Japanese Conquest of Burma 1942: The Advance to the Gates of India (Campaign Book 384)

This book provides a fascinating exploration of the Japanese conquest of Burma, as the Allied forces were forced back in disarray to India and China. The Japanese invasion of Burma in January 1942 marked the beginning of the single longest campaign of World War II. In the Burmese jungles, the battle-hardened, highly trained and lightly equipped Imperial Japanese Army quickly proved itself a vastly superior fighting force in clashes against the British, Indian and Gurkha troops that formed Burma Army and Chinese nationalist forces deployed in eastern Burma. This superbly illustrated book narrates Burma Corps' epic fighting retreat northwards, carried out mostly in contact with the enemy and across hundreds of miles of highly malarial and extremely difficult terrain, to safety in India. Among the battles covered are the disaster at the Sittang Bridge on 22 February 1942 (where 17th Indian Division was all but destroyed), the fall of Rangoon in March 1942 and the clashes at Yenangyaung, Monywa and Shwegyin. The performance of the opposing commanders and forces is also examined in detail, highlighting the success of Japanese aggressive light infantry tactics, which ruthlessly exploited the cover and concealment provided by the jungle to outflank, bypass and encircle their bewildered enemy. Cover 1 Contents 3 Origins Of The Campaign 5 Chronology 8 Allied Commanders And Forces 11 British, Indian and Burmese 11 Chinese 21 Japanese Commanders and Forces 25 Orders Of Battle 30 The Campaign 31 Opening Rounds: From Kawkareik To The Bilin River 31 The Battle Of The Sittang Bridge 40 The Fall Of Rangoon And The Taukkyan Roadblock 53 The Battle For Central Burma: Prome, Toungoo And Yenangyaung 61 The Final Allied Withdrawal From Burma 75 Assessment 86 The Battlefield Today 92 Acronyms and Abbreviations 93 Select Bibliography 94 Index 95 Imprint 97