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Kohima
War
Cemetery is
a
memorial
dedicated
to
soldiers
of
the 2nd
British
division of
the allied
forces who
died
in
the 2nd
world
war at Kohima,
the
capital
of Nagaland,
India,
in
April
1944.
The
soldiers
died
on
the
battleground
of
Garrison
Hill
in
the tennis
court area
of
the
Deputy
Commissioner's
residence.
According
to
the Commonwealth
War
graves
commission(CWGC),
which
maintains
this
cemetery
among
many
others
in
the
world,
there
are
1,420
Commonwealth
burials
of
the
Second
World
War
at
this
cemetery,
and
a
memorial
to
an
additional
917 Hindu and Sikh soldiers
who
were
cremated
in
accordance
with
their
faith.The
memorial
was
inaugurated
by Field
Marshal
Sir
William
Slim,
then
Commander
of
the
14th
Army
in Myanmar.
The
Kohima
War
Cemetery
is
located
in
the
center
of
Kohima
city,
capital
of
the
Indian
state
of
Nagaland,
at
the
location
where
a
decisive
battle
was
won
by
the
Allied
Forces
during
the
Second
World
War,
forcing
the
Japanese
army
to
retreat. This
location
is
on
the
ridge
below
and
above
the
tennis
court.The
cemetery
is
on
the
northern
side
of
the
Imphal-Dimapur
road
(State
Highway
39)
and
200
kilometres
(120Â mi)
from
the
Indo-Burma
border.
Kohima
is
well-connected
by
air
services
from Calcutta, Delhi,
and Guwahati.
On
land,
the
journey
from
Guwahati
is
long
and
arduous.
The
cemetery
is
set
in
peaceful
surroundings
with
well-manicured
grassland
in
which
roses
bloom
in
season.
The
cemetery
is
sited
at
the
exact
location
where
the
battle
was
fought,
and
provides
a
panoramic
view
of
the
town
of
Kohima. It
is
marked
at
its
two
ends
by
tall,
concrete
structures
engraved
with
the
cross.Between
the
two
structures,
along
the
sloping
ground,
a
series
of
terraces
of
3â5
metres
(9.8â16.4Â ft)
in
height
have
been
created;
these
contain
stone
markers
embedded
with
bronze
plaques
carrying
the
name
of
each
Commonwealth
soldier
who
died
on
the
Kohima
battlefield.
These
markers
are
made
distinctly
visible
by
a
white
wash.
There
are
two
memorial
crosses,
one
at
the
upper
end
and
the
other
at
the
lower
end
of
the
cemetery. The
upper-end
memorial
is
located
at
the
highest
end
of
the
cemetery.
It
commemorates
the
names
of
the
Indian
and
Sikh
soldiers
(917 Hindu and Sikh soldiers
who
had
been
cremated
as
per
their
religious
rites)
who
were
part
of
the British
Indian
army
and
died
on
the
battlefield. The
epitaph
inscribed
on
this
memorial
reads:
âHere,
around
the
tennis
court
of
the
deputy
commissioner,
lie
men
who
fought
in
the
battle
of
Kohima
in
which
they
and
their
comrades
finally
halted
the
invasion
of
India
by
the
forces
of
Japan
in
April
1944.â
The
lower-end
memorial
is
dedicated
to
the
2nd
Division.
It
is
a
15
feet
(4.6Â m)
tall,
massive
stone
(similar
to
the
stone
used
by
the
Naga
tribes
to
mark
the
graves
of
their
dead)
fixed
over
a
dressed
stone
platform.
This
stone
was
originally
located
on
a
spur
at
Maram,
to
the
south
of
Kohima,
which
was
then
shifted
with
the
help
of
Naga
people
to
be
erected
at
the
2nd
British
Division's
war
cemetery.While
the
top
part
of
the
memorial
is
marked
with
a
cross,
at
the
lower
part
lies
a
bronze
plate
that
carries
an
epitaph.
The
epitaph,
titled Kohima
Epitaph,
reads:
âWhen
you
go
home
tell
them
of
us
and
say
for
your
tomorrow
we
gave
our
todayâ
The
above
verse,
which
became
world-famous,
is
attributed
to John
Maxwell
Edmonds (1875â1958)
and
is
thought
to
have
been
inspired
by the
epitaph written
by Simonides to
honour
the Spartans who
fell
at
the Battle
of
Thermopylae in
480
BC.
Another
notable
feature
at
the
site
is
a
cherry
tree
near
the
tennis
court
where
the
battle
was
fought,
where
a
small
brass
plaque
reads:
âFor
Your
Tomorrow,
We
Gave
Our
Todayâ
The
original
tree,
from
which
a
branch
has
been
used
to
create
the
present
tree
where
the
plaque
is
fixed,
had
been
used
for
target
practice
by
the
Japanese
forces.
It
was
destroyed
during
the
battle.
Hence,
Kohima
Battle
is
also
known
as
the
"Battle
Under
the
Cherry
Tree"
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