Qualla: Battle of Hill 170 https://qualla.com/battle-of-hill-170 en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:36 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Battle of Hill 170 https://qualla.com/battle-of-hill-170 Battle of Hill 170: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-hill-170/ The planning staff gave it the codename 'Brighton,' as though naming a beach holiday might lighten the task ahead. Hill 170 was nothing like Brighton. It was a wooded ridge roughly 700 yards long and 300 yards wide, rising 1,000 feet above the mangrove swamps and rice paddies of the Arakan Peninsula in western Burma. In January 1945, the men of the British 3rd Commando Brigade would fight and die on it for four days, enduring an artillery bombardment unprecedented in the Burma theatre -- and their refusal to break would shatter the Japanese 54th Division's will to fight.

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]]> Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/5/d/6/battle-of-hill-170-wp/w5d6-battle-of-hill-170-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Hill 170: Landing in the Swamp https://qualla.com/battle-of-hill-170/ The commandos' mission was to sever the Japanese line of withdrawal through the Arakan to Rangoon. Lieutenant General Sir Philip Christison, commanding the XV Indian Corps, chose the coastline near Kangaw, where waterways on the mainland offered a chance to cut off the retreating...

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]]> Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/5/d/6/battle-of-hill-170-wp/w5d6-battle-of-hill-170-landing-in-the-swamp.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Hill 170: Four Days on the Ridge https://qualla.com/battle-of-hill-170/ The assault on the mainland came next. No. 1 Commando led the way onto Hill 170, supported by No. 5 Commando, while No. 42 Commando held the beachhead between two tidal creeks codenamed 'Thames' and 'Mersey.' No. 44 Commando took two valleys east of the hill -- 'Milford' and 'Pin...

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]]> Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/5/d/6/battle-of-hill-170-wp/w5d6-battle-of-hill-170-four-days-on-the-ridge.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Hill 170: Lieutenant Knowland's Stand https://qualla.com/battle-of-hill-170/ Among the defenders was Lieutenant George Knowland of No. 4 Troop, No. 1 Commando. During the battle, Knowland's actions were so extraordinary that he was awarded the Victoria Cross -- posthumously. His citation described a man who, at the crisis point, moved between positions un...

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]]> Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/5/d/6/battle-of-hill-170-wp/w5d6-battle-of-hill-170-lieutenant-knowlands-stand.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Hill 170: The Decisive Battle https://qualla.com/battle-of-hill-170/ Christison called it the decisive battle of the whole Arakan campaign. In a special order of the day addressed to the 3rd Commando Brigade, he wrote that the victory 'was very largely due to your magnificent defence of Hill 170.' The Japanese 54th Division's spirit was broken. Ha...

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]]> Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/5/d/6/battle-of-hill-170-wp/w5d6-battle-of-hill-170-the-decisive-battle.mp3 0:06 5 full