The Forgotten War Pod: Burma Campaign WW2

History is often written by the elite, but Gautam Hazarika used 20,000 interrogation reports to hear the actual voices of the sepoys and sergeants. Discover their personal accounts of the Burma campaign in our new episode. These stories are there to be told. #History #WWII

It's #ThingThursday (it's a thing!), & is a little bit special. My great-grandfather Jasper Botten's Soldier's Small Book, his Pay Book, & a little pocket history of the 1st Royal Sussex Regt that he had clearly got from someone else. He spent the FWW on garrison duty, which maybe saved his life.

Beyond the INA, 14,000 Indian POWs went to Papua New Guinea as slave labour. Half didn’t survive the horrific conditions & Allied bombings. We honour these forgotten men & their suffering in our latest episode. In pic Jemadar Chint Singh identifying war criminals in Nov 1945 (from awm.gov.au)

The Borneo Graveyard 1941-1945 John Tulloch. Opus Publications 2020

Fascinating pod. This book tells the story of Allied personnel in Japanese captivity. Grim about sums it up. #histbookchat

Imagine escaping Singapore & walking 3,000 miles to India. Lieutenant Markandan 'Mark' Pillai refused to be a prisoner, island-hopping & trekking through the monsoon to reach safety in India by August 1942. An incredible feat of endurance that we discuss in detail on the latest show. #EscapeStory

I mentioned the last stand of the 7/10 Baluch earlier this week, and they really show that the retreat in 1942 was not just a meek rolling over by the fighting troops. Here is an extract from the war diary on 12 Feb 1942 at about 2am:

'These [Japanese] attacks came in waves. Each wave containing...

Did you know the Indian National Army began 18 months before Subhas Chandra Bose arrived? Captain Mohan Singh (pic 1) led the first INA, attempting to unite 40,000 volunteers under a single Indian identity. Hear the full story of this early movement in our latest episode. #IndianNationalArmy #WWII

Kalewa would of course be the later site of the 1400 yard (and at that time the longest) bailey bridge - nicknamed 'Grub Bridge', where the liberation of Burma really got started.

Today's #MapMonday is the Burma Army's final evacuation route - the ferry between Shwegyin & Kalewa on the Chindwin, a 6 mile meandering course where the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company steamers & requisition boats used by Force Viper helped bring the remnants of Alex & Slim's army to safety in May 1942.

I missed this due to a family emergency, but what a brilliant interview - thank you Gautam. A fascinating look at Indian POWs and the birth of the INA 👇

Out now! Gautam Hazarika joins us to discuss his new book on the 62,000 Indian soldiers captured in 1942. We explore the birth of the INA and the brutal reality of captivity across the Far East. Listen today for this truly gripping story #ForgottenWar #MilitaryHistory #WW2Podcast

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.