ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 discusses about the strategic vulnerability of the North Eastern frontier. The focus of this chapter is to comprehend why the significance of the Indo-Burma frontier was overlooked till the final hour and why the War Cabinet in London, in particular the British prime minister Winston Churchill, chose to view the military situation in South East Asia, Burma and Assam with a naïve complacency culminating in the disastrous military debacle. The fate of British and Indian civilians in Burma and their harrowing escape to India through the uncharted mountains and valleys in a disorganized and fatal retreat are highlighted, alongside the dilemma of British officials, tasked with the insurmountable problem of transiting the evacuees in a region totally unprepared. Lastly this chapter also reveals the first assigned role of the Assam Regiment, formed in 1941 with the indigenous boys of the North East, as they push towards the dreaded Burmese jungles in reconnaissance activities.
