The British East Indies Fleet sailed from Trincomalee, Ceylon to begin a series of strikes prior to the capture of Rangoon, Burma; this force of battleships, cruisers and destroyers would take it in turns to fuel and then screen the carriers hitting airfields, installations and coastal shipping in the Nicobars, the Andamans and along the Burma coast. Meanwhile, on land, Indian 17th Division was attacked by a Japanese suicide offensive north of Pegu; it was repulsed after the Japanese suffered 500 killed
