I have a question for you pls.
It seem to me that it’s been a long time since you talked about Burma and and the supply situation in China.
Maybe i missed something. But the last i remember, the British were in full retreat in Burma. The road to supply China was cut off.
What happened next ? Is the advance of the Japanese army stopped ? If it’s the case, why they don’t push further ?
Thx everyone !
Indy, I just decided to subscribe, but I follow you since 2014. It’s been a pleasure to learn with you all those years. Keep the good work ! You and your colleague are creating the best content on Youtube !
Welcome to the Time Ghost Army. This long will give you all the details about what is happening in Burma.
The Japanese are starting to realize that they had walked into a trap when they conquered Burma. Burma is the size of the state of Texas which makes the country 73,000 square kilometers larger than the Ukraine. Burma is surrounded by high mountain ranges with only one gravel road connecting the country to China. There are only a handful of dirt oxcart trails and foot trails connecting Burma to India, China and Thailand through a few mountain passes. The majority of Burma is divided up into river valleys (Tessarim, Salween, Sittang, and Irrawaddy) with small mountain ridges dividing them. The Irrawaddy River is the equivalent of the Mississippi or Indus River basins. The vast majority of transportation of food and supplies is done in Burma through the use of the rivers, river ports, and along the shoreline of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The Japanese are already starting to run into problems with supplying their forces in Arakan Province because of the RAF raids against the coastal shipping in the Bay of Bengal. The Japanese realized that they will have difficulty supplying their forces in Burma so they will come up with a solution to that problem. Unfortunately, that solution will be in the future covered heavily by Spartacus in the War Against Humanity episodes.
The Japanese are unable at this time to advance out of Burma and continue the offensive against the Allies. The Japanese cannot attack the Chinese entrenched in the mountain passes of the Hengduan mountains which are an offshoot of the Himalayan mountains. The Japanese can’t provide enough supplies for a large enough force to attempt a frontal assault through the mountain passes. The Japanese can’t invade India at this time because the region is unable to sustain an army. The eastern areas of Assam Province that border Burma are the most undeveloped and sparsely populated regions of India. The irony is that as the Allied forces build up their strength in Assam Province, they will finally create something that can sustain an army in the area for the Japanese to occupy.
On paper, the 15th Army under General Ida consists of four infantry divisions. The reality was different in that 15th Army only has 10 infantry regiments and one tank battalion (14th Tank Regiment). The 33rd Division is the only full-strength division in the 15th Army. The 18th Division is one of the last World War 1 type square divisions left in the Imperial Japanese Army but the division was divided up before the war. The 35th Brigade Headquarters along with the 124th Infantry Regiment and supporting detachments (5,200 men) had been split off to form the Kawaguchi Brigade for the conquest of the oil fields in western Borneo. This brigade had just been defeated by the combined 1st Marine Raider and 1st Marine Parachute Battalions on Edson Ridge on Guadalcanal. The 55th Division was also divided up before the war with the Infantry Group Headquarters, 144th Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion/55th Artillery Regiment and smaller detachments (5,000 men) had been split off to form the South Seas Detachment which is fighting the Australians on the Kokoda Trail. And finally, the 56th Division was also divided up with Infantry Group Headquarters, 146th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion/56th Artillery Regiment and smaller detachments (5,000 men) had been split off to form the Sakaguchi Detachment which is occupying Java. The Japanese will not bring these forces back to full strength until the fall of 1943. The Japanese will only bring in major reinforcements during the winter of 1943-1944 due to pressure from British 14th Army and joint American-Chinese X-Ray force.
The reason that the Japanese are able to control Burma is because of the irregular militia forces created by local Burmese politicians that are collectively known as the Burmese Independence Army. When the Japanese create the puppet government for Burma, they will recruit some of these militias to create the Burmese National Army over the vehement opposition of many Japanese officers in Burma. Even at this time, the Burmese politicians in charge of these militias are starting to get disillusioned about the Japanese with their reneging of their promises for independence to Burma. They are also starting to get embittered by the treatment of the Burmese by Japanese officers and enlisted men.
It is the combination of all these factors that led to the Japanese Army being essentially stuck in Burma at this timeframe.