an early stage, and six of his positions were overrun by the enemy, his men held on through twelve hours of continuous and fierce fighting until reinforcements arrived. If this Northern end of the hill had fallen, the rest of the hill would have been endangered, the beach-head dominated by the enemy, and other units farther inland cut off from their source of supplies. As it was, the final successful counter-attack was later launched from the vital ground which Lieutenant Knowland had taken such a gallant part in holding.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37027|date=10 April 1945|page=1939|supp=y}}</ref>}}
== See also ==
* {{Portal inline|Japan}}
==Notes==
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==References==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Moreman|first=Tim|title=British Commandos 1940–46|year=2006|publisher=Osprey Publishing
* {{cite book|last=Saunders|first=Hilary St. George|title=The Green Beret: The Commandos at War|
{{Refend}}
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{{British Commando raids of the Second World War}}
▲{{Portal bar|World War II|Japan|United Kingdom|Myanmar}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill 170, Battle of}}
[[Category:Battles of World War II involving Japan]]▼
[[Category:Conflicts in 1945]]
[[Category:January 1945 events in
[[Category:
[[Category:World War II British Commando raids]]
▲[[Category:Battles of World War II involving Japan]]
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