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Military Historian, Author & Educator Associate Fellow Royal Historical Society Author of Forgotten Armour: Tank Warfare in Burma - Chiselbury Publishing Media Representative Past Preservers: casting@pastpreservers.com
Subhas Chandra Bose and the INA: heroes or traitors? We tackle the complex legacy of the Indians who fought alongside the Japanese. Walter Reid examines how this movement challenged British authority and shifted the post-war landscape forever. Tune in! #INA #ChandraBose #HistoryPodcast
While the Congress party was sidelined, how did Jinnah and the Muslim League gain ground? We explore the political shifts during the war that made the eventual Partition of India almost inevitable. A fascinating look at wartime power plays with Walter Reid. #Jinnah #Partition #IndiaHistory
I mean ten in 1941 🤦♂️
In the Second World War he joined up to do his bit, and being in Sussex could well have been in the frontline had Operation Sealion happened.
Jasper (Great-Grandfather) was a pre-war regular before the First World War, and in my post last week I had some of his papers, so some followers may remember he saw out the war in India and then fought in Afghanistan in 1919...
Slightly quaint little thing for #ThingThursday - my Great-Grandfather Jasper Botten's Home Guard shooting competition trophy from 1941. It's barely 10cms tall, but I love it and my Grandfather was rather proud of his old man's achievement - he would have been ten in 1931...
Listeners will see our Apple Podcasts feed on their apps have now updated properly - apologies to those people affected, but you can now enjoy our discussion with Walter Reid.
Did Gandhi’s Quit India movement hamper the Allied war effort against Japan? In our latest episode, Walter Reid explores the high-stakes friction between the British Raj and Indian nationalists as the threat of invasion loomed in 1942. Essential listening! #Gandhi #WWII #HistoryPodcast
The vicious fight was one of only a couple of major fights on the Thunder Run to Meiktila, most opposition was quickly swept aside, but the battle to come was to be equally ferocious.
a rugby player clutching the ball & jumping under a tank and blowing himself up. Major Arkinstall, CO C Squadron, saw another try to push a bomb in the tracks ‘but got entangled in the sprocket the mine going off, taking his head with it,& his body whipped around & thrown onto the top of the tank’..
Up to now, the Japanese had used tank hunting parties throughout the war, and while this was an incredibly dangerous job, their methods were intended for the men to survive.
At Oyin, 22 Feb 1945, the young Indian Army tank crews faced Japanese suicide attacks. One was described like...
Today's #MapMonday takes me back to writing Thunder Run - the hand drawn map of Oyin found in the Probyn's Horse war diary.
Oyin is a village on the way to Meiktila from the Irrawaddy bridgehead, its significance lies in the sudden increased intensity of Japanese tank hunting parties...
Fascinating chat with Walter Reid in this week’s episode of India and Indian Independence 👇
Our new episode is live! Historian Walter Reid joins us for a deep dive into the 1942 Quit India movement. How did the global war collide with the domestic struggle for freedom? Listen now to The Forgotten War Podcast on all major platforms today!! #History #WWII #IndependenceDayIndia
The hardback of Thunder Run: Meiktila 1945 is 20% off the RRP on Amazon right now 👇
Tomorrow, we jump into a pivotal moment in global history. Join Jack and Rob as they welcome acclaimed historian Walter Reid to discuss India’s complex road to independence during WWII. Was British policy a failure or a necessity? Find out tomorrow!! #WWII #History #TheForgottenWarPod
For many Indian soldiers, the choice between the INA and remaining a POW was, in Gautam's words, an "impossible dilemma". Breaking a military oath was a code-shattering decision akin to breaking marriage vows. Listen to the latest episode today. #MilitaryEthics #WW2History #Podcast
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.
Cheers mate 👍
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
Going live with Tom and Eddie from This Week in the Second World War in just over an hour - 6pm GMT. Link👇
www.youtube.com/live/UCOekZD...
Do remember just how young, inexperienced , and with rushed training the men were in the 7/10 Baluch. Korla (pic 2 he is 2nd from left in May 1945) would fight throughout the campaign, notably at Imphal 44 & Meiktila 45, & became a Maj-Gen in the post-war Indian Army. He died in 2007 aged 90.
coys counterattacked with the bayonet and ‘dahs’, killing or driving back the enemy…Capt. Siri Kanth Korla, commanding C Company, fought with exemplary gallantry and inspired and encouraged his men all night. He personally led six bayonet attacks, and his Coy fought fanatically’ ...
several parties attacking various sectors, and each party consisting of 10-15 men armed with swords, bayonets and grenades; and supported by automatic weapons. These parties attacked in short rushes of 10-12 paces, lying flat on their stomachs at the end of each rush. As the enemy got close...
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...
Absolutely! I’m writing my 1942 retreat book atm and so many of the places are battlefields more than once.
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.
It’s all good, thanks though. Happened over a month ago now 👍