1942: Burma

Against the Japanese invasion which began in mid-January the defenders of Burma were able to do little more than fight a series of delaying actions. Within a month British forces had retired from the lower Salween River (an important natural defense in southeast Burma) and almost the whole east shore of the Gulf of Martaban was in Japanese hands. On the other side lay Rangoon, capital of the colony and one of the leading ports of the Orient. Three weeks later, on Mar. 7, after setting fire to the city, the British garrison at Rangoon began to withdraw in a northwesterly direction toward Prome. Elsewhere they were supported by Chinese troops which, under agreement with Britain, had begun to enter Burma at the beginning of the year. On Mar. 19, an American general, Joseph W. Stilwell, who had only recently been named Chief-of-Staff by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek of China, was given command of the Chinese Fifth and Sixth Armies that were to defend east Burma.

Superior in numbers, equipment, and tactics suited to the territory, the Japanese now initiated a two-pronged drive into the interior; up the Irrawaddy river in the west toward the British at Prome and up the Sittang in the east toward Toungoo, where Chinese troops were located. When the defenders retreated on one front, those on the other were often obliged to retire or face the danger of being outflanked. Thus, at Toungoo late in March the Chinese had to fight their way north through the Japanese lines at great cost. On Apr. 2, the British evacuated Prome, and about the middle of the month withdrew from Yenangyaung after destroying the oil fields, the last held by the United Nations in southeast Asia. Toward the end of April Japanese forces made a strong drive from northwest Thailand into northeast Burma and on Apr. 29 seized Lashio, terminus of the Burma Road. From here they pushed ahead, reaching the Chinese frontier by May 5. Continued Chinese resistance north of Mandalay enabled the British, under heavy air attack and with great loss of equipment, to follow the Chindwin river valley into northeast India. Subsequently, Chinese troops also escaped to India.

The fall of Burma within so short a period was the product of many factors. The British had at the outset no more than two divisions of Empire forces and did not add to them during the campaign, while the handful of native troops under British officers (the Burma Rifles) were unreliable and unprepared for war with the Japanese. There were, it is true, between two and three divisions of Chinese troops, but they did not go into action until lower Burma had been lost. On the other hand, although the Japanese forces were not large, perhaps from 50,000 to 100,000 men, they were well trained and well supported. At the beginning of February, however, the combined air strength in and about Rangoon of the R.A.F. and A.V.G. (American Volunteer Group) was 57 planes, only a dozen of which were genuine bombers.

The civil government of Burma was unprepared to stand the strain of war. After the first bombing of Rangoon on Dec. 23, 1941, tens of thousands of Indian coolies fled from the city, since no provision had been made for their protection from air raids. Although this development crippled the operation of wharves, warehouses and municipal services, the authorities could not be induced to invoke martial law. More important, however, was the active aid given the Japanese by certain Burmese nationalists as a result of hatred of Britain. According to a later statement by the British commanding officer, this group constituted only 10 per cent of the population, yet it was effective in doing much damage and apparently reached into high native circles. On Jan. 18, Britain announced the detention of U Maung Saw, Burmese Prime Minister, for having been in contact with the Japanese after Pearl Harbor. He had left England in November following an unsuccessful effort to secure dominion status and was on his way back to Burma.

Little news was received from Burma after the end of the Japanese campaign. In August it was reported that the Japanese Commander-in-Chief had established a joint Burmese-Japanese puppet administration under Ba Maw, a former Prime Minister. Supreme power rested with the Japanese who at the same time dissolved the Burmese Parliament. During the summer, and especially in the fall and early winter, Allied air raids were carried through regularly from India against key points in Burma. On Sept. 1 General Stilwell declared in New Delhi that 'the Burma front is . . . still the best way to get at the Japanese. The first thing to do is to go back and take Burma.' In mid-October it became known that General Wavell, Commander-in-Chief in India, had just made an inspection trip into Burma itself, where some Allied troops remained. Soon afterward British, Chinese, and American generals conferred in New Delhi. On Dec. 19 a communiqué announced that British forces had crossed from India into Burma, but warnings soon appeared that only a part of the forces in India was involved and that the action was of a limited character. The invaded area, a coastal strip leading to the port of Akyab on the Bay of Bengal, was geographically isolated from the rest of Burma. The chief problems involved in developing a major offensive were whether the United Nations had the men and supplies available, and whether India in view of its unsettled political state, would furnish a secure base for such an attack.

Burma Road.

The famous highway from southwest China into Burma was cut in February by Japanese military action. The loss of this route over which significant amounts of equipment and other materials had reached China for several years brought that country face to face with its most difficult economic situation. It was now shut off from outside supplies except for what could be brought in over the Northwest Highway from the Soviet Union or through loopholes in the Japanese blockade. At the end of the year China hoped that the small British drive toward Akyab in Burma would develop into a major offensive to retake the whole area and reopen the Burma Road.

