Heroes of the Victoria Cross
On 26 June 1944, a Gurkha company in Burma was given the job of taking two key positions from Japanese forces. It was largely through the efforts of one man that they were successful
The contribution of Gurkha regiments to the British effort during the Second World War cannot be overstated. Gurkhas won more than 2,000 medals for gallantry, including 12 Victoria Crosses. As fighting escalated to a peak in 1944, eight VCs were awarded to Gurkhas in that year alone.
Agansing Rai had joined the Indian Army in 1941 and had already been recognised for personal bravery during fighting in the Chin Hills, in early 1944, when he was awarded the Military Medal. By this time he was greatly respected in C company, 2nd battalion, Fifth Royal Gurkha Rifles. Although officially still a rifleman, he was an acting naik (equivalent to a corporal), commanding a section of ten men.
Gurkha numbers in the British armed forces had expanded dramatically over the previous years. Two or three extra battalions had been added to each of the Gurkha regiments and a total of 138,000 men served during the war. Almost 9,000 were either dead or missing when hostilities ceased.
As the main fighting strength of the South East Asia Command (SEAC), the British 14th Army mustered around 600,000 troops, around 90 percent of which were from India or Africa (Gurkhas fought in both British and Indian divisions). Under the overall command of Lieutenant General William Slim, it became known as the ‘Forgotten Army’, its achievements overlooked by contemporaries and in the histories that were written after the war. A total of 13 divisions comprised the 14th Army, including the 17th Indian Division, home to Rai’s regiment.
As Slim’s army pushed into Burma in 1944, resistance was fierce. A Japanese counteroffensive was launched in March 1944, around Assam, with the Japanese 15th Army surprising the British with the ferocity of its attack. Although this offensive had been mostly contained by the end of May, elements continued to push forward.
One such element comprised the Japanese 15th, 31st and 33rd Divisions, which soon had the British IV Corps besieged at Imphal and Kohima. The corps was made up of three divisions, including the 17th Indian Division, known as the ‘Black Cats’.
Rai’s regiment had taken up a defensive posture at Bishenpur, southwest of Imphal, protecting a supply route. The Japanese knew that time was not on their side, as the British could utilise their air superiority to resupply IV Corps and a relieving force was on its way. Kohima was indeed soon relieved, leaving Imphal as the only remaining option for the Japanese
