The Forgotten War Podcast: Burma Campaign WW2

In Episode 8 Rumbles in the Jungles: Special Operations in Burma, Rob and Jack take a look at the Chindit Operation Thursday and SOE's Force 136 Operation Character. The former is one of the most famous events in the history of the war in Burma, and the other is one of the most forgotten of all.

Rob and Jack continue their overview of the Burma Campaign by turning to the Northern Combat Area Command - the NCAC - in particular 'Vinegar Joe' Stilwell's efforts to navigate the power politics of the CBI theatre between the USA, China and Britain.

Kohima: one of the big names in Second World War history. In this episode Rob and Jack look at the epic siege and the tooth and nail battle for Kohima that followed, part of the overview of the campaign that his Series 1. Including whether it was really a battle worth fighting for Sato and his men.

This week Jack and Rob continue their overview of the Burma Campaign by looking at the Battle of Imphal - a huge battle where Slim's Fourteenth Army delivered a hammer blow to the Japanese 15th Army in its invasion of India.

This week Jack and Rob finally have some good news! The first major victory by Fourteenth Army against the Japanese in Burma - the Second Arakan offensive and most famously the Battle of the Admin Box, in February 1944. The Japanese intended to distract Slim by attacking Arakan just before the invasion of India, but fell upon newly retrained troops determined to fight it out rather than retreat.

In this episode Rob and Jack discuss the sandwich year of 1943 - stuck between the defeat in 1942 and victory in 1944. Nevertheless, it was an important year, seeing the disastrous first Arakan campaign, Fourteenth Army eventually created, and Operation Longcloth.

This week Jack and Rob dive into the longest retreat in the history of the British and Indian Army, from the initial Japanese invasion, the role of Chinese troops, and the reasons for defeat. But cometh the hour, cometh the man: Slim makes his entrance!

In the final teaser before the first series of The Forgotten War Podcast, Jack describes the defence of Kohima.