Vintage Military - Part 26

 WWII - India, Burma

After conquering Thailand, the Japanese advanced into the British colony of Burma (now Myanmar) in 1942.  These are some British troops in Burma.  The photo caption says: "Bath night at Sadaung, Burma. Mobile bath units provide hot water, baths and a good deal of fun for forward units on the Burmese front. Bath tubs are sliced in half oil-drums each named after a famous film actress."

British forces in Burma were routed, and the Japanese quickly took over the country.  The British needed to stop the Japanese in Burma, because India would be next.  A British attempt to re-take Burma, starting with the airfield at Akyab Island, failed in 1943.  This is a member of the 40th Photo Squadron showering at Akyab later, in 1945, after Burma had been recaptured.

When the British retreated from Burma in 1942, they abandoned the Chinese Expeditionary Force that had been sent by Chinese resistance leader Chiang Kai-shek to help the British hold back the Japanese.  Some of the Chinese managed to find their way into India, where they were put under the command of American General Stillwell.

This brief video from the National Archives shows Chinese troops who were being trained in India.

With the loss of Burma, the Burma Road was cut off.  It was a supply road from Burma to China to resupply Chinese resistance forces fighting the Japanese.  That left only one way to resupply the Chinese: flying "over the hump," i.e. over the Himalayas from India.

In 1944, LIFE magazine sent photographer Thomas MacAvoy to document the "Fireball Express to India," an air supply route that stretched all the way from Miami, Florida to India, where the supplies were then re-loaded into planes that flew over the hump.

The photo above was taken on Ascension Island, a stop on the route in the middle of the South Atlantic.  Propeller planes of that era could not travel very long distances before refueling.

The photo of a guy taking an outdoor shower on Ascension Island was actually published in the June 5, 1944 issue of LIFE (above), along with other photos taken along the route.

Meanwhile, General Stillwell was put in charge of building the Ledo Road that would go from India to China to replace the blocked Burma Road.  This April 1944 photo of road construction was taken by LIFE photographer William Vandivert.

In addition to his American troops, Stillwell had local forces to help build the road.  This April 1944 photo shows some of them.  My guess is that they were some of the Chinese troops that had retreated from Burma.

The location was not given for this May 1944 photo by Vandivert, but I think it shows some of Stillwell's American troops.

The Ledo Road gradually advanced.  In May 1944 another LIFE photographer, Bernard Hoffman, took a series of photos called "Capture of Myitkyina Airdrome," an airfield in Burma along the route.  This photo shows an American soldier giving his buddy a shampoo.

A July 1944 photo set by Bernard Hoffman called "Ledo Road" documented further progress.  Here a somewhat chubby American soldier is washing a truck.

And here's another view of the truck washing.  In all, the Ledo Road had to cross 10 major rivers and 155 secondary streams, averaging one bridge every 2.8 miles.

An American soldier in the "Ledo Road" photo set taking a tub bath.

In late 1944, the Ledo Road finally connected to a northern part of the Burma Road not held by the Japanese, allowing supplies to go to China by truck once more.  However, the air route "over the hump" was still used and actually delivered more tonnage of supplies than the Ledo Road did.

The photo above from the National WWII Museum, taken by John Tate of the 18th Veterinary Evacuation Hospital, shows servicemen under an outdoor shower in Burma or China. 

Other countries were also involved in the war in Burma.  This photo from the Australian War Memorial shows an Australian pilot getting a shower in Arakan, Burma in 1944.

We end with this great action shot from the State Library of Victoria, Australia, showing two Australian airmen in Burma in 1944-1945.