LONDON, MAY 1:Survivors of the historic “Battle of Kohima” gathered in York, north England, to remember their fallen comrades who strove to halt the Japanese army’s invasion into British India during World War II.

Nearly 4,000 British and Indian soldiers lost their lives, while up to 7,000 Japanese perished during the battle fought from April 4 to June 22, 1944, around the town of Kohima in northeast India.

It was later described by Earl Mountbatten as probably one of the greatest battles in history and it proved to be the turning point in the Burma Campaign.

Survivors of the battle and their relatives gathered at the York Minster this week for a service of remembrance to mark the 64th anniversary.

The congregation, which included many serving members of the Army based at Imphal Barracks, heard a reading of Pericles’ Funeral Oration and also the poem “No Tears Were Shed At Kohima”.

Following the service, at which one of the hymns was “I Vow To Thee, My Country”, wreaths were laid at the Kohima Memorial in the Minster Gardens.

Major (Retd) Gordon Graham recited the well-known Kohima Epitaph: “When you go home today, Tell them of us and say, For your tomorrow, We gave our today.”

Bill Hays, a former corporal with the Lancashire Fusiliers and a member of the 2nd Division, who was at the battle, remembered the initial siege, said: “The battle was absolutely tremendous. What you got was firepower through the day and through the night. You could not move. They bombarded it and bombarded it.”

Hays said troops with the 2nd Division were shelled day and night for 14 days.

He added: “Day and night it never stopped, so we were going from trench to trench and taking men out. But the 2nd Division drove the Japs back. That’s where they stopped them invading India, but we lost I don’t know how many men.”

The battle lasted for 64 days and saw ferocious hand-to-hand fighting, even on the tennis court in the grounds of the district commissioner’s bungalow.

The Battle of Kohima took place in two stages. From April 3 to April 16, the Japanese attempted to capture Kohima ridge, a feature which dominated the road by which the major British and Indian troops at Imphal were supplied.

At this point, the small British force at Kohima was relieved, and from April 18 to June 22, British and Indian reinforcements counter-attacked to drive the Japanese from the positions they had captured.

The battle ended on June 22 when British and Indian troops from Kohima and Imphal met at Milestone 109, ending the siege of Imphal.

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