Burma in World War II

Burma was separated from India in 1935, but remained a British colony. Far away from the European War, Burma was the scene of frantic building during 1941. A long and difficult construction marked the construction of the Burma Road, which winded through mountains and valleys from Lace, Burma to Kunming, China. The 700 mile road was in service for the Allies from 1938 until the Japanese conquered Lashio in April 1942. The Burma Road was closed.

Landings in Burma commenced on December 8, 1941, the first day of the war. An independent Burmese army that was agitating for Burmese independence accompanied Japanese troops. The Allies under General Joseph Stilwell fell back to India, where resistance was organized for both China, India and Burma.

The Chindits, a specially trained jungle fighting force under British General Ord Wingate, was dropped into Burma in 1943. They attacked Japanese supply lines and were sustained by gliders. The fighting was bitter, and most of the Chindits, as they were called, suffered either battle wounds or disease. A similar American unit, Merrill's Marauders, followed the Chindits into the jungle in 1943. Merrill had several heart attacks during the campaign.

Meanwhile, a puppet government was set up in the capital, Rangoon. In August 1943 the Japanese granted nominal independence and Burmese leaders were sent to Tokyo to study. Japanese became the second language. However, large sections of the population did not support the government, and a strong guerrilla campaign was mounted against the government and the Japanese. Burmese independence leader Bao Maw was excited by the Japanese success, and hoped for full Burmese independence. While he was encouraged by the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere, he became disillusioned by the repeated abuses of Burmese laborers. He came to believe that Burma had exchanged one set of colonial masters for another. Aung San, the commander of the Japanese-trained Burmese Independence Army, joined the Allies in March 1945 after his troops were poorly treated by the Japanese.

As Rangoon was on the verge of being reoccupied in early 1945, the pro-Japanese collaboration government fled to Tokyo. Soon afterward the entire country was occupied by the British, who ruled Burma as a colony until 1947.

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China Burma India Theater of World War II - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

South-East Asian theatre of World War II - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

BBC - History - Animated Map: The Burma Campaign
Track the progress of the Burma Campaign - from the rapid Japanese victories of 1941, to the desperate battles for the Indian towns of Kohima and Imphal.

Burma: How World War II Shaped Burma's Future --- Asia Pacific Media Service Colonial powers beat the Japanese but lost their empires.

Kachin Rangers: Allied guerrillas in World War II Burma Special Warfare - Find Articles
Kachin Rangers: Allied guerrillas in World War II Burma from Special Warfare in News & Society provided free by LookSmart Find Articles.

HyperWar: The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II: Central Burma
'U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II: Central Burma' -- A brief history of US Army operations in Burma in 1945.

HyperWar: World War II: China-Burma-India Theater of Operations: Contents History of World War II, China-Burma-India Theater of Operations. Includes HTML versions of official US Army, US Army Air Forces, US Marine Corps, and US Navy histories; and more.

 CHINA-BURMA-INDIA - Remembering the Forgotten Theater of World War IIChina-Burma-India - Remembering the Forgotten Theater of World War II - Menu for over 80 sites related to the CBI Theater

Capt. Drew-Smythe Burma World War II

TheHistoryNet | World War II | Joseph Stilwell's Escape from Burma During World War II
Joseph Stilwell's narrow escape from Burma reveals much about the man best remembered as 'Vinegar Joe.'

Map of World War Two Burma
The book Silently into the Midst of Things is a history of the 177 Squadron Royal Air Force during World War Two. Flying Beaufighters against Japanese targets in Burma from 1943-45, this is the story of a little known part of the War in the Pacific.

World War II map of China-Burma-India front

Bibliography From Amazon.com

 

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