Page 27 - Seniors Today - January Issue
P. 27
War & History
The ‘Forgotten Army’
Col VY Gidh, VSM (Retd) writes about a visit to the battlefields of Imphal
“A Nation That Forgets Its Past, Has No (INA). The Anniversary brought back
Future” – Winston Churchill many pleasant memories of our visit to
Manipur to participate in some of the
We are all aware of the major role events during the Commemoration of
played by the Indian Army in the the 70th Anniversary of The Battle of
fighting during the two World Wars. Imphal in 2014.
While the notable contributions made In April 2013, the Battle of Imphal
by the Indian troops during battles like and The Battle of Kohima were voted as
El Alamein in North Africa and Monte ‘Britain’s Greatest Battles’ in a contest
Cassino in Italy stand out, not many are conducted by Britain’s National Army
aware of the epic battles of Imphal and Museum in London, beating Normandy
Kohima fought between March 7 and July and even the Battle of Trafalgar. The
18, 1944. result surprised the English who thought
The 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo was their greatest feat. Field
Imphal and Kohima was held in 2019. Marshal WJ Slim, Commander of the
It was 75 years ago that Manipur and British 14th Army during the battles, was
Nagaland were witness to an epic battle voted as the best British general of all
between the British-led Allies and the time with Duke of Wellington, they were
Japanese and the Indian National Army both schooled in warfare in India.
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #19 | JANUARY 2021 27
