Post by Ben Burgess on Dec 14, 2004 18:37:22 GMT -5
To many the term 'The Forgotten War' will bring to mind images of the great Inchon Landings or of the millions of Chinese troops as they crossed the Yalu during the Korean War of the 1950s (see www.yoursites.co.uk/The_korean_war_revisited.htm). But for me, rightly or wrongly, I believe the adjective 'forgotten' is best used to describe the conflict in Burma of 1941-45.
The Burmese war saw countless battles as the British clashed with the expansionist Japanese over economic interest in this area of East Asia. Initially a humiliating stain on the British Army, Field Marshal Viscount Slim (known to many as the greatest allied commander of the Second World War) turned the campaign around in a matter of just a few years, inflicting crushing defeat after crushing defeat upon the already worn out Japanese.
Britains Indian regiments and those brought in from abroad under the 14th Army (often deemed 'The Forgotten army by writers) prevented the Japanese not only from taking vital raw materials from Burma but from conquering India and, therefore, altering the course of the war.
Few wanted to fight in Burma and both sides joked about their units stationed there. The popular Japanese saying of 'I have upset Hirohito, I'll be in Burma soon' reflected this attitude just as much as the shouts from British soldiers who, upon seeing transports heading down the Suez Canal for Burma, would cry to the passing soldiers 'You're going the wrong way!'
Burma was, in the mind of the allied commanders, the least important of Second World War objectives and, as such, was forgotten. What we must not forget, however, is that the Burmese conflict was to inflict mortal wounds upon a tenacious Japanese army, protect British interests in India (especially after the Japanese had already defeated Thailand and Malaya) and produce a style of fighting which would eventually result in what has been described as 'the greatest military campaign in the history of the British Army'
Why then has Burma become the 'dark area' of the second world war? It was afterall a battleground for four whole years and home to some of the worst defeats and greatest victories of the British during the overall conflict. Sure, it wasn't Hitler, but a Japanese India with control over the entire area of East Asia is in itself a prospect which, with contemplation, opens up an entire new area of the Second World War.
The Burmese war saw countless battles as the British clashed with the expansionist Japanese over economic interest in this area of East Asia. Initially a humiliating stain on the British Army, Field Marshal Viscount Slim (known to many as the greatest allied commander of the Second World War) turned the campaign around in a matter of just a few years, inflicting crushing defeat after crushing defeat upon the already worn out Japanese.
Britains Indian regiments and those brought in from abroad under the 14th Army (often deemed 'The Forgotten army by writers) prevented the Japanese not only from taking vital raw materials from Burma but from conquering India and, therefore, altering the course of the war.
Few wanted to fight in Burma and both sides joked about their units stationed there. The popular Japanese saying of 'I have upset Hirohito, I'll be in Burma soon' reflected this attitude just as much as the shouts from British soldiers who, upon seeing transports heading down the Suez Canal for Burma, would cry to the passing soldiers 'You're going the wrong way!'
Burma was, in the mind of the allied commanders, the least important of Second World War objectives and, as such, was forgotten. What we must not forget, however, is that the Burmese conflict was to inflict mortal wounds upon a tenacious Japanese army, protect British interests in India (especially after the Japanese had already defeated Thailand and Malaya) and produce a style of fighting which would eventually result in what has been described as 'the greatest military campaign in the history of the British Army'
Why then has Burma become the 'dark area' of the second world war? It was afterall a battleground for four whole years and home to some of the worst defeats and greatest victories of the British during the overall conflict. Sure, it wasn't Hitler, but a Japanese India with control over the entire area of East Asia is in itself a prospect which, with contemplation, opens up an entire new area of the Second World War.