Download or read book Battle Tales from Burma written by John Randle and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2004-01-01 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Written with modesty, clarity and a light touch, Battle Tales of Burma covers the bad days of retreat from Rangoon, the dramatic turning point at Imphal when our troops realised that the Japs could be defeated, and the ensuing advance before ultimate victory. We read of the actions and deeds of both British and Indian soldiers and their regiments and the fanatic fervour of a resourceful and ruthless enemy."--BOOK JACKET.

Download or read book Battle Tales from Burma written by John Randle and published by Isis Large Print Books. This book was released on 2005-01-01 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: John Randle served with the greatly respected Baluch Regiment of the former Indian Army right through the fiercely fought Burma Campaign, winning an MC on the way yet, when VJ Day dawned, he was only some 60 miles from where he had started out nearly four years before. This collection of stories, drawn from memory, covers every aspect of a life in the forces from great courage to humor, presenting a personal picture of war at its bitterest.

Download or read book Approach to Battle written by Alan Jeffreys and published by Helion and Company. This book was released on 2017-01-24 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Indian Army was the largest volunteer army during the Second World War. Indian Army divisions fought in the Middle East, North Africa and Italy - and went to make up the overwhelming majority of the troops in South East Asia. Over two million personnel served in the Indian Army - and India provided the base for supplies for the Middle Eastern and South East Asian theatres. This monograph is a modern historical interpretation of the Indian Army as a holistic organisation during the Second World War. It will look at training in India - charting how the Indian Army developed a more comprehensive training structure than any other Commonwealth country. This was achieved through both the dissemination of doctrine and the professionalism of a small coterie of Indian Army officers who brought about a military culture within the Indian Army - starting in the 1930s - that came to fruition during the Second World War, which informed the formal learning process. Finally, it will show that the Indian Army was reorganised after experiences of the First World War. During the interwar period, the army developed training and belief for both fighting on the North West Frontier, and as an aid to civil power. With the outbreak of the Second World War, in addition to these roles, the army had to expand and adapt to fighting modern professional armies in the difficult terrains of desert, jungle and mountain warfare. A clear development of doctrine and training can be seen, with many pamphlets being produced by GHQ India that were, in turn, used to formulate training within formations and then used in divisional, brigade and unit training instructions - thus a clear line of process can be seen not only from GHQ India down to brigade and battalion level, but also upwards from battalion and brigade level based on experience in battle that was absorbed into new training instructions. Together with the added impetus for education in the army, by 1945 the Indian Army had become a modern, professional and national army.

Download or read book Burma 1942 written by R E S Tanner and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2011-11-08 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In December 1941 a Japanese battalion of 143rd Regiment of 55th Division crossed the Burma-Siam border and seized Victoria Point, heralding the invasion of Burma. The first air raids on Rangoon were opposed by only two fighter squadrons - 16 P40s of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) and 16 Buffaloes of the RAF. What followed was a fighting retreat as the British forces struggled to the Indian border, harried by an experienced Japanese force which was supported by at least 200 aircraft against the Allies' meagre fifty. Burma 1942 is a unique assessment of this disastrous episode in British military history, taken in part from the diary and maps kept by Ralph Tanner, who served with 2nd Battalion The Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry during the retreat, and from the official Battalion war diary by Major Chadwick. It includes background to the mobilisation of the Battalion in 1941, who they were, their equipment and what they were trained for, and considers the series of disasters at Moulmein, Sittang, Toksan and Yenangyaung which left them increasingly unable to fight as a unit. It also addresses the factors which prevented optimum military performance, includes discussions with the author's one-time enemies, and serves as a tribute to the strength of the men of the battalion - most of whom were conscripts - and of whom a fifth were killed and have no known grave.

