The Forgotten War Pod: Burma Campaign WW2

Great to hear Rob!

Learning a lot I didn't know because of this podcast.

Tomorrow, we delve into the complex, hidden history of 62,000 Indian POWs from WWII. Join Rob & special guest Gautam Hazarika as he explores the "impossible dilemma" of loyalty after the fall of Singapore. It is a truly deep story of survival, sacrifice, & forgotten struggle #FEPOW #WWII #History

EK KHAALE - Once Upon A Time - The Rohingya Ek Khaale is a collaborative visual restoration and storytelling project about Rohingya memory, history and existence in Arakan and Myanmar (Burma). This global documentary project shares rare, family...

… Pic from the excellent ekkhaale.org of V Force member Abdul Salaam's War Service Certificate.

Though the Japanese didn't invade India in 1942, V Force ensured the frontier was never truly blind. By providing eyes & ears for the military & dominating no-man’s land, they laid the groundwork for eventual Allied victory. Hear the full analysis in S3 E6 of the pod today #History #Burma #VForce ..

The concept of "stay-behind" parties was central to V Force operations. These brave individuals remained in areas occupied by the enemy to report on Japanese movements. It was a high-stakes game of cat and mouse in the thickest monsoon jungles of the East. #WW2
(pic from the excellent ekkhaale.org)

It's #ThingThursday - and today I have gone with an original picture I bought recently showing Lee tanks of 25 Dragoons moving up towards the 'Tortoise' position in the Razabil 'Fortress', on the Mayu Range at the end of January 1944 (pic 3 aerial photo of Tortoise)

In other news: I’ve managed to get my hands on the back catalog of the British Mule Society Journal which I’ll be helping to digitise. I came across a name I did not expect to see in the index, but it all makes sense somehow:

As they helped build roads for the evacuation and then militarising of Assam & Manipur, the Tea Planters also supported V Force. In our latest episode, we discuss how civilian residents & tea estates became integral to the V Force network, providing logistical support and local expertise in a crisis

V Force wasn't just regular soldiers. It relied on the bravery of local hill tribes—the Naga,Chin&Lushai people, or people like the anthropologist Ursula Graham Bower. Their knowledge of the geography of the Burma/India frontier was the ultimate weapon against invasion. #NagaHills #BurmaWar #VForce

For the first time ever Jack and Rob will be onstage together at Despatches Magazine Live.

Doors open at 2:30pm on Sunday 26 April, with the FWP team giving their headline talk Thunder & Lightning: Burma 1945 at 5:15pm.

Get your £25 tickets here👇
DispatchesLiveTalks.eventbrite.com

Great to see the phrase Thunder Run is sticking for the advance and capture of Meiktila, most recently here - the @Imperial War Museum have used it in their recent video on the Burma Campaign.

In 1942 the defence of Northeast India was described as "naked." Wavell had to act fast to fill the massive gaps. S3 E6 details how V Force was created as a screen to watch the borders & provide vital intelligence from the deep jungle. Listen now. #History #Military #VForce
(pic from ekkhaale.org)

Apologies Michael it was a typo, sorry. Please do, it’s fascinating to hear, just interesting it’s such a similar story.

What’s your source Matt? Might be completely different person, but that sounds a bit like James Lunt who regularly played golf with a Japanese dentist in Burma in 1940/41, but he didn’t know what became of him, and Lunt didn’t become a PoW. He mentions it in his book ‘A Hell of a Licking’.

The bond between soldiers and their horses & mules was not just sentimentality...

The FWP’s entry for #MapMonday can only be the Sittang Bridge at Mokpalin- #OTD 23 Feb 1942 in the early hours, Maj. Gen. Jackie Smyth VC blew it up with up to 2/3s of his Division on the wrong side. It was one of the decisive of the retreat campaign. You can hear Jack & Rob’s take on it in S2 E2.

Today's #MapMonday is from the 7/10 Baluch (17 Indian Division) 1942 war diary and their positions on the night on 11/12 February - they had only been raised in 1940 and many of the troops were incredibly young, they were understrength, what experienced personnel they had originally been assigned...

Today’s episode is a fascinating look at the defences of Northwestern India developed in 1942, especially V Force.

Out now! S3 E6 explores the formation of V Force. As the Japanese loomed over India in 1942, a unique group of scouts & stay-behind parties became the empire's eyes & ears in the jungle. Hear this incredible story of the Burma campaign today. Tune in now! #WW2History #VForce
Pic from buff.ly/Uuz6nHJ

Tomorrow on The Forgotten War Podcast, we are in the desperate days of the summer of 1942. Discover how General Wavell scrambled to defend India’s frontiers against the Japanese advance. A story of shadows, and survival. Join Jack and Rob for S3 E6 at dawn. #WWII #HistoryPodcast #VForce

My feelings on the names of the AVG squadrons in Burma 1942 🫡 #ww2 #burma #tiger #history #author

Listeners will know Mad Mike Calvert, this week we follow his less well-known audacious raid at Henzada with Force Viper. Facing a sudden ambush, Calvert’s commandos & Force Viper Royal Marines fought back to the boats in a classic display of pirate spirit. Hear the full story today! #Chindits #WW2

Leonard Birchall is a top Canadian too @normagraham.bsky.social

Why was the Eastern Fleet's survival so critical? This week, Jack & Rob discuss the "fleet in being" strategy. By avoiding a decisive battle, Somerville ensured the Allies kept a crucial presence in the Indian Ocean (Leonard Birchall, Hiryu, HMS Formidable + Albacore, in pics) #Strategy #WWII #Navy

Can we make #ThingThursday a thing? Anyway, this is my Microphone Hand No.3. A common handset used across the British & Indian Armies, including in tanks as a back up, or by the wireless op if the tank was stationary and the engine off. The Infantry box on the back of tanks sometimes had one too.

April 1942: Admiral Nagumo’s fleet strikes the Indian Ocean. The loss of HMS Dorsetshire and Cornwall (sinking in pic) signalled a dark era for British naval power. We break down the vital "shadow boxing" that kept the rest of Adm Sir James Somerville’s Eastern Fleet alive #NavalWar #WW2 #HistoryPod

Addu Atoll: the secret base known as "Port T." We explore the Maldives' role as a hidden sanctuary for the Royal Navy. Life there was no holiday, with intense heat, malaria, and tin rations, but it became a vital link in the Far East #PortT #Maldives #WW2

😂

Me, I’ve heard of them! Ally af.