Chittagong
World War II

During World War II, Chittagong became a frontline city in the Southeast Asian Theater. It was a critical air, naval and military base for Allied Forces during the Burma Campaign against Japan. The Imperial Japanese Army Air Force carried out air raids on Chittagong in April and May 1942, in the run-up to the aborted Japanese invasion of Bengal.

After the Battle of Imphal, the tide turned in favor of the Allied Forces. Units of the United States Army Air Forces' 4th Combat Cargo Group were stationed in Chittagong Airfield in 1945. Commonwealth forces included troops from Britain, India, Australia, and New Zealand. The war had major negative impacts on the city, including the growth of refugees and the Great Famine of 1943. Many wealthy Chittagonians profited from wartime commerce.

715 soldiers are buried at the Chittagong War Cemetery, which is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Allied soldiers constitute the bulk of burials in the cemetery. A few Japanese soldiers are also buried. Remembrance Day services are held each year at the cemetery, with diplomats from Commonwealth countries like the UK, Bangladesh, Australia, India and Pakistan, as well as the United States and Japan, usually in attendance.
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