WW2 - Campaigns in Burma

By 1938 Japan had gained control of the Chinese coastline occupying the major cities and driving the remaining Nationalist and Communist forces into the western provinces of the country.

Organised Chinese resistance from that time became dependent on American aid and supplies reaching the Chinese via the overland supply route through Burma, known as the Burma Road.

The Japanese invasion of Burma in December of 1941 was primarily intended to strangle weakening Chinese resistance by capturing the western end of the Burma Road.

Reinforcing their offensive in the early months of 1942 the Japanese drove British and Chinese forces in steady retreat through central Burma towards the Indian frontier, capturing Rangoon in March and cutting the Burma Road by the end of April.

The road was to remain closed from this time until February 1945. Supplies to the Chinese were transported by air from airfields in India across the towering Himalayas to Kunming in China. The air route to Kunming was to become known as the Aluminium Trail because of the litter of crashed aircraft that marked its way through the mountains.

Throughout these years the reconquest of Burma was to take a lower priority than other theatres of the war, but in India preparations were made for an Allied counter-offensive in 1944. Lord Louis Mountbatten became Supreme Commander in South-east Asia. General Stillwell, his deputy, was appointed to train and command Chinese troops in India.

By 1944 the Allies had established air superiority in the region, and footholds in Northern Burma.

To forestall the inevitable Allied offensive the Japanese launched a pre-emptive strike across the Burmese border into North-East India. The offensive lasted from February through to July. When the Japanese finally withdrew, their armies had been decimated in the fighting. The door to Burma stood wide open.

By January of 1945 the Allies had reopened the Burma Road, and by May had recaptured Rangoon.

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The Tulsa Incident

Almost immediately afterward Sino-British relations were strained still more by the incident of the ship Tulsa and her cargo of valuable munitions at Rangoon

More than 19,000 tons of supplies and weapons were surrendered by the British to IJA. The supplies and weapons were needed by the Chinese army for counter offensive that was planned to drive Japanese out of Kwuangtung.

[thermalzz]

My great grandfather was a Major General for the Japanese Army.

Gen. Sakuma

Full Name: Takayoshi Sakuma

[Hyperdog456]

Two of my great grandfathers fought in Burma both survived one was sent to a Japanese POW camp but to be honest I do not hold a grudge against the Japanese.

[martynrobin121]

It was vital the British keep the Japs from taking Burma and then India, The Axis had a plan that German/Italian forces would meet up with Jap Forces in Iran. They hoped The Axis in Africa would defeat the British and Japs in Burma and India would defeat the British, Then they would meet up in Iran.

[8000jk]

they had victory over victory but made lots of european and the americans the japs enermies and u cant really trust the japanese tanks cause there forces are kinda like ww1 cause they still used cavalry corret me if im wrong plz!!!

[MicheasTheMighty]

Japanese weakness: tried to do too much, with too little, too fast, while making too many enemies. They entered upon the stage of empire late in the game, when colonialism and bald face use of other peoples for their resources was falling out of favor.