| The rapid Japanese advance through the Burmese Jungle, aided by bicycles, surprised British commanders. With Rangoon threatened, the American Military Mission to China (AMMISCA), under Brigadier General John L. Magruder (June 3, 1887 – April 30, 1958) ordered the destruction of all lend-lease stocks in an effort to deny them to the invading Japanese. As the Japanese approached, there had been frantic activity to move as much materiel as possible north to the Burma Road, but it was still necessary to destroy more than 900 trucks in various stages of assembly, 5,000 tires, 1,000 blankets and sheets, and more than a ton of miscellaneous items. Magruder transferred much materiel to the British forces, including 300 British-made Bren guns with 3,000,000 rounds of ammunition, 1,000 machine guns with 180,000 rounds of ammunition, 260 jeeps, 683 trucks, and a 100 field telephones. In spite of the destruction and transfer to the British, however, over 19,000 tons of lend-lease materiel remained in Rangoon when it fell to the Japanese on March 8. United States Army General Joseph W. “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell (March 19, 1883 – October 12, 1946) Commanding General of the United States Forces in the Chinese Theater of Operations, Burma, and India, burned with resentment and embarrassment over the forced retreat from Burma. “We got a hell of a beating,” he said when he arrived safely in New Delhi, India. “We got run out of Burma and it is humiliating as hell. I think we ought to find out what caused it, go back and retake it.” | |
| Image Filename | wwii2047.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.27 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 3095 x 2793 |
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| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | January 1, 1942 |
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| Country | Burma |
| Archive | United States Army Center of Military History |
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| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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