Battle of Tachiao
1942 CE.
Shown on the map at 18.939°, 96.433°.
The Battle of Tachiao (March 18–19, 1942), was the first clash in the Battle of Yunnan-Burma Road in the Burma Campaign of World War II and Second Sino-Japanese War. Advanced elements of the 200th Division arrived at Toungoo on March 8, 1942 and took over defensive positions from the British forces. The city of Toungoo itself would be the main defensive position of the Chinese forces, with an outpost a few kilometers to the south at Oktwin. Major-General Dai Anlan the divisional commander, sent the Motorized Cavalry Regiment and 1st Company, 598th Infantry Regiment to the banks of the Kan River 35 miles south of Toungoo and 12 miles south of the town of Pyu. The cavalry regiment plus a company of infantry pushed up to Kan River, with a platoon of cyclists taking up positions at the bridge over the river. At first light on March 18, the 55th Division's commander, Tadashi Hanaya, sent about 200 Japanese reconnaissance troops from the division's 143rd Regiment to advance right up to the bridge on motorbikes. Upon reaching the outposts, they were ambushed by the Chinese troops hiding along the sides of the road.
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