| Original caption: “Japanese infantry bicycle brigade on march to Rangoon, Burma.” Imperial Japanese Army bicycle infantry walking to Rangoon. Note the kickstands on the back wheels and the foliage used as camouflage. Soldiers carry their Arisaka rifles on their backs, indicating they do not expect combat soon. The Imperial Japanese Army bicycle infantry were separate units from regular infantry. Japanese troops were very familiar with bicycles; by 1940, over a 1,000,000 were in civilian use in Tokyo. The bicycle infantry was highly successful in the Malaya and Singapore campaigns, which featured good roads and allowed them to advance quickly, capturing British stores of food, water, ammunition, and medicine. When tires wore out, they rode on the rims, which sounded like advancing tanks to the Commonwealth Forces in Malaya, sowing panic. However, in Burma, the roads were fewer in number, rough, and most were not paved, and were less well-mapped. The Allies were more effective at destroying supplies as they withdrew to India; while the Japanese captured materiel in Rangoon, Mandalay, and Moulmein, it was insufficient to sustain their advance indefinitely. So the model that worked so well in Malaya did not serve the Japanese in Burma. Unable to supply their troops logistically, the Japanese starved, their wounded went untreated and unevacuated, and fuel and ammunition ran out. The campaign at Kohima and Imphal stalled and cost thousands of Japanese soldiers their lives. Bicycles were used by all armies in World War II. In most cases, they were used behind the lines for short transportation duties. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1495.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.86 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 5560 x 3741 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Imperial Japanese Army |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | March 1, 1942 |
| Location | |
| City | Rangoon |
| State or Province | Hanthawaddy |
| Country | Burma |
| Archive | Nederlands Instituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie (NIOD) |
| Record Number | NI 2692 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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