 This allowed allied troops to control the Maungdaw-Buthidaung road which had been contested for three years and enabled the transport of 650 river craft by road through railway tunnels to Buthidaung to supply Indian troops in the Mayu Range.The 82nd Division (supported by 28th Anti-tank Regiment IA and 33rd Mountain Artillery Regiment IA) then crossed a steep and jungle-covered mountain range to converge with the British 81st (West African) Division on Myohaung near the mouth of the Kaladan River.This move forced the Japanese to evacuate the Mayu peninsula which they had held for almost four years and retreat south along the coast.