1941: Burma

Early in 1941 the government of Burma finally approved the building of a railway from Lashio, terminus of the Burma Road, to the Chinese frontier, where it will link up with a railway from Kunming. For several years China had pressed the need for this project, designed to supplement the inadequate facilities of the Burma Road. In Yunnan, the Chinese authorities have already completed a good deal of the eastern half of their section of the railway. Surveying work on the Burma link, which is approximately 110 miles long, was scheduled to begin in October. Construction costs, estimated at £2,000,000, are to be paid by the British Government, and Burma is given an option to acquire the line at a later date. The delays already encountered make it a question as to whether this strategic railway, now very greatly needed, will be completed in time to affect the course of the Pacific war.

A preliminary Indo-Burma trade agreement, signed on April 3, marked the end of the previous free trade between Burma and India and inaugurated a system of mutual preferences. The benefits of the lower preferential duties, which constitute the essence of the scheme, are respectively confined to goods of Indian and Burmese origin. Sir Reginald Dorman Smith, Governor-designate of Burma, arrived at Rangoon on May 7; the retiring Governor was Sir Archibald Cochrane. On June 18 notes signed by Chinese and British representatives at Chungking settled a controversy over delimitation of the Burma-Yunnan frontier which had originated in 1885 when Britain occupied Upper Burma. One note defined the frontier line between Burma and Yunnan, while the other marked out an area on the Burmese side of the new line in which Chinese may participate up to 49 per cent in mining enterprises undertaken by British concerns. The Burma Defense Council, which assists the British Governor in discharging his exclusive responsibility for defense, was reconstituted on Aug. 12. Four of the eight members of the Council are Burmese, while the Premier of Burma is vice-president and the Governor is president. On Sept. 3, after wide publicity had been directed toward the tolls levied by Burma on the supplies entering China via the Burma Road, the government of Burma abolished the transit dues.

Toward the end of the year, U Saw, Premier of Burma, visited London in an effort to obtain a promise of self-government for Burma. On Nov. 3 he issued a public statement in London declaring that the result of his talks with the British authorities was 'unsatisfactory.' Two days later Mr. L. S. Amery, Secretary of State for India and Burma, made an answering statement at a luncheon given in U Saw's honor. Welcoming the Burmese Premier's 'frankness,' Mr. Amery declared that in the 'discussions which we hope will be undertaken as soon as the war is concluded we mean to go as far as we can and as fast as we can on the road to Dominion status.' To such a status, he continued, we 'cannot lightly admit outside people without full consideration of the character of their Government or the responsibilities for defense which it might involve.' The issue was aired in the House of Commons on Nov. 16, when Mr. Maxton asked 'whether any immediate steps are to be taken to establish self-government in Burma.' To this Mr. Amery replied: 'Burma already enjoys self-government in her internal affairs. While it is not practicable during the war to carry through or even to discuss effectively the further development of her Constitution, His Majesty's Government were able to give assurances of the sincerity of their declared aim of promoting Burma's attainment of Dominion Status and of their intentions in regard to the scope of the discussions, which have been promised immediately after the war is won.' The importance of Burma in the Allied defense of Southeast Asia, and also in the protection of one of the main routes of access to China, was emphasized on Dec. 28, when it was announced that Lieutenant-General T. J. Hutton, Chief of Staff to General Archibald P. Wavell's Indian Command, was detached to be general officer commanding in Burma. See also BURMA ROAD.

1940: Burma

The Burmese Cabinet (or Council) resigned en masse on Jan. 21, when the Home Minister, Mr. U Ba Pe, who had been accused of disloyalty by the Prime Minister, refused, after repeated requests, to give up his post. Another Cabinet was immediately formed without the Home Minister, and a Ministry of Judicial Affairs was created which will carry on the functions and exercise the authority formerly assigned to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Meanwhile, work was proceeding on a railway which will eventually link Rangoon, Burma's highly important port city, with the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in the Province of Szechuan in China. In the early months of the year it was estimated that there were 75,000 Chinese laborers at work on this project, which is being financed by British capital. The building of this line is one of the most important developments that has come in the relations between Britain and China as a result of the enormous losses to British trade due to the blockading of the China coast and the seizure of all China's important harbors by the Japanese in the course of the Sino-Japanese war. Burma has now become extremely important, not only as the 'back door' for China's import and export trade, but also as the eastern frontier of the British Empire on the Asiatic mainland. Strategically it is, after Singapore, considered India's next important outpost of defense.

Despite the burdens of the European war, much attention is being paid to Burma's defenses, and in 1940 more than fourteen per cent of Burma's revenue was allocated to defense purposes. Especial attention is being given to defending Burma from air attacks.

In view of the tenseness of the entire Far Eastern situation, the British Government, on June 21, gave to Sir Archibald Cochrane, Governor of the Crown Colony, the same plenipotentiary powers given the Viceroy of India, to govern the country without reference to the central authority in England. On July 4, official appreciation of Burma's unconditional offer of help during the European war was expressed by the Government, and a pledge was given of consideration of dominion status for Burma after the war had been won. This pledge was in reply to a message from the Prime Minister, Mr. Maung Pu, in which it was stated that while it was his government's policy to give the utmost help to Britain in 'the common task of making democracy triumphant,' Burma's help could not be fully effective unless the Burmese were given the same rights in respect to defense and external affairs as the other self-governing members of the Empire.

During the year, there were demonstrations throughout Burma demanding immediate and complete independence for the country from British rule. There has been much anti-British propaganda carried on in Burma, and it is generally believed that much of the agitation for immediate independence is sponsored and underwritten by a foreign power. Late in August, Dr. B. A. Maw, the former Premier, who was known as the dictator of a 'freedom bloc,' was arrested by the British authorities, on an undisclosed charge, and sentenced to a year's imprisonment. Dr. Maw had long been active in the independence movement.

Several times in the course of the year there have been serious disturbances resulting from clashes between Hindus and Moslems. The most serious began on Jan. 28 at Rangoon, during the course of a Hindu religious procession, and lasted four days. During the course of the rioting fifteen people were killed, several hundred wounded, and over six hundred persons were arrested. Another, almost equally serious disturbance occurred on April 21, as Moslems in Rangoon were preparing to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Mohammed. In this case the rioting continued three days, and was finally put down with great severity by the police who fired into the crowds and dispersed them.

During the course of the celebrations in honor of the Prophet in April the Burmese Moslems, at the request of Mr. Ali Jinnah, head of the Moslem League of India, passed resolutions approving the stand taken by the League at its convention at Lahore, India, earlier in the month, proposing that all Provinces in India and Burma having a predominantly Moslem population should be autonomous. The Burmese Moslems also backed the League's demand for self-determination and future independence.

1939: Burma

The British Crown Colony of Burma, formerly a part of British India, but separated from that country under the Government of India Act of 1935, was during 1939 torn by racial and religious quarrels, and by labor disputes.

Burma's affairs are administered by a Governor, appointed by the British Crown. He is assisted by a Council of ten Ministers, appointed by him, while legislative powers are in the hands of a Senate consisting of 36 members, some of whom are chosen by the Governor, and a House of Representatives of 132 members elected by popular vote. Under the Government of India Act, which became effective on April 1, 1937, the laws in force in India on that date were to remain in force in Burma until the new Government enacted laws of its own.

Of late years, owing to the rapid growth of nationalism in Burma, frequent riots have occurred between the Burmese Buddhist nationalists and Indian Moslems, and also between Hindus and Indian Moslems, who form a large part of Burma's population. It was because of criticism of the Government's failure adequately to curb such disturbances, that on Feb. 21 several Ministers, resigned from the Cabinet — the first one Burma had ever had. Serious disturbances among Hindus and Moslems, in which the Burmese had no part, also occurred in early March, resulting in several deaths and the wounding of hundreds of people. In Rangoon, during this month, there were continuous labor disturbances, instigated largely by Japanese agents bent on stopping traffic on the new Burma road connecting with China, and on halting work on various projects undertaken by the British and Burmese Governments to facilitate the movement of supplies entering Rangoon and destined for China's armies. During the labor riots in March, the Rangoon police fired into a mob that refused to disperse and several people were killed and a number wounded. An order was then issued by the authorities forbidding the assembling of five or more persons, and many laborers, fearing violence at the hands of inspired provocateurs, ate and slept in the shops where they were employed. The religious and racial outbreaks, as well as labor disturbances, continued throughout the entire year.

When Great Britain declared war against Germany in September India's demand for independence was echoed in Burma. When eight of the eleven Congress Party Cabinets in India resigned over the refusal of the British Government to set a definite date for the granting of Dominion status for India, the leader of Burma's largest political (Nationalist) Party, Mr. U Saw, and the Home Minister, Mr. U Ba Pe, requested the Governor, Sir Archibald Cochrane, to make a definite statement regarding Burma's future status. Sir Archibald's statement that his Government would continue 'to use its best endeavors' to promote the attainment by Burma of her 'due place' in the British Commonwealth of Nations, was declared by these two leaders to be unsatisfactory. Later, after further conference with Burmese leaders, the Governor issued a statement to the effect that Great Britain recognized that the attainment of Dominion status would be the natural goal for Burma, and said that this would come as a result of the constitutional progress that Burma herself made.

Closer cooperation between Burma and China in the matter of further transportation facilities in Burma for the Chinese Government was foreshadowed in December, when Burma's Defense Secretary and her Director General of Posts and Telegraphs visited Chungking and conferred with Chinese Government officials. For new road to China, see also CHINA: Major Arteries of Transportation.