Trying to find location on Maungdaw to Buthidaung road on GoogleEarth.

Nice video. Those Shermans were probably from 19th King George V's Own Lancers, Indian Army, only unit in Arakan equipped with Sherman tanks. They saw the first action in March 1944 (according to Wikipedia). So I guess this was filmed after the Battle for Admin Box, during XV Corps counteroffensive (and the Battle for Tunnels).

While at first I thought that Shermans shown in video belonged to the 19th Lancers now, with more information, seems that they were probably from C Squadron, 149th Regiment RAC (KOYLI) which supported 36th Division during its operations in Arakan. Circle on the turret which means that tank belong to C Squadron support this even thought that there aren't any other mark which can give clue about its parent unit.

 

Would the attatched kmz file be the Admin Box?
GE doesn't recognise Ngakyedauk in search box.

You was right Owen about position of the Admin Box. I couldn't exact locate MDS and Pt.315 but this are positions of major objects in the box area.

http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=55937&stc=1&d=1309811398

 

Hello Sol,
Hope you or someone can help with some info please. I would like to know for certain if the Somerset Light Infantry SLI was involved at the battle of the Admin Box. I have the war diaries I have read them the best I can, they are difficult to read and for me to fully understand..I have an old book where my dad Sgt Rogers names the Admin Box as a place he fought as well as the tunnels., however I do not read that in the diaries, so could it be the SLI were in the area but not the battle..PS I hope this is the right place to ask this question..Many Thanks

 

Are you 100% sure that he was with 1 Som LI at the relevant time? Have you checked his service record?
What is this 'old book' that you have? The more details that you give - the better answer that you get.

 

I don't know why I copied this and put a copy of it into the War Diary of 1 Lincolns.

 

Thanks for the reply, Yes he was definitely with the SLI, he was posted there from the Welch regiment on Jan 29th 1944..The SLI had a bad times with many casualties on the 27th and 28th of January..The book i mentioned is just an old personal bush ranger novel he wrote the battles he fought in some 40 years agoYes we have his service record..

 

A contemporary map of the area can help make more sense of the war diaries, as map references and village names are often mentioned. This site is particularly handy for tracking down some of the tiny Burmese villages (which hold major significance in the battles but are often not marked on modern maps):

️ satellite World map //by 5 map engines: Apple™, Google™, OSM ...

This map section covers some of the area of the Battle of the Admin Box (full 18mb version available at [South Asia 1:126,720] [cartographic material]):



You can see "7 Div Adm Box" written on the left, and "Tunnels Area" further down. "114 Bde Box" is marked further up, and I guess that this is where 1 Som LI would have been fighting, being part of 114 Indian Infantry Brigade - so not actually inside the Admin Box, but very much part of the wider battle.

James Holland's Burma '44: The Battle That Turned Britain's War in the East seems a pretty good overview of the Admin Box battle (on my shelf but only skim read it so far). 114 Bde mentioned frequently, and 1 Som LI gets a mention on p194, talking about their attempt on Point 186 on the Pyinshe Kala Ridge in late January. The attack failed with terrible casualties (including heavy friendly fire in the confusion as the Somersets withdrew through the jungle). Holland puts the blame partly on the lack of experienced senior NCOs and warrant officers: 1 Som LI had been in India for a long time, and at the end of 43/start of 44 many of the pre-war regulars - the backbone of the Regiment - had reached the end of their 7 years' service and so were pulled off the line and sent home.

 

An old post I know, but some snippets about how the tunnel mouth ended up in that state - Shermans of 'C' Squadron, 149 RAC trying to bounce HE shells off the roof and further down the tunnel. Both from Dekho! (Issue 114, 1993):




This from 36 Infantry Division HQ's March 1944 diary, describing Shermans rolling up close to the tunnel mouth and firing directly inside:

 

1st SLI wasn't in Admin Box during the battle, They where with 114th Indian Brigade on the other (East) side of the Kalapazin river. But the Admin Box was main division logistic base and members of several units could find themselves there when battle started. There were probably members of the 1st SLI inside the box, but the battalion was elsewhere.

 

Hi Sol, Thanks for that feedback, in all the books i have read i can never see where the SLI were at the Admin Box. but we have a copy of a book written by a soldier who said we were there (SLI), also some hand written notes (by my father) also saying he was there. One more question if i may, how far apart would the Battalions base on the east side of the river be from the Admin Box.. I have not written the soldiers name who wrote the book here as I do not want to in anyway discredit him or his story but happy to PM you ..

Many Thanks again..

 

As I said the Admin Box was main logistic base of 7th Indian Division but also field hospital was very close and lot of units, or their parts were there. For example, transport platoons of all three battalions of 89th Indian Brigade were in the box even before brigade moved to the box. Also seems like lot of members of 2nd KOSB was also in the box before the battalion was moved there. So it is quite possible, or you can say even probable that there were members of the 1st SLI in the box during the battle.



You can see on the map approximate positions of the 114th Indian Brigade on the east side of the Kalapanzin River. I'm not 100% sure but 1st SLI should be in the north-west part (between Kwazon-Kyaukyi). Admin Box was placed close to Sinzweya, to the south of the 7th Indian division HQ.

 

A Big thank you Sol ,Pack Rat & others. It has been a mission of the family to find out as much as possible about Sgt John B Rogers from SLI.. We know VJ is coming up soon and would like to tell his story to others with as much detail as possible . This family of Sgt John B Rogers will make the 75th VJ his day. helped by people like yourselves who give their time freely to help tell these stories.. Thanks again..