Japan vs Burma: The Forgotten WW2 Battle To Halt Japan’s Expansion | Forgotten Allies | War Stories

By 1942, Imperial Japan's expansion had taken them to the border of Burma, a British territory. However, what deeply concerned Britain, was the looming threat of a potential Japanese invasion of British India should they succeed in conquering Burma. This is the story of how British and Burmese troops rallied against the rising Imperial threat and how, despite their valor, the veterans of Burma were relegated to obscurity post-war. Join us in honoring these overlooked allies, shedding light on their resilience, sacrifices, and the historical context that shaped this forgotten chapter of WW2.

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[conemadam]

Oh my heart is so full!! Thank you for this lovely documentary. Those lovely people, forgotten until recently.

[draconightwalker]

There are no words that can describe just how beautiful and heartwarming this is

[ElijahBenjamin-ugop]

I hardly cry.. But by the end, I was in tears. Thank you for your service and thank you for this incredible documentary.

[MWM-djdn]

BEAUTIFUL AND VERY CHARMING DOCUMENTARY

[curiousuranus]

Thank you for this documentary and thanks to all those heros that were there in Britain's hour of need.

[Breca]

My neighbour the President of Burma Star Association First Canadian Branch Geoffrey Osborn Always told me to remember the war ended Aug 15 1945 V-J Day. *When you go home...Tell them of us and say for your tomorrow...We gave our today* I miss my old friend he was an air plane mechanic in Burma I'm looking at his picture on my wall he passed at 95 years old R.I.P. mate.

[anti-Russia-sigma]

A heartfelt thanks to those who sacrificed to make our lives better.Thanks for remembering them.

[mikesyria]

Thanks to all the Burmese men that sacrificed and died in this war they deserve to be remembered and their families should be taken care of by the British

[mohammedsaysrashid]

It was a wonderful documentary about forgotten allies ( Bormies local volunteers in the British army during WW2) . Thanks for sharing

[Grimma]

My grandad fought in burma, he came from a farming family so the thought of an exotic place was exciting to him.He arrived in calcutta thought, india was the most amazing place on earth.He said it was brutal in burma, and he was thankful for the gurkhas, they used to camp in the woods near his camp.A few times the gurkhas saved the sleeping brits.He used to keep a mongoose outside his tent to stop snakes.When he returned he said he felt after V.E day, no one cared about V.J day or the burma troops.Never really spoke about it till he was near the end. R.I.P to them.all

[karlehresmann]

😢 thank you for sharing such a touching story. As an American, I've had to learn about the campaign in Burma on my own and this broke me. Thank you for your service and sacrifice.

[ReminderHistory]

As Burma gained independence from Britain in 1948s, the ethnic groups stood to gain self-determination and freedom from government and many Karen, Kachin, and Chin fought alongside the British against Japanese forces. I have a 94-year-old grandfather who lived in Burma during World War II when he was 15 years old. Due the WW2, he joined the Karen National Liberation Army at the age of 18 and fought against the brutal Burmese regime and protected Karen territory from southern Myanmar. He used to tell us about his experiences during the war and how he followed British soldiers in his village and how he really wanted to be in the British army. A Japanese soldier came to the village or town and ran fast, he said.

[robertdelacruz]

Excellent! A new video, a new topic!

[Will-dvoy]

This documentary is probably the best I've seen.

[LanumerenLeo]

Thank you for the documentary. I'm from Nagaland where the famous battle of kohima took place during the ww2 between the British and the japanese troops, to stop the japanese from entering into India. There is also the famous kohima war cemetery where many British soldiers are buried.

[markwilkie]

My grandfather was a Chindit. He fought in the second Chindit invasion, operation Thursday, after being flown by glider into a jungle clearing named Aberdeen.
RSM George Wilkie, Black Watch Royal highland regiment, survived Burma after previously surviving the defence and subsequent evacuation of Crete and the relief and breakout of Tobruk.
He signed up at the age of 16 in 1920 for 25 years service and retired after ww2.
He died peacefully in 1977 without speaking of the war, although according to my mother was happy to talk about their life in India, where my father was schooled and my uncle was born.

[tommykaung]

As a young Burmese who also love studying WW2 history, this is a love letter to me. I was the weird kid who understand and can comprehend the history timeline in the high school while others can't. Our education system is so bad. We are taught only a page amount of content about WW2 and didn't even bother to teach the Cold War.

The Military government systematically censored about every contribution the Allied Forces did during the Burma campaign against the Japanese. So even most Burmese today don't know much about WW2. Let alone WW2 Burmese veterans.

Right now a new revolution is happening and those ethnic people and Burmese now once again pick up arms and fight against the fascist military junta.

[森田和義-ku]

Burma was a British colony.
General Aung San, who contributed to Burma's independence, established the Burma Independence Volunteer Army (BIA) with the cooperation of the Japanese military. The Japanese army also fought alongside the BIA against the British army. The Japanese army was not against the Burmese, and Japan had no grudge against the Burmese. It was a war between Britain and Japan.

[retiredyeti]

My father was one of Merrill's Marauders - he had nothing but the highest regard for the Burmese who worked and fought alongside them, in some of the worst terrain and conditions imaginable, and they succeeded in turning back the Japanese tide.

[Mizonoob]

At 18:33 there is a poster in the veteran house. The language is duhlian(which is a language spoken in Mizoram NE India) let me translate as it is my language
The above soliders belongs to members of the Chin hills battalion BFF company or Hualngo company which was formed in 1894 by British in Falam(town in burma). By 1947 most of the members went back to their home(Mizoram, India) after pension. The above person in the photo are all duhlian speakers(ie Mizo speakers in Mizoram, India). In 1950 the battalion name was changed to 3rd Chin rifle and now is known as 103Myanmar Regiment. Most of the senior officers are not known.
Note: what I can tell from here is that the team should visit Mizoram, India where many veteran will still reside. My state Mizoram has one of the highest volunteer among the Northeast indian state during ww2.