Download or read book Air Battle for Burma written by Bryn Evans and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2016-11-30 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After a long series of crushing defeats by the apparently unstoppable Japanese air and ground forces, the eventual fight back and victory in Burma was achieved as a result of the exercise of unprecedented combined services cooperation and operations. Crucial to this was the Allies supremacy in the air coupled with their ground/air support strategy.Using veterans firsthand accounts, Air Battle For Burma reveals the decisive nature of Allied air power in inflicting the first major defeat on the Japanese Army in the Second World War. Newly equipped Spitfire fighter squadrons made the crucial difference at the turning point battles of the Admin Box, Imphal and Kohima in 1944. Air superiority allowed Allied air forces to deploy and supply Allied ground troops on the front line and raids deep into enemy territory with relative impunity; revolutionary tactics never before attempted on such a scale.By covering both the strategic and tactical angles, through these previously unpublished personal accounts, this fine book is a fitting and overdue tribute to Allied air forces contribution to victory in Burma.

Download or read book Soldiers of Empire written by Tarak Barkawi and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-05-27 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How are soldiers made? Why do they fight? Re-imagining the study of armed forces and society, Barkawi examines the imperial and multinational armies that fought in Asia in the Second World War, especially the British Indian army in the Burma campaign. Going beyond conventional narratives, Barkawi studies soldiers in transnational context, from recruitment and training to combat and memory. Drawing on history, sociology and anthropology, the book critiques the 'Western way of war' from a postcolonial perspective. Barkawi reconceives soldiers as cosmopolitan, their battles irreducible to the national histories that monopolise them. This book will appeal to those interested in the Second World War, armed forces and the British Empire, and students and scholars of military sociology and history, South Asian studies and international relations.

Download or read book Myanmar Burma since the 1988 Uprising written by Andrew Selth and published by ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. This book was released on 2022-01-24 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Updated by popular demand, this is the fourth edition of this important bibliography. It lists a wide selection of works on or about Myanmar published in English and in hard copy since the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, which marked the beginning of a new era in Myanmar’s modern history. There are now 2,727 titles listed. They have been written, edited, translated or compiled by over 2,000 people, from many different backgrounds. These works have been organized into thirty-five subject chapters containing ninety-five discrete sections. There are also four appendices, including a comprehensive reading guide for those unfamiliar with Myanmar or who may be seeking guidance on particular topics. This book is an invaluable aid to officials, scholars, journalists, armchair travellers and others with an interest in this fascinating but deeply troubled country.

Download or read book We Gave Our Today written by William Fowler and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. This book was released on 2009-02-26 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Lost Voices of our 'Forgotten Army' in the war with Japan 1941-45. Nearly a million strong by 1944, the British 14th Army fought and ultimately conquered the Japanese forces that invaded Burma and strove to break through into India. But the victory was hard won, with great suffering along the way. With priority given to defeating Germany, these troops were last in line for additional men and equipment, and they joked about being "The Forgotten Army." Here is the story of these remarkable soldiers, whose monument at Kohima reads: 'When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say, For Their Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today.'

Download or read book Among the Headhunters written by Robert Lyman and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2016-06-07 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Flying the notorious "Hump" route between India and China in 1943, a twin-engine plane suffered mechanical failure and crashed in a dense mountain jungle, deep within Japanese-held territory. Among the passengers and crew were celebrated CBS journalist Eric Sevareid, an OSS operative who was also a Soviet double agent, and General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell's personal political adviser. Against the odds, all but one of the twenty-one people aboard the doomed aircraft survived-it remains the largest civilian evacuation of an aircraft by parachute. But they fell from the frying pan into the fire. Disentangling themselves from their parachutes, the shocked survivors discovered that they had arrived in wild country dominated by a tribe with a special reason to hate white men. The Nagas were notorious headhunters who routinely practiced slavery and human sacrifice, their specialty being the removal of enemy heads. Japanese soldiers lay close by, too, with their own brand of hatred for Americans. Among the Headhunters tells-for the first time-the incredible true story of the adventures of these men among the Naga warriors, their sustenance from the air by the USAAF, and their ultimate rescue. It is also a story of two very different worlds colliding-young Americans, exuberant apostles of their country's vast industrial democracy, coming face-to-face with the Naga, an ancient tribe determined to preserve its local power based on headhunting and slaving.

