大象传媒

Chapter 6

At Myitnge we were given our first short rest since leaving Imphal, 5 months and hundreds of 鈥渕arching鈥� miles ago. Army boots are very tough indeed but we were constantly indenting for replacements of ones that were completely worn out. Care of men鈥檚 feet was of paramount importance and they were inspected as frequently as possible.

2nd British Division were near us and The Royal Scots, with whom I journeyed to India, honoured us by playing 鈥淩etreat鈥� on their pipes.
They sounded better than they did on board ship.

As mentioned, Mepachrine tablets to suppress malaria were taken daily. As a result, everyone, Indians, British and Gurkhas were a bright yellow colour as if jaundiced. I still remember my mother鈥檚 shock when she saw me for the first time when I arrived home. I seem to remember that we were given a supply of tablets to take for a month or so on arrival in the UK.

During our short break we enjoyed the use of mobile bath units and extra food. Europeans were given New Zealand lamb and Gurkhas and Indians received plenty of goats meat.

We then become involved in heavy fighting in the Yozon area, which we learned later, was a focal point in the Japanese plan for withdrawal from Burma. At this time too we experienced the first rains (Mango showers, as they were called). These preceded the dreaded monsoon.

19 Division was left behind to tidy up whilst the rest of the Army dashed towards Rangoon. There was plenty of tidying up to do. The enemy were everywhere.

In April we started to move South along the line of the railway. Our 98 Brigade was lorried forward leaving us to march on the track. It rained heavily and it became very difficult in the dark. The railway line crossed hundreds of streams where the sleepers were carried on girders so that they appeared to be suspended in mid-air and great care had to be taken to avoid falling through.

According to the Regimental History, on page 345, the following conversation took place between Major 鈥淏unny鈥� Burnett and Captain 鈥淎rtie鈥� Gilbert. After crossing one of the long bridge 鈥淎rtie鈥� was heard to ask 鈥淲hich are the sleepers Bunny, the dark ones or the light ones?鈥� Bunny:- 鈥淭he light ones of course鈥�. Artie:- 鈥淕ood God, I crossed that last bridge on the spaces鈥�.

鈥淏unny鈥� Burnett who stayed in the Army after the war, became a Major General.

We eventually reached Toungoo and the Division was told to clear the Mawchi Road, which runs east to the Shan Hills and the Mawchi mines. So began one of the toughest and most unpleasant battles of the whole campaign coinciding as it did with the onset of the pre-monsoon rains. The enemy intended to keep the road closed to us as it was part of the escape route to the East.

At this time, because of our lengthening lines of communication and the heavy demands from the troops dashing for Rangoon, we were reduced to half rations.

On 2 May, General Slim decided that he could not wait any longer, because the approaching Monsoon would have slowed everything down. Gurkha parachutists were dropped and a combined operation by 26 Indian Division took the Capital.

At the same time the war in Europe stopped and they celebrated V.E. day at home.

The Japs and the 14th Army fought on!

We continued to fight up the Mawchi road supported by tanks, from the Royal Deccan Horse. Mosquitos were very bad and the terrain was dreadful, very swampy and difficult off the road.

The fighting along the road continued throughout May and June 1945. We were then removed from the 鈥渞oad鈥� to take part in the 鈥淏reak-out鈥� battle. Col. MacKay was wounded again and 2 I/C Strickland took over command before handing over the Major 鈥淏ill鈥� Tee a regular soldier.

The capture of Rangoon and control of the main North/South road, meant that thousands of Japanese from the Arakan and Prome area were trapped in the Pegu Yomas, the range of hills running North, South and West of the road. Their aim was to break-out and escape East by crossing the Sittang River. Everything possible was done to make this difficult including the destruction of all craft and river boats.

The Monsoon proper had started and very unpleasant it was as torrential rain fell without break.

Although it was obvious that the end in Burma must be soon, the Japanese were still prepared to die in thousands. Many committed suicide and their wounded drowned in the flooded fields.

At this time it was decided that I had had enough and I was transferred to the Staff at Divisional headquarters as a Liaison officer. Of the 15 or so British officers who started out, Alan Davies (signals), Peter Sibree (Transport) and Bill Minto and I were the only ones who had served without any break whatsoever. In addition, because of their positions in the battalion, signals, transport and 鈥楺鈥� (Quartermaster), I was the only one of this group who mainly marched the whole way.

Divisional H.Q. for me was comparative luxury. The job of L.O. was still dangerous as it involved driving around from unit to unit with only a jeep driver and a single 鈥榞unman鈥� for company. The escaping Japs were everywhere and the risk of ambush was great.

In Divisional H.Q., officers were allocated to different messes. Care was taken to ensure that people of the same calling were not together in one mess in case of them all being wiped out by a single shell, for instance.

Divisional H.Q. area was defended by a company or two of infantry from one of the battalions. Similarly, Brigade H.Q. was defended by a platoon from one of the units.

The mess to which I was allocated included the deputy A.D.M.S. (Medical) the Divisional C of E padre and others like R.E.M.E. and Intelligence Officers.

The Army was anticipating the next big move and planning for the assault and capture of Malaya was the big subject. Troops in England who had celebrated V.E. day were apparently dreading the prospect of joining us in the East, which we found rather pleasing.

Unfortunately my luck in avoiding health problems ran out, as I become involved with a rabid Burmese Village dog. My orderly and another soldier killed the dog and unfortunately I was near enough to possibly become infected.

The two riflemen, one of whom was bitten, were given injections of 10cc for 14 days in the stomach. My dose was half this, 5cc for 7 days, also in the stomach. We were so lean and fit that the injection raised a wheal under the skin and took a long time to disappear.

As I was rather unwell from all this, the doctor decided that leave in India would be a good idea so I duly boarded a Dakota with my orderly. The seating in this kind of plane was along the sides looking inwards. On the floor of the cabin, windlassed to the deck was a medium gun barrel. It was being returned to ordnance to be examined and was, we were assured, perfectly safe.

It was quite interesting to fly over the jungle through which we had so laboriously travelled all these months. We flew to an air strip at Dum-Dum, a famous name, where in the Indian Mutiny, the mutineers manufactured Dum-Dum bullets, which every soldier knows were pretty awful things.

When we landed, we burst a tyre and finished up in a drainage ditch at a nasty angle. The gun barrel broke loose from its lashings and again my luck held. It injured the legs of the people sitting opposite.

There was a hectic scramble to get the wounded off the plane and it was some time before someone realised that quite a lot of people were smoking and aviation fuel from the plane was everywhere.

It was wonderful to return to Bakloh and we were given a very pleasant but all too short leave before returning to Calcutta and a plane back to Burma.

In Calcutta, people were dying in the streets from starvation.

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