The World At War: ‘It’s a lovely day tomorrow’: Burma 1942 – 1943
A gripping episode about a campaign I knew little about. Inspiring stuff. The devastating losses at the beginning of the campaign were surely enough to turn anyone against further action. Yet the Allies fought back, they suffered yet more serious defeats. They succumb to the environment, they lost thousands, they suffered defeat after defeat. And yet still they came.In time they adapted. They changed their routines, they grew used to the conditions. Out of all the misery, bloodshed and pain they grew wise. They grew wise enough that eventually, after throwing themselves unsuccessfully at the Japanese time and time again – they succeeded. Unafraid to try new tactics. Unafraid to fail. They eventually found the winning formula and then stuck to it…
posted by Benjamin Nakizo at 5:30 AM
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Burma was thick jungle. The British troops were not used to this, many had never left Britain, let alone seen or served in a jungle environment. The jungle harboured all kinds of diseases and during monsoon periods these problems became worse as hygiene deteriorated in the thick mud. In the battle 120 men would die from disease for every one killed by the enemy.
The Japanese attacked a weakened Burma. Its political and civilian institutions were not expecting an attack and its military defences were almost non-existence. The British regiments posted their had all been drastically reduced to better supply the war effort in Europe.
The British had to rapidly retreat in the wake of the Japanese assault. The Japanese had air superiority and the retreating British did not have radio sets so when the RAF planes, piloted mostly by American volunteers, did get into the sky they were just as likely to strafe retreating Allies as they were advancing Japanese troops.
The retreating British valiantly scorched earth as they left and set alight to Burma’s oil wells. A massive refugee problem arose.
To escape the British had to march through virgin jungle, hacking their way through at every step. For many this was a huge psychological blow and caused many men to succumb to defeatism. Many surrendered to the Japanese only to be treated badly for the Japanese code of honour despised those that surrendered, they believed soldiers should fight to the last. Thousands of British prisoners were taken. These were put to use building the Burma railway, working for 16 – 18 hours each day with very little food. 1600 were to die during this forced labour.
The Japanese took Burma with relative ease. The Burmese people were now exchanging one set of imperial masters, for another. By May 1942, five months after the beginning of the invasion the British had been pushed out of Burma entirely. It was the longest retreat in British military history. Likewise they had also pushed out the influence of the Chinese forces that were entering Burma to protect their vital supply line, the Burma Road. These Chinese forces were commanded by an American solider
To lead the counter attack the British sent General Wavel to India. His first foray into Burma ended in disaster as the Japanese outmatched and they were once again pushed back into India. The British were simply not used to fighting a jungle war. They tried to supply their troops with European foods while the Japanese ate rice and lived off the land, happily turning lizards and bamboo into curries.
The British developed the ‘Chindit’ forces, a mix of Indian, Burmese and British peronsal they were highly trained and experienced in jungle conditions. They would enter Burma and trek through the jungle behind enemy lines. On their first mission 3000 went in and only 2000 came back. While this first mission did not achieve great military results it did teach the Allies valuable lessons in how to survive in the jungle.
In 1943 Admiral Mountbatten took over a new combined force in the region, his commander was William Slim, a Burma veteran. The presence of Mountbatten boosted moral as many of the men their had believed themselves to have been the ‘forgotten army’. Slim took command of the newly established 14th Army, he was very popular with the troops and he emphasised their training. Two thirds of the 14th Army were Indian.
The 14th Armies first venture into Burma resulted n their out manoeuvring by the Japanese and their encirclement. Rather than withdrawing Slim ordered each unit to stay and fight, supplies were delivered from the air. Fighting was fierce and the Japanese would not surrender, preferring to die than be taken captive. Yet as the fighting wore on a shift began to occur, perhaps a critical mass had been reached, and the Japanese, very slowly, began to hand themselves in. The superman myth was broken. The British Indian forces realised that they were fighting men just as fragile and vulnerable as themselves.
Although many Japanese wounded would take their own lives, either before or after capture because they could not live with the humiliation.
The 14th Armies relative success was added to by that of the American led Chinese forces in the North who had cleared out a path to Ledo in India and were busily constructing a new road to replace that of the Burma Road lost to the Japanese. At this time a second ‘Chindit’ force was deployed behind enemy lines. This force was ten times the size of the previous one and they were deployed by American glider aircraft into the very heart of Burma, and again were supplied by the air. This time however they did not fight a gorilla war, they had sufficient number and were position sufficiently close the bulk of the Japanese forces that pitched battles ensued.
Joining them in the offensive came Merrill’s Marauders, American volunteers moving down from the Chinese held territory in the north.
Yet owing to the scattered nature of jungle warfare the Japanese had begun their own offensive this time right into India itself and threatened to take the big supply towns of Kohima and Imphal. At Kohima fighting broke out on the tennis courts of the British commissioners headquarters. The Japanese attacked in number and hand to hand fighting ensued. The Japanese had attacked with 15,000 against a British outpost of 3,500. They practically laid siege to the British forces which again were supplied from the air. After seven weeks Kohima was relieved. The Japanese showed immense bravery, often to their own detriment, suicidal charges were common. British troops however were also motivated to fight till the end because the British often found their own men who had been taken captive were tortured and killed. It was no love lost fighting, no quarter was taken. No mercy shown.
In July 1944 the Japanese broke off their fighting and withdrew from Kohima and Imphal.
While the Japanese were bogged down trying to break the British resistance in India the Chinese and American forces had seized an important airfield. The Monsoon season now began, yet the Allies pressed on, buoyed by their victories.
The Allies eventually achieved complete victory in Burma.
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Wow. What a campaign. This is truly inspiring stuff. The devastating losses at the beginning of the campaign were surely enough to turn anyone against further action. Yet the Allies fought back, they suffered yet more serious defeats. They succumb to the environment, they lost thousands, they suffered defeat after defeat. And yet still they came.
In time they adapted. They changed their routines, they grew used to the conditions. Out of all the misery, bloodshed and pain they grew wise. They grew wise enough that eventually, after throwing themselves unsuccessfully at the Japanese time and time again – they succeeded. Unafraid to try new tactics. Unafraid to fail. They eventually found the winning formula and then stuck to it.
Survival of the fittest. The fittest are those who are willing to change to meet the new challenge.
Two things are becoming increasingly clear to me these days. This is the most recent stage in my intellectual thinking. Firstly it is now clear that it is the system employed by an individual or group that determines their success. It is not someone’s natural talent or their access to technology that achieves success. It is the system they employ. It is their tactics, their day to day routine that wins the long race. It is not what you have got, it is all about how you use it.
Secondly the critical mass theory is constantly gaining ground in my mind. Kick away at a wall a thousand times and nothing may happen. Yet on the one thousand and first kick the thing may give way. Success comes in many small incremental steps, each one brining you closer to the critical point where your ultimate aim will unfold before you but each step in itself shows relatively little gain. Not only that but the point of critical mass is very hard to judge. You may be one step away from seeing real change or you may yet still be a thousand away. Yet you can never know, and you must keep going until you find it. Until you find the worlds breaking point and can then forever reshape the world in your image.
These two things are very important. Process and Persistence.
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