Parkash Singh twice cheats death

6th January 1942: One of the many Sikh soldiers to distinguish themselves in the service of the Crown during the war earns Victoria Cross

An image from later in the campaign. Men of a Sikh regiment clear a Japanese foxhole at Mandalay with machine gun fire after throwing in a phosphorus grenade.

After their ignominious retreat through Burma to India in 1942, the British were attempting to move onto the offensive. In what was intended to be a short sharp offensive to regain the initiative, …