Download or read book First Burma Campaign written by Colonel E. C. V. Foucar MC and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 2020-11-19 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shortly after the British and Indian forces had withdrawn from Burma in the face of the Japanese onslaught in 1942, Colonel E.C.V. Foucar MC was instructed to undertake a 'special duty', namely seek out documentary material and information from the various officers involved in the First Burma Campaign. The final element of Foucar's task was to write an account of the fighting, based on these many eyewitness accounts, for the Director of Military Training.This fascinating narrative sets out the challenging geographical, climatic and political conditions the British were faced with in Burma as war became an increasing possibility throughout 1940 and 1941, before turning its attention to the dramatic events when the Japanese launched their ground assault on the country in January 1942.There followed the 'Disaster' at Sittang Bridge, the fateful evacuation of Rangoon, and the march to the River Irrawaddy in an attempt to try and secure the north of Burma and its oilfields. But the loss of Rangoon meant the army was cut off from its supply base and the troops faced starving to death. With the Japanese closing in on the beleaguered British force, the decision was taken to abandon Burma and try to reach India. 'The odds were we might escape either the Japanese, the failure of our supplies, or the monsoon, but our chances of avoiding all three were slender,' declared General Alexander. His commander, General Wavell, wrote that, 'operations were now a race with the weather as with the Japanese and as much a fight against nature as against the enemy'.Along nothing more than rough country tracks up rugged hills and across rickety bridges constructed only of brushwood or bamboo the ragged, disease-ridden troops battled to reach India just as the monsoons broke. This, one of the most dramatic tales of the Second World War, was first described in detail by Colonel Foucar just after the events described and is now available for all to read.

Download or read book Scapegoats written by Michael Scott and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2015-09-08 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “At all costs avoid blame.” Such is the creed of dictators and politicians, tycoons and company chairmen, media celebrities, and spin doctors the world over. But what about men at war, where the penalties for errors of judgment can be devastating? History is full of tales of those who have been wrongly castigated in the rush to find a culprit; only later, sometimes much later, when the real truth comes out, is the scapegoat exonerated. Exposed here are the real stories behind the myths that allow the reader to make a balanced judgment on history’s fairness to the individual, including those of: Captain Alfred Dreyfus, exiled and imprisoned on charges of treason in 1895 Lieutenant General James Longstreet, blamed for the failure of Pickett’s Charge in 1863 Major General Jackie Smyth, removed from the Army after ordering the destruction of the Sittang Bridge in 1942 Lieutenant General Roméo Dallaire, let down by the United Nations over the Rwanda massacres of 1994 This superbly researched book by a former professional soldier uncovers what might be termed the most disgraceful miscarriages of military justice. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Download or read book Japan s Last Bid for Victory written by Robert Lyman and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2011-12-13 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “This is an excellent account of a series of very hard fought battles that helped prepare the way for the British re-conquest of Burma.” —History of War Robert Lyman’s deep knowledge and understanding of the war in Burma, and the great battles at Kohima and Imphal in 1944, are well known. In this book he uses original documents, published works and personal accounts to weave together an enthralling narrative of some of the bitterest fighting of WWII. Not only does he use British sources for his research but he has also included material from the Naga tribes of north-east India, on whose land these battles were fought, and from Japanese accounts, including interviews with Japanese veterans of the fighting. Thus he has been able to produce what is arguably the most balanced history of the battles that were pivotal in ending the Japanese empire. Fergal Keane, journalist and author of Road to Bones: The Siege of Kohima 1944 wrote to the author saying “What a triumph! I finished it last night. You have done a wonderful job. I only wish I’d read it before writing my own book!” He goes on to say “Robert Lyman is one of the great writers about men and war and in this book he has succeeded in conveying the courage, genius and folly of an epic struggle. I cannot think of a writer engaged in the subject of the Second World War who can match Lyman for his integrity or the soundness of his judgments.”

Download or read book The Indian Army and the End of the Raj written by Daniel Marston and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014-04-24 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Partition of British India in 1947 resulted in the establishment of the independent states of India and Pakistan and the end of the British Raj. The decision to divide British India along religious lines led to widespread upheaval and communal violence in the period leading up to and following the official day of independence, 15 August 1947. In this book, Daniel Marston provides a unique examination of the role of the Indian army in post-World War II India. He draws upon extensive research into primary source documents and interviews with veterans of the events of 1947 to provide fresh insight into the vital part that the Indian Army played in preserving law and order in the region. This rigorous book fills a significant gap in the historiography of the British in India and will be invaluable to those studying the British Empire and South Asia more generally.

Download or read book Merrill s Marauders written by Gavin Mortimer and published by Quarto Publishing Group USA. This book was released on 2013-11-15 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A critically acclaimed historian reveals the heroism and perseverance of a US Army special ops unit during one of the most overlooked campaigns of WWII. In August of 1943, a call went out for American soldiers willing to embark on a “hazardous and dangerous mission” behind enemy lines in Burma. The war department wanted 3,000 volunteers, and it didn’t care who they were; they would be expendable, with an expected casualty rate of eighty-five percent. The men who took up the challenge were, in the words of one, “bums and cast-offs” with rap sheets and reputations for trouble. One war reporter described them as “Dead End Kids,” but by the end of their five-month mission, those that remained had become the legendary “Merrill’s Marauders.” From award-winning historian Gavin Mortimer, Merrill’s Marauders is the story of the American World War II special forces unit originally codenamed “Galahad,” which, in 1944, fought its way through 700 miles of snake-infested Burmese jungle—what Winston Churchill described as “the most forbidding fighting country imaginable.” Though their mission to disrupt Japanese supply lines and communications was ultimately successful, paving the way for the Allied conquest of Burma, the Marauders paid a terrible price for their victory. By the time they captured the crucial airfield of Myitkyina in May 1944, only 200 of the original 3,000 men remained; the rest were dead, wounded, or riddled with disease. This is the definitive nonfiction narrative of arguably the most extraordinary, but also unsung, American special forces unit in World War II.

Download or read book The Pacific War written by Daniel Marston and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2011-01-01 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Pacific War Companion' brings together the perspectives and insights of world-reno wned military historians. From the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor through the release of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the conflict in the Pacific was marked by amazing tactical innovations, such as those in amphibious warfare, and horrific battles that raged in the unforgiving climate of the island jungles. Each chapter in this book focuses on a different aspect of this conflict, from the planning of operations to the experiences of the men who were there.

Download or read book The Pacific War Companion written by and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2011-03-15 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Pacific War brings together the perspectives and insights of world-renowned military historians. From the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor through the release of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the conflict in the Pacific was marked by amazing tactical innovations, such as those in amphibious warfare, and horrific battles that raged in the unforgiving climate of the island jungles. Each chapter in this book focuses on a different aspect of this conflict, from the planning of operations to the experiences of the men who were there.

Download or read book Sepoys against the Rising Sun written by Kaushik Roy and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2016-02-15 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the Second World War, the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) suffered one of its greatest defeats in Burma. Both in Malaya and Burma, the bulk of the British Commonwealth forces comprised Indian units. Few people know that by 1944, about 70 percent of the Allied ground personnel in Burma was composed of soldiers of the Indian Army. The Indian Army comprised British-led Indian units, British officered units of the Indian princely states and the British units attached to the Government of India. Based on the archival materials collected from India and the United Kingdom, Sepoys against the Rising Sun assesses the combat/military/battlefield effectiveness of the Indian Army against the IJA during World War II. The volume is focussed on the tactical innovations and organizational adaptations which enabled the sepoys to overcome the Japanese in the trying terrain of Burma.