Scoones was a British Corps Commander involved in the intense fighting in Burma in 1944. From 1939 to 1941 he was on the General Staff at Allied HQ in India and then Director of Military Operations and Intelligence. On 19 July 1942 he was given command of the IV Corps stationed at Imphal near the Burmese frontier. The British were unable to mount an offensive however as command and communications were being reorganized and the Burma front was low on the list of Allied priorities. In November 1943 SEAC was established and Scoones was placed under STILWELL’s command, assigned to cross the Chindwin River into Burma. However—the Japanese were planning an offensive on Imphal in January 1944 and in February Scoones put forward a plan to withdraw to Imphal which was strategically strong. Against all odds he got all his forces there by April and possessing only five weeks’ worth of supplies managed to defend the area until the Japanese ran out of supplies. Scoones began his advance into central Burma on 23 June.
On 7 December Scoones was appointed General Officer Commanding, Central India Command and on 14 December was knighted.
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