To make matters worse, the Japanese were dug in along the banks of the road, and in the jungle with machine-guns and rifles. As Allmand's platoon came within 20 yards of the bridge, the enemy opened heavy and accurate fire, inflicting severe casualties and forcing his men to seek cover.

Undeterred, Allmand charged on, hurling grenades at the enemy and killing three Japanese with his kukri. Inspired by their platoon commander, his surviving men captured the bridge. Two days later, Allmand led another assault further along the road into Mogaung.

This time he dashed 30 yards through marshy ground in spite of intense Japanese machine-gun fire, killing a number of enemy gunners and then leading his men on to the ridge of high ground on the edge of town. Heroic though Capt. Allmand was in those battles, it was, nevertheless, the final attack on the town nearly two weeks later, on June 23, that was to become the stuff of legend.

By this time Allmand was suffering from trench foot, which made it difficult for him to walk.
But even so he moved forward alone through deep mud and shell holes to charge a Japanese machine-gun nest single-handed. Tragically, he was wounded as he did so and died that night. Allmand was awarded a posthumous VC for his actions.

The citation said: 'The superb gallantry, outstanding leadership and protracted heroism of this very brave officer were a wonderful example to the whole battalion and in the highest traditions of the regiment.'

But Allmand's was not the only VC that day, for his bravery inspired the men around him.
Just before dawn on that fatal June day, as Allmand was fighting on another part of the battlefield, 21-year-old Rifleman Pun was a member of one of two platoons ordered to attack the Red House itself. As they did so, they encountered a ferocious Japanese attack. The crossfire massacred the two platoons.

Only Pun, his section commander and one other man were left alive. The section commander immediately led them in a charge on the Red House but he was badly wounded almost immediately after getting to his feet. Unflinching, Rifleman Pun and his remaining companion continued the charge, although his companion, too, was wounded within seconds. Pun seized his companion's Bren gun, and - firing from the hip - charged on the heavily protected Red House alone, in the face of what the regimental history later described as: 'The most shattering concentration of automatic fire directed straight at him.'

With the sun coming up behind him, making him a perfect target for the enemy, he ran across more than 30 yards of open ground, often ankle-deep in mud, running through shell holes and jumping over fallen trees. But he still managed to reach the Red House and take on the Japanese soldiers inside.

Pun killed three of them, put five more to flight and captured two light machine-guns and a great deal of ammunition. Still not finished, he proceeded to give accurate supporting fire from the bunker to the men of the 3/6th Gurkhas who had been following behind.

It was an act of such exceptional bravery that it was to win him the second Victoria Cross awarded that day. As the citation read: 'His outstanding courage and superb gallantry in the face of odds which meant almost certain death were most inspiring to all ranks and were beyond praise.'

But it wasn't the end of the fighting in Mogaung. The fierce battle for the town continued for the rest of the day, coming to an end only shortly after dusk. The following morning, a cautious advance into the town found the Japanese had abandoned it. It was the first main town in Burma to be recaptured by the British, but it came at a terrible price.

Some 126 British and Gurkha officers and men lost their lives, with a further seven missing and never accounted for. It also saw the award of three Military Crosses, two Distinguished Service Orders and 12 Military Medals.

The Gurkhas stayed on in Mogaung as a garrison until July 5, before marching a further 50 miles to a safe jungle airstrip, to be flown back to India. But while they were there, they took the opportunity of hoisting the Union Jack on a large pagoda - the most prominent building left standing.

The battle took its toll on every man who survived, as is so evident from that single, haunting photograph of Major Jimmy Lumley standing in the ruins of the town talking to Lt Col Freddie Shaw and their legendary commanding officer, Brigadier 'Mad Mike' Calvert of the Chindits.