Operation Matador was an amphibious thrust, during the

Burma Campaign The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...

in January 1945, to capture the strategic port of

Kyaukpyu Kyaukphyu ( ; also spelt Kyaukpyu) is a major town in Rakhine State, in western Myanmar and it is informally addressed to be the second capital of Rakhine State.It is located on the north western corner of Yanbye Island on Combermere Bay, and is ...

, located at the northern tip of

Ramree Island Ramree Island (; also spelled Yanbye Island) is an island off the coast of Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). Ramree island is the largest island on the entire Arakan Coast and in Myanmar. The area of the island is about and the main populated ce ...

, south of

Akyab Sittwe (, ), formerly Akyab (), is the capital of Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). Sittwe is located on an estuarial island created at the confluence of the Kaladan, Mayu, and Lay Mro rivers emptying into the Bay of Bengal. As of 2019 the cit ...

across Hunter's Bay, as well as the key airfield near the port. On 21 January 1945, an hour before the Indian 71st Brigade was to land, the battleship opened fire with her main battery while planes from the

escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slower type of aircraf ...

spotted for her. The light cruiser also joined the bombardment, along with Liberators and Thunderbolts of No. 224 Group RAF which bombed and strafed to soften up the beaches. The assault troops landed unopposed and secured the beachhead; the following day, the Indian 4th Infantry Brigade landed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matador, Operation Burma campaign (1944–1945)

Matador A bullfighter or matador () is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter, and describe all the performers in the activ ...

Naval battles and operations of World War II involving the United Kingdom January 1945 in Asia

See also

References