ABSTRACT
The victorious British Commonwealth troops serving in ALFSEA – predominantly drawn from the Indian Army – had by May 1945, 3 years and 6 months experience of waging war against the IJA in Burma. A remarkable transformation had occurred in its combat effectiveness since December 1941, with 14th Army and 15th Indian Corps now markedly different in appearance, combat experience, fighting skills and morale and very differently organised, equipped and trained, 1 Although until the end of hostilities it remained primarily an infantryman’s war, by mid-1945 British forces in the Far East massively outclassed the Japanese in aircraft, tanks, artillery pieces and MT that they had learnt by trial and error to employ effectively in the jungle and devastatingly in open terrain. A combination of the oldest and newest forms of transportation – the surefooted, hardy and dependable pack mule and transport aircraft – gave it mobility far in excess of 1941–42 and considerable tactical and strategic flexibility. Indeed, the interdependence of land and air power – in terms of close air support, transportation and supply – had been fully demonstrated in Burma during 1944–45, with the closest integration between the services achieved perhaps in any theatre of war. Indeed, Operation EXTENDED CAPITAL’S success had hinged on work carried out by British and US transport squadrons in supplying and transporting troops. 2 As Air Vice Marshal Sir Keith Park later observed without exaggeration: ‘It was in fact a decisive factor of the land campaign … the air supply operations in Burma will probably rank as one if not the greatest of air supply achievements in this war.’ 3 Fears 14th Army would be too jungle bound, moreover, had proved ill-founded. A combination of its professionalism, flexibility and high pitch of overall training, moreover, had enabled its divisions to quickly and successfully adopt fighting methods completely at variance with those for jungle fighting in the open plains of Burma. 4 It is difficult to disagree with Williamson Murray’s assessment that the British forces in Burma by 1945 were ‘among the most effective units deployed by Great Britain in the Second World War’. 5
