ABSTRACT
The war in Burma was a long, difficult, complex, and bitter struggle: intense, ferocious, and conducted under the most strenuous and debilitating conditions. It was fought by men of a variety of races, colors, and creeds, all mixed together in a patternless military quilt. Also fighting in Burma, normally under separate command, were Chinese and Americans, along with British, American, Australian, and Canadian airmen. Slim and Fraser came to Burma with very different levels of exposure to military life. During the winter of 1942–43, the Japanese rudely defeated British efforts to retake the Arakan, Burma's westernmost coastal region along the Bay of Bengal. A new offensive was planned with Stilwell's American-supported Chinese forces attacking from the north and British-Indian units driving into central Burma and the Arakan. The plan worked brilliantly. Slim's is based on a short narrative he wrote while in Burma, together with a "skeleton diary," a few documents, and his own memory.
