On 13-14 February 1945, 79-years ago this month the 7th Indian Division commanded by Major General Geoffrey Evans secured crossings over the Irrawaddy at Pakkoku and Nyaung-U/Bagan. The northern crossing (Pakkoku) was designed to allow Punch Cowan's 17th Indian Division, and the Sherman tanks of 255 Indian Tank Brigade, to race across country to seize Meiktila. The southern ones, at Nyaung-U and Bagan (a few miles to the south still), were designed to prevent the enemy from interfering with the operations against Meiktila, and to make him believe that securing the Irrawaddy as a route to Rangoon - and not Meiktila - was Slim's primary objective. In 2005, for the 60th anniversary of the Irrawaddy crossings, I was privileged to walk the battlefield with three veterans of these crossings, John Chiles (Probyn's Horse), Manny Curtis (South Lancashire Regiment) and Bert Wilkins (RA, in support of the South Lancs). During that trip we travelled along the Irrawaddy from Bagan, anxiously scouring the maps in the South Lancs' War Diary searching for B4 beach, where on the early morning of 14 February 1945 two hundred men of 2nd Battalion South Lancashire Regiment had rowed silently across the river to form the vanguard of the 7th Indian Division beachhead. I remember vividly the excitement as we found B4 - it was much easier than I had thought - disembarked from the boat and climbed to the top of the cliffs to find old trenches from the battle. It was an emotional event for the veterans as they recalled the battle and found trenches left by the defenders decades before.
Sean, what an amazing story! I’ve read it out this morning to some of my friends here in Myanmar. absolutely fascinating. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Very interesting article about an often-ignored theater. My wife’s grandfather, Dr. B.S. Joshi, graduated from university (where he was a classmate and good friend of Ne Win) and medical school in Rangoon. When the Japanese invaded, he walked to India just days ahead of them with his wife and infant daughter (my wife’s aunt, the actress Indira Joshi) in tow. After putting them safely in Jullundur (or is it Jallander) near Amritsar, he ended up as an officer and doctor in the Indian British Army and served somewhere out there near or on the front lines. The only story I have heard about that time was the one in which he removed a soldier’s appendix by the light of a Jeep’s headlights. I wish we knew more about his military service, but he died in 2009 at a ripe old age. We are reasonably certain that he was a survivor of, and lost his father at, Jalliawala Bagh, which is how he ended up in Burma, as his mother took him there to his uncle’s home. After the war, he had a distinguished career in the Burma medical service as a Civil Surgeon, before retiring and settling in Dehradun in the 60’s, where he helped found ONGC Hospital. When Ne Win made a state visit to India, the Indian Government asked if there was anything in particular he wanted to see or do during his visit. Ne Win’s response was to ask if the Indian Goverment could find his old pal, Dr. Joshi. We have a photo of the Joshi family with Ne Win and his wife. Joshi liked Ne Win, but didn’t like his politics, which is why he wanted to get his family out of Burma. When I was talking to him once about his university days in Rangoon, I asked him what Ne Win studied there. His answer was a forceful “NOTHING!” Apparently, Ne Win was a poor student.
" Forcing the INA to surrender" is not necessarily a happy memory for many Indians in general and Bengalis in particular....but thank you for the post. Have you read Deepti Navals childhood memoir which has a very poignant chapter on the exodus of some of her family from Burma? It's very sad... especially the differential treatment meted out to Indians in the routes...
Sean, you can email them to me. I’d love to see them
Sean, what an amazing story! I’ve read it out this morning to some of my friends here in Myanmar. absolutely fascinating. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Very interesting article about an often-ignored theater. My wife’s grandfather, Dr. B.S. Joshi, graduated from university (where he was a classmate and good friend of Ne Win) and medical school in Rangoon. When the Japanese invaded, he walked to India just days ahead of them with his wife and infant daughter (my wife’s aunt, the actress Indira Joshi) in tow. After putting them safely in Jullundur (or is it Jallander) near Amritsar, he ended up as an officer and doctor in the Indian British Army and served somewhere out there near or on the front lines. The only story I have heard about that time was the one in which he removed a soldier’s appendix by the light of a Jeep’s headlights. I wish we knew more about his military service, but he died in 2009 at a ripe old age. We are reasonably certain that he was a survivor of, and lost his father at, Jalliawala Bagh, which is how he ended up in Burma, as his mother took him there to his uncle’s home. After the war, he had a distinguished career in the Burma medical service as a Civil Surgeon, before retiring and settling in Dehradun in the 60’s, where he helped found ONGC Hospital. When Ne Win made a state visit to India, the Indian Government asked if there was anything in particular he wanted to see or do during his visit. Ne Win’s response was to ask if the Indian Goverment could find his old pal, Dr. Joshi. We have a photo of the Joshi family with Ne Win and his wife. Joshi liked Ne Win, but didn’t like his politics, which is why he wanted to get his family out of Burma. When I was talking to him once about his university days in Rangoon, I asked him what Ne Win studied there. His answer was a forceful “NOTHING!” Apparently, Ne Win was a poor student.
Sean Maloney
" Forcing the INA to surrender" is not necessarily a happy memory for many Indians in general and Bengalis in particular....but thank you for the post. Have you read Deepti Navals childhood memoir which has a very poignant chapter on the exodus of some of her family from Burma? It's very sad... especially the differential treatment meted out to Indians in the routes...