Battle of Sittang Bridge

The Battle of Sittang Bridge was part of the Burma campaign during the Second World War. Fought between 19 February and 23 February 1942, the battle was a victory for the Empire of Japan, with many losses for the British Indian Army, which was forced to retreat in disarray. Brigadier Sir John George Smyth, V.C.—who commanded the British Indian Army at Sittang Bridge—called it "the Sittang disaster".The Sittang Bridge was an iron railway bridge spanning several hundred yards across the River Sittang near the south coast of Burma. The 17th Indian Infantry Division had given "everything it had" at the Battle of Bilin River and was already weak. Now in retreat, they finally received permission to withdraw across the Sittang on 19 February. They disengaged from the enemy under cover of night, and fell back 30 miles westwards along the track that led to the bridge.