Operation Anakim (i)

'Anakim' (i) was an Allied unrealised strategic plan, initially agreed at the inter-Allied 'Symbol' conference at Casablanca in January 1943, for a concerted British and Chinese offensive in the autumn of 1943 to retake Burma and reopen the supply line to China (spring 1943).

As conceived and initially agreed by the Combined Chief-of-Staff at the 'Symbol' conference at Casablanca during January 1943, 'Anakim' (i) was to have included a British amphibious assault on Rangoon followed by a land offensive northward up the Irrawaddy river into central Burma, and as a US-sponsored Chinese offensive in the north involving the southward advance of convergent axes by forces operating from China and India.

The plan was conceived as one-third of an overall scheme for the recapture of Burma, the other two-thirds being 'Cannibal' and 'Ravenous', and was ultimately seen as impossible given the fact that the British-led forces in the theatre were still not able to launch sustained offensive operations, the Japanese were launching a number of spoiling attacks, and the amphibious capability needed for 'Anakim' (i) and 'Cannibal' was absorbed by higher-priority Allied operations from the middle of 1943 to the first months of 1944, including 'Husky' (i) in Europe, 'Toenails' and 'Cherryblossom' in the Solomon islands group, and 'Cataract' ('Galvanic', 'Longsuit', 'Flintlock' and 'Catchpole') in the central Pacific.