Across the Irrawaddy

19th January 1945: The British cross the most significant barrier to the reconquest of Burma - and face the Japanese in hand-to-hand fighting

Troops crossing the Irrawaddy River at Katha by boat, January 1945.

In Burma, the tables had turned. After the desperate battles at Kohima and Imphal to prevent the Japanese from mounting an invasion of India, the Japanese had pulled back.