battalion was subsequently reinforced by a draft of 3 officers and 120 other ranks. When the Japanese threatened Monywa, Bagot took command of all the troops in the area, which included the 1st Battalion, to form Bagot Force. This mixed group of units fought a delaying action at Budalin, north of Monywa, on 4 May before withdrawing to Ye-u. The battalion continued to act as rearguard, crossing the River Chindwin at Kalewa on 9 May and into India at Tamu at the end of the month. At the same time, the Japanese halted operations in Burma. Since the start of the retreat from Rangoon on 7 March the battalion had lost 8 officers and 156 other ranks killed in action or died of sickness, and many more wounded. The battalion was rested and brought back up to strength in India, where it spent the remainder of the war, and saw no further action. Home front On its return to the UK, the 5th Battalion was brought back up to strength and manned coastal defences in Cornwall. It converted to a reconnaissance role in June 1941, becoming the 43rd (Wessex) Reconnaissance Regiment on 14 October 1941 and ceasing to have any affiliation with the Gloucestershire Regiment. Its duplicate, the 7th Battalion, was posted to Northern Ireland, but saw no action and became a training unit in 1944. With so many of its men languishing in POW camps, the 2nd Battalion was rebuilt and served in home defence at various locations around the UK, finally ending up in 1943 on the Isle of Wight before being assigned to a more active role. As the UK braced itself for Operation Sea Lion, the German plan to invade, a number of home defence battalions were raised under the regiment's colours. The 8th Battalion was formed from the National Defence Companies and consisted of men too old, too young or unfit for active service, and the younger contingent from this battalion later formed the 70th Battalion. The 9th and 10th Battalions were also raised, the former serving in Northern Ireland, the latter in south Wales and then Lincolnshire. The 11th Battalion was created in October 1940 from a re-designation of the 50th (Holding) Battalion, and 32,000 men in 19 battalions of the Home Guard wore the badges of the regiment. As the threat of invasion receded, most of these home defence battalions were disbanded, the