THE END OF EMPIRES
The defeat of the British, Indian and Australian forces in Malaya (Malaysia) and Singapore by the Imperial Japanese Army in February 1942 foreshadowed the eventual end of the British Empire in South East and South Asia. The invading Japanese forces of two divisions (reinforced later by the Guards Division), crushed the defending Indian corps of two divisions, one Australian division and the very unlucky British 18th Division, who practically embarked straight away into prisoner of war camps and endured the very harsh conditions of the camps on the Burma-Thailand Railway. The subsequent loss of prestige of the British Empire permeated across Asia, as the defeat’s ramifications perceivably included the eventual end of the Indian Army as the protector of British rule in South East and South Asia.
Like the Fall of Singapore – which was the largest surrender in British military history – the equally disastrous retreat from Burma (Myanmar) went down in history as the longest. The Japanese forces had invaded to protect the advances in South East Asia as well as to prevent American supplies getting to China over the Himalayas. The Japanese defeated the defending British, Indian and Chinese armed forces. The real problem was the rapid expansion of the Indian Army (who made up the majority of the defending troops) both in Burma and Malaya as well as the lack of training, particularly for jungle warfare, prior to the Japanese invasion. The expanded Allied forces were under-equipped, under-trained and the long retreat became inevitable.
The next encounter with the Japanese in the Burma campaign was even more disastrous. The ill-fated First Arakan campaign was undertaken with under-trained and demoralised troops presided over by an inefficient command structure. Morale was
