14th August 1945

VJ Day is commemorated tomorrow. Blink and you might miss it. This week I have been looking back daily at my father’s experiences with 'the forgotten army' 75 years ago. At this time dad was with the 4th Field Royal Artillery around the area of Taunggyi and involved in the Battle of the Breakout. His regiment was stopping the escaping Japanese around the Shan Hills. But the enemy is still putting up a fight. Particularly in the hills above the villages of Namhkok and Hopong. So a fire plan (coordinated artillery fire) had been organised against these locations.

On August 14the 1945 the diary has:

“08:00 hours: Harassing fire continued against three locations.‘F’ Troop 14/66 Battery moved forward to 804148 to a permanently defended area in order that H.F. could be continued by night as well as by day”.

Later that day, a regimental reconnaissance party was ambushed  by the Japanese in the hills above the village of Pengsu. There were no casualties, but they were unable to proceed. So at 23:30 hours, F Troop of 4th Field RA organised a fire-plan at Mile Stone 9, supported by 1 Sikh LI.  Another fire-plan was coordinated from the south-west. 

But the Japanese continue to cause problems and another reconnaissance mission by 4th Field RA, this time from the north, also had to be abandoned, due to ambush. More tomorrow.