Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan

{{Short description|Battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War}}

{{More citations needed|date=January 2024}}

{{Infobox military conflict

|conflict =Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan

|partof = the Burma campaign, the South-East Asian theatre of World War II, the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific Theater of World War II

| image = ChineseSoldiersSalweenRiver.gif

| image_size = 300

|caption =Chinese soldiers fight along the Salween River in Burma

|date =October 1943 – March 1945

|place =Northern Burma and Western Yunnan

|coordinates ={{coord|22.83|97.14|display=title}}

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|result =Allied victory

|status =

|combatants_header =

|combatant1 ={{flagcountry|Republic of China (1912–1949)}}
{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} United Kingdom
{{flag|United States}}

|combatant2 ={{flagcountry|Empire of Japan}}
{{flagdeco|Thailand}} Thailand

|commander1 ={{flagicon|Republic of China (1912–49)}} Long Yun
{{flagicon|Republic of China (1912–49)}} Wei Li-huang
{{flagicon|Republic of China (1912–49)}} Song Xilian
{{flagicon|Republic of China (1912–49)}} Sun Li-jen

|commander2 ={{flagicon|Empire of Japan|army}} Masakazu Kawabe
{{flagicon|Empire of Japan|army}} Heitarō Kimura

|strength1 = Western Claim : 400,000

Chinese Claim{{Cite web |url=https://aa.archives.gov.tw/ELK/SearchDetailed?SystemID=MDAwMDE1ODg5MA== |title=緬北及滇西之作戰 |website=aa.archives.gov.tw |access-date=2025-01-12}} :
X Force (Chinese army in India) : 60,266 troops
Y Force (Second Chinese Expeditionary Force) : 153,441 troops

|strength2 = Western Claim : 150,000

Chinese Claim :
In Northern Burma : 60,408 troops
In Western Yunnan : 33,822 troops

|casualties1 = Western Claim : 107,000

Chinese Claim :
Chinese army in India : 12,729{{cite book| title=血染辉煌: 抗战正面战场写实 |date=1993 |last1=Zhendu |first1=Ma |publisher=广西师范大学出版社}} or 18,609{{cite book |title=中華軍史學會會刊|publisher=中華軍史學會 |date=1997 |page=183}} killed, wounded, or missing

Second Chinese Expeditionary Force : 31,443 killed and 35,948 wounded{{cite book |title=中華軍史學會會刊|publisher=中華軍史學會 |date=1997 |page=184}}

|casualties2 = Western Claim : 108,000 (at least 30,000 Japanese soldiers dead)

Chinese Claim :
In Northern Burma :
27,666 killed
42,760 wounded
395 captured
In Western Yunnan: 25,102 killed, wounded, or captured

Japanese Claim :

; In Western Yunnan :

Counterattack against the Second Chinese Expeditionary Force (29 April until 5 July 1944):"[Data in English is under preparation] 第1章 遠征軍反撃作戦(自1944年4月29日至同7月5日)" Japan Center for Asian Historical Records (JACAR) Ref.C14060137100, 緬甸作戦記録 1944年の怒江作戦 昭和19. 4〜20. 1 (National Institute for Defense Studies)

: 1,719 killed

: 1,257 wounded

: about 200 died of illness

: about 4,500 fallen ill

First phase of the 'Disrupt' operation (6 July until 5 October 1944)"[Data in English is under preparation] 第2章 断第1期作戦(自7月6日至10月5日)" Japan Center for Asian Historical Records (JACAR) Ref.C14060137200, 緬甸作戦記録 1944年の怒江作戦 昭和19. 4〜20. 1 (National Institute for Defense Studies) :
56th division :

: 4,868 killed

: 1,430 wounded

: 386 died of illness

: 11,081 fallen ill

2nd division :

: about 800 killed

: about 800 wounded

Second phase of the 'Disrupt' operation (5 October 1944 until 26 January 1945):"[Data in English is under preparation] 第3章 断第2期作戦(自10月5日至1月26日)" Japan Center for Asian Historical Records (JACAR) Ref.C14060137300, 緬甸作戦記録 1944年の怒江作戦 昭和19. 4〜20. 1 (National Institute for Defense Studies)

: 1,803 killed

: 3,194 wounded

: 27 died of illness

: 1,822 fallen ill

Total :

: about 9,190 killed

: about 6,681 wounded

: about 613 died of illness

: about 17,403 fallen ill

; In Northern Burma : unknown

|notes

|campaignbox ={{Campaignbox Burma}}

{{Campaignbox Second Sino-Japanese War}}

{{Campaignbox South-East Asian Theatre}}

{{Campaignbox South-East Asia}}

{{Japanese colonial campaigns}}

{{Campaignbox World War II}}

}}

Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan (Chinese: 滇西緬北戰役 October 1943 – March 1945) was the name of the Chinese campaign with their allies in the 1943–45 Burma Campaign. The campaign ended in an Allied victory.

It is one of the large-scale battles of the Second Sino-Japanese War, located in the border area between Yunnan Province, China and northern Myanmar, starting at the beginning of December 1943. The purpose of the battle is to open up the China-India Highway. At the end of March 1945, the Chinese Expeditionary Force, the British Army, and the Merrill's Marauders joined forces in Muse, Burma (Myanmar), while the Japanese Army lost the North Burma Stronghold.

The Allied Forces were jointly formed by the troops of China, the United States and the United Kingdom. Among them, the Chinese participating forces included the Chinese Army in India and the Chinese Expeditionary Force. The commander-in-chief of the campaign was General Wei Lihuang of the Chinese National Army, and the deputy commander of the campaign was General Joseph Stilwell of the US Army. The main force of the Japanese army was the Japanese Burmese front. The commander of the battle was Masakazu Kawabe, then Heitaro Kimura, later Shinichi Tanaka and others. The total strength was 200,000-400,000 for Allied and 90,000-150,000 for Japan.

The Battle of Northern Myanmar and Western Yunnan lasted one and a half years. At the cost of more than 80,000 casualties, the Allies claimed to have killed more than 30,000 Japanese soldiers,{{Cite book |title= |others=《ああ菊兵団—フーコン作戦》、《ああ菊兵団—ビルマ縦断作戦》}} reopened southwest China to the Burma Road, and recovered all the lost land on the west bank of the Salween River in western Yunnan.