Burma

[Guest]

Does anyone know where i can get information on the war in Burma? I'm looking for info about the fighting out there, and pictures and info on the subject so when i get some experience under my belt i can build a dio around it.

Cheers.

[spanner570]

Does anyone know where i can get information on the war in Burma? I'm looking for info about the fighting out there, and pictures and info on the subject so when i get some experience under my belt i can build a dio around it. Cheers.

Good to see you are going to have a go at a dio. Sniper....Bit familiar I know, but ow's about a name 'cos we don't want to be typing in Snipersunset all the time!

A good start would be Google images. I use this a great deal for reference purposes, even You Tube might be worth a try....

Remember, we all need answers to questions, so no matter how often, fire away, and someone here is sure to have the answer.

All the best with your project.

Ron

[Guest]

I don't know a lot about the fighting in the Far East but there were the Chindits, a British 'SAS' type force that had great success using guerilla tactics against the Japanese. Other than that, it was mainly about how the Japanese fought from well dug-in prepared sites. There's also the crossing of the Irrawaddy river in early 1945 that I think was a terrible, bloody campaign for both sides with great loss of lives.

Patrick

[spanner570]

My late father fought in Burma and Malaya during WW2. he was in the R.A.F Regiment. Their job was to consolidate airfields and 'deal' with any pockets of Japanese resistance...My dad never spoke of what went on, except once. I would like to share the story with you.

At one particular airfield mopping up was going on and about a dozen Japanese soldiers had been captured. My father was given the task of guarding them and to make it easier he ordered them all into a perimeter trench.

In this trench were a few 40gall oil drums. After a short time my father's C.O. came over and ordered my dad to get the prisoners to remove the oil drums from the trench, they refused......"Too heavy!" they mimed

My dad pointed his sten gun at them, still they refused. So laying down his weapon, my dad leapt into the trench and grabbed one of the oil drums and threw it out of the trench single handed!!

After seeing this amazing feat of strength from their enemy the prisoners set to with a will and struggled with the drums out of the trench.

It was only then that my dad noticed a solitary prisoner kneeling in the bottom of the trench, grabbing his sten my dad flung himself in to confront the man. Thinking he was about to be shot the prisoner started to cry and brought out photos of his wife and children to show my dad.

My dad put his gun down, sat by the man and took out photos of his own family and cried also...

Two hard, fighting men miles from home sitting side by side in a muddy trench sharing photos and crying. The futility of war, eh!

The oil drum my dