Facing the various Allied threats, the army was unable to prevent the capture of Mogaung and Myitkyina, although they temporarily halted the Chinese offensive from Yunnan and crippled the Chindits as a fighting force[citation needed].

As the war situation on the Pacific front grew increasingly desperate for Japan, the Imperial Japanese Army was unable to provide reinforcements and resupply to units south of the Philippines.

In March 1945, the Army Headquarters was unexpectedly called on to take charge of the forces around Meiktila, where the Japanese were trying to recapture the vital line-of-communication centre from British and Indian troops.

Although reduced to the strength of barely a regiment, the Army nevertheless mounted a counterattack across the Sittang River to aid a breakout by Japanese forces still trapped in Burma.

After a week-long battle, the Japanese failed with heavy losses and withdrew their shattered forces from the flooded "Sittang Bend".