The battle for Hill 170 was the climax of the Arakan operations, and its outcome broke the spirit of the Japanese 54th Division.

5 Commando carried the advance inland until they came under machine gun fire from a hill that had been named 'Rose' by the planning staff.

5 Commando carried out patrols throughout the peninsula as the enemy were cleared from the area, before they were withdrawn to the beachhead for a couple of days rest.

After this, the brigade captured the village of Kantha as a preliminary move on Kangaw,[3] across a number of waterways on the mainland, where Christison had decided that he wanted to cut the Japanese line of withdrawal.

The terrain was difficult, with no roads and consisting of mangrove swamps and rice paddies that prevented tanks or artillery coming ashore initially.

[5] Over the night of 23/24 January, the Japanese attacked "Pinner" and an artillery barrage unprecedented for the theatre of war landed on Hill 170 and would continue for the next four days.

[5] On 26 January, 51st Indian Infantry Brigade—supported by a troop of Sherman tanks from the 19th Lancers—arrived from the beachhead and took over the positions of 44 Commando on "Milford" and "Pinner".

On the night of 28/29 January, 51st Brigade attacked Kangaw and two heights codenamed "Perth" and "Melrose" which dominated the road east from Kangow.

Though they only partially achieved their objectives as the Japanese resistance along their withdrawal route was increasing, Kangaw was captured and the British occupied positions to dominate the main road.

The next morning at 05:45, the 2nd Battalion, 154th Infantry Regiment launched a surprise attack on Hill 170 under cover of a fierce artillery bombardment and heavy machine gun fire.

The engineers destroyed two of the three Sherman tanks after a hand-to-hand battle by climbing on top of them and exploding their charges.

42 Commando supported by the remaining Sherman tank that also failed in the face of the heavy Japanese fire.

[6] At 16:00, the 2/2nd Punjab Regiment from the 51st Brigade managed to work their way around the left flank of Hill 170 and engaged the Japanese from there.

[9] The men of 3rd Commando Brigade were awarded a number of decorations for gallantry, which included a posthumous Victoria Cross for Lieutenant George Knowland No.

In Burma on 31 January 1945, near Kangaw, Lieutenant Knowland was commanding the forward platoon of a Troop positioned on the extreme North of a hill which was subjected to very heavy and repeated enemy attacks – throughout the whole day.

Before the first attack started, Lieutenant Knowland's platoon was heavily mortared and machine gunned, yet he moved about among his men keeping them alert and encouraging them, though under fire himself at the time.

The enemy was then less than 10 yards (9.1 m) from him in dead ground down the hill, so, in order to get a better field of fire, he stood on top of the trench, firing the light machine gun from his hip, and successfully keeping them at a distance until a Medical Orderly had dressed and evacuated the wounded men behind him.

Such was the inspiration of his magnificent heroism, that, though fourteen out of twenty four of his platoon became casualties at an early stage, and six of his positions were overrun by the enemy, his men held on through twelve hours of continuous and fierce fighting until reinforcements arrived.

As it was, the final successful counter-attack was later launched from the vital ground which Lieutenant Knowland had taken such a gallant part in holding.