Atlas of Battles

battle, major, interwar and Second World War

Battle of Kohima

Battle of Kohima was a battle fought in 1944 at Kohima, in what is now India. It was part of Operation U-Go. The recorded result: Allied victory.

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The Battle of Kohima March - July 1944: View of the Garrison Hill battlefield with the British and Japanese positions shown. Garrison Hill was the key to the British defences at Kohima.
The Battle of Kohima March - July 1944: View of the Garrison Hill battlefield with the British and Japanese positions shown. Garrison Hill was the key to the British defences at Kohima.. Official photographer of No.9 Army Film and Photographic Unit., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought1944
WhereKohima, India25.668N, 94.103E
OutcomeAllied victory
BelligerentsUnited Kingdom; India; NepalagainstJapan; Azad Hind
Casualties and losses4,064and5,764–7,000; (Combat deaths only, more lost to disease and starvation)
Part ofOperation U-Go1944

Where it sits in Operation U-Go

Battle of Kohima, 1944Battle of Imphal, 1944Battle of Shangshak, 1944Battle of the Tennis Court, 194419441944Battle of Kohima, 1944
4 placed engagements of Operation U-Go in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date1944 (year precision)
to 22 June 1944
PlaceKohima, India
25.668N, 94.103E
KindBattle, interwar and Second World War
StrengthStart: 1 infantry brigade (1,500); End: 2 infantry divisions; 1 Chindit brigade; 1 motor brigade1 infantry division (15,000–20,000)
Casualties and losses4,0645,764–7,000; (Combat deaths only, more lost to disease and starvation)
Commanders
  • Montagu Stopford
  • Kōtoku Satō
Battle of KohimaBattle of KohimaBattle of the Tennis CourtBattle of ImphalBattle of ShangshakBattle of the Tennis CourtBattle of ImphalBattle of ShangshakTezpurJorhat100 km25.668N, 94.103E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Kohima
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 100 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Kohima today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-04-13. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 1,470 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 781 to 2,374 m, 1,593 m of relief, mountainous country and today it is 64% tree cover, 26% built-up, 6% grassland.

tree cover: 64%built-up: 26%grassland: 6%cropland: 3%tree cover 64%built-up 26%grassland 6%cropland 3%
west to east, 10.0 km1,129 to 1,680 mnorth to south, 10.0 km1,243 to 1,787 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1944

Battle of Kohima is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 354 in present-day India.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q383614, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Kohima, revision 1379110389, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.