The Tiddim Road (Tedim Road) is a historical road from Imphal, Manipur, India, to Tedim (Tiddim) in Chin Hills of Myanmar. It remains as a road connecting to highways today.[1]
Tiddim Road is around 265 kilometres (165 miles) long, starting from Imphal, running through Bishnupur and Churachandpur before terminating at Tedim, in Myanmar.[2] The road runs inside strategic valleys and forested hills, and was an essential military supply and retreat route during the Burma Campaign in World War II.[3] The other key invasion route was the Kohima Road.[1][2]
Significance during World War II
Hawker Hurricane Attack bridge in a Burmese settlement near Tiddim Road.
Japanese invasion
The Tiddim Road was the only southern invasion route for the Japanese 33rd Division during the Battle of Imphal (March–July 1944) under Operation U-Go.[4] The Japanese troops had advanced from the Chin Hills region of Burma and moved north along Tiddim Road toward Imphal.[5]
The capture of Milestone 109, perhaps the most significant strategic point along the route, occurred in early 1944 and cut off the rear supply line of Allied 17th Indian Division.[5] The Japanese then established a large supply dump at Milestone 109, which was bombed heavily by the Royal Air Force.[3][1]
Allied defense and withdrawal
Tiddim Road saw bitter fighting as British and Indian forces tried to slow the Japanese invasion. The 17th Indian Infantry Division was able to make a fighting withdrawal, pulling back along Tiddim Road toward Imphal, while trying to slow the enemy's advance. Fighting at Bishnupur, Potsangbam and Nambol all occurred in this sector.[6]
Film and photographic documentation
Several films and photographic records from the war - held at the Imperial War Museums - document operations along the Tiddim road including:
Vehicle recovery, bridging, and resupply efforts by Allied engineers.[7]
Engineering workshops and field repairs made by the Indian troops[8]
Indian Mountain Artillery using mules and gun carriages to navigate hilly terrain.[9]
Cultural memory and tourism
Tiddim Road, a stretch close to Imphal, is now part of history battlefield tours. On this stretch of road there is Maibam Lokpa Ching (Red Hill), a site about 16 km south of Imphal, which is also currently a war memorial maintained by the government of Japan and the state of Manipur.[10]
Many organized battle field tours now line the mile of the road in order to visit the significant wartime sites and view those significant sites within the Imphal Campaign.[11]
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