Formally Burma, known as Myanmar today.
History
At the start of the war, the American and British commands were driven
out of Burma back to India. The nececity
to hold Burma was to allow a road to be built from India to
China, to keep supplies flowing. American aircraft flew
'The Hump' to China and engineers worked on the Burma Road,
one of the world's greatest engineering projects, that was
completed in early 1945, linking India to China by road. The
Japanese also had ambitious engineering plans in Burma, using
POW and local labor to complete their own rail Thai-Burma railroad.
At the height of the war, the Japanese had 85,000 troops in
Burma. By the end of the war, the majority had
been killed in battle and died of disease and starvation.
Oral Histories
http://www.wwiitech.net/main/usa/campaigns/burma/
Rangoon
(Yangoon)
Port city, fell to the Japanese
on March 7, 1942. Anglo-Indian
ground forces, supported by the 10th AF and RAF combat and cargo
aircraft recaptured Rangoon in May 1945
Putao (Fort Hertz)
Located in northern Burma. Location of an airstrip and radio
beacon.
Lashio
Lat 22° 55' 60N Long 97° 45' 0E Start of the road linking Burma to China, known
as the Burma Road. Also Ledo Road and Stillwell Road.
| Lashio
Airfield |
Japanese wartime airfield. Wartime photo from American, Rick Javins.
|
Indaw
Connected by rail to Myitkina. Site of landing zones White City,
Blackpool and Broadway.
Akyab Island
Akyab Island on the western
coast of Burma on the Bay of Bingal, located 90 miles south from
the India border. British forces
under
General
W.L.
Lloyd
launched
an invasion in December 1942. Meeting heavy resistance from bunker
entrenched Japanese in the Mayu Hills, halting the invasion. Lloyd
was replaced by Lomax, and by February 1943 Japanese counter-attacks,
and in March the full withdrawal
of the British.
| Akyab
Airfield |
This airfield was Japanese occupied, and liberated by the Allies. Captured at the airfield were severl Japanese aircraft, including: Ki-46-II, Ida, Ki-43 Oscar x 2, Ki-48 Lily x 2, Ki-21 Sally x 2.
|
Kangaw
Kangaw located on the western coast
of Burma, south-east of Akyab. Assaulted by amphibious landing on January
22, 1945 by British and commonwealth forces.
Mong Yu
Junction of the Ledo Road and old Burma Road, which were improved
by the Americans into the completed road streaching from Ledo
to China.
Heho Aerodrome
Meiktila Aerodrome
Amunhan
Myitkjina (Myitkyina) Airifield
Located 287 miles from Ledo, India. Caputred
by Merrial's Marauders on May 17, 1944. Six days later, on May 23,
the
Japanese
counterattecked
unsucessfully
to recapture
the strip.
| Myitkjina
Airfield |
To the north, American-trained Chinese troops and American
guerrillas under Brigadier General Frank D. Merrill, sustained
mainly by airdrops, seized the airfield at Myitkyina in northern
Burma in May 1944.
Units based at Myitkjina:
HQ 3rd CCG (C-47s) from Dinjan June 3, 1945 - ?
9 & 10th CCS (C-47s) from Warazup
& Dinjan June 3, 1945 - ?
12th CCS, 3rd CCG (C-47s)
from Ledo June 5, 1945 - ?
HQ 1st Combat Cargo Group ? - August
30, 1945 to Liuchow
|
Meiktila
Allied
troop carrier units and an AAF air commando group carried out a daring
operation far behind enemy
lines in central
Burma. Using gliders and C-47's, they landed some 9,000 British "Chindit" raiders
under Major General Orde Wingate, 1,300 pack animals, and 254 tons
of supplies and airfield construction equipment. Such long-range
penetration ground forces, supplied entirely by air, struck at
vital
enemy communications and supply lines, keeping the Japanese forces
in Burma off balance.
Mandalay
Anglo-Indian
ground forces, supported by the 10th AF and RAF combat and cargo
aircraft
captured Mandalay in March 1945 and Rangoon in May, as they drove
the remnants of the Japanese forces from Burma.
| Pegu
Airfield |
Wartime airfield.
Units based at Pegu
47th Dokuritsu Chutai (Ki-44) March - April 1942
to Japan
|
| Toungoo
Airfield |
Wartime airfield.
Units based at Pegu
8th Sentai (Ki-48) mid-1943
|
| Sungei
Patani
(Sungei
Patani I, Sungei
Patani II) |
|
|