Far East War 1941 ~ 1946

Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour, Hawaii

On 7th December 1941, Japan launched a surprise air attack on the American Fleet at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. The war in Europe had been raging for over two years, America was not actively involved in any war at this moment, although the British had asked America for their assistance. They were however supporting Britain with the supplies she needed.

Immediately the Japanese Army began a swift conquest of South East Asia. The capture of the British colonies of Hong Kong, Burma, Malaya and Singapore came as shocking news. Within 6 months the Japanese Empire stretched from the borders of India, to Australia, and deep into the mid-Pacific. There was now a Global War.

Japan had begun the war in order to seize the countries with the oil, rice and rubber she so desperately needed. Japan gambled that Britain, France and Holland could not defend the Far East colonies while they were at war with Germany. America, Japan's only other rival, would be knocked out at Pearl Harbour. This gamble failed.

The Japanese boasted 5 million worriors

The Japanese Armed Forces was recognised as a formidable enemy. Totalling 5 million men, they were disciplined, tough and generally well led. The Army followed a code of conduct called "BUSHIDO" which upheld the virtues of man to man combat and insisted that soldiers should die rather than surrender.

Following the Japanese conquests in 1941-1942 British, Commonwealth and American forces began a campaign to liberate Burma, the Phillipines, New Guinea and key Pacific islands. The campaign involved opposed landings and fierce jungle fighting.

Royal Marines from ship's detachments, in Force Viper, a sabotage group were actively raiding all along the Irrawaddy River, Burma in 1942. They destroyed millions of gallons of fuel and hundreds of tons of stores before the Japanese arrived.

The Japanese did not live up to their reputation

The battle of Kohima was the turning of the Burma Campaign because it stopped the Japanese advance on India, and inflicted such a defeat that thereafter the Japanese were always on the defensive.

While the British and Indian Armies fought their way through the centre of Burma. Commandos were making landings along the coast to cut off the Japanese retreat. At Kangaw, for example, Royal Marine and Army Commandos fought a tough battle to hold jungle-clad hills against repeated fanatical counter-attacks.

The campaign in Burma was characterized by the hostile Tropical conditions where, initially, there were 100 casualties from disease for every battle casualty. The same applied to the Japanese forces, but probably on a greater scale, because they did not have the medical back-up reqired.

The Japanese were seen as a formidable enemy preferring to die rather than be captured. But the Commandos found the Japanese soldiers in Burma to be mainly peasants in uniform, and they were no match when it camed to hand to hand fighting. They quickly realised they were out-classed by the battle hardened Commandos, and like the Germans they disliked the cold steel of the Commandos bayonets between their ribs.

Counter-attacking the Commandos ceased

When the Japenese realised they were fighting Commandos they would no longer enter into counter-attacking, preferring only to defend their positions. The fire discipline of the Commandos was so good, they would wait until they could see the whites of their enemies eyes before they opened fire. Making sure they killed a greater number of enemy, who in many cases had used all of the ammunition in their rifles at that point.

Compared to the British the Japanese equipment was of inferior quality. Their bullets often could not pierce the British webbing they carried their pouches on.

With the emphasis on D-Day and the war in Europe, the British Army felt that with the shortage of war supplies, and the lack of public attention to Burma, the soldiers there, felt they were "The Forgotten Army".

Not so the Commandos, for they were all volunteers for hostilities, no matter what the conditions were. They never complained they just got on with the job in hand with what was available as best they could.

Prisoners of War

At the beginning of this war, the Japanese soldier believed that to surrender or to be captured was the worst thing a soldier could possibly do.

But by the end many Japanese soldiers had surrendered. However, because of their belief they treated the Allied POWs with contempt and treated them extremely harshly. Thousands were worked to death, starved, given no medical treatment, frequently beaten and sometimes just killed.

There were many prisoners of war camps throughout South East Asia. Probably the largest being Changi Prison, in Singapore but some prisoners were sent to Japan, others were sent to build the infamous Burma to Siam Railway, over the River Kawi. This was known as the "death railway" because 15,000 POWs and 4 out of every 5 Chinese labourers sent to the railway died building it.

Far East War

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