British troops advancing during the fighting at Meiktila, Burma, February 1945

Photograph, World War Two, Far East (1941-1945), 1945.

The Battle of Meiktilla was, alongside the concurrent Battle of Mandalay, the decisive engagement of the Burma campaign. Benefiting from complete air superiority, elements of the 14th Army reached the outskirts of Meiktila on 28 February, capturing the city on 3 March. The Japanese, although outnumbered and suffering from communication and logistical breakdown, then launched a counter attack in an effort to clear their lines of communication to the south. The battle around Meiktila raged on through March, but the counter offensive was repelled and eventually abandoned.

From a collection of official photographs collected by Major General (later Lieutenant General) Sir Frank Walter Messervy.