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The Japanese occupation of the Andaman Islands occurred in 1942 during World War II. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands (8,293 km² on 139 islands), are a group of islands situated in the Bay of Bengal at about 780 miles from Kolkata, 740 miles from Chennai and 120 miles from Cape Nargis in Burma. Until 1938 the British government used them as a penal colony for Indian and African political prisoners, who were mainly put in the notorious Cellular Jail in Port Blair, the biggest town (port) on the islands. Today they form a Union Territory of India. The only military objective on the islands was the city of Port Blair. The garrison consisted of a 300-man Sikh militia with 23 British officers, augmented in January 1942 by a Gurkha detachment of 4/12th Frontier Force Regiment of the 16th Indian Infantry Brigade. Following the fall of Rangoon on March 8, however, the British recognized that Port Blair had become impossible to defend, and on March 10 the Gurkhas were withdrawn to the Arakan peninsula. ==The Invasion Force== The Japanese, seeking to secure their seaward flank, dispatched a force to seize the islands. The force was composed of the following units and ships:〔 Distant Cover : *Cruiser (flagship) Chokai :Carrier Division 4 : *Carrier Ryūjō (although listed, she did not conduct air operations) :Cruiser Division 7 - Heavy cruisers : *Kumano : * : *Mikuma : *Mogami :Destroyer Division 11 : *Fubuki : *Hatsuyuki : *Shirayuki : *Murakami Close Cover :Destroyer Squadron 3 : *Light cruiser Sendai ::Destroyer Division 19 :: *Isonami :: *Uranami :: *Ayanami ::Destroyer Division 20 :: *Amagiri :: *Asagiri :: *Yugiri :: *Shirakumo Invasion Force : *Light cruiser Yura - escort unit : *9 Transports :: *1 Battalion from 18th Infantry Division :: *9th Base Force : *Training cruiser Kashii : *Escort ship Shumushu : *MinelayerHatsutaka : *Converted gunboat Eiko Maru Minesweeper Division 1 : *Minesweepers W1, W3, W4 Special Minesweeper Division 91 : *Minesweepers- Choko Maru, Shonan Maru #7, Shonan Maru #5 Air Unit : *Seaplane tender Sagara Maru (operated east of the Nicobars) 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Japanese occupation of the Andaman Islands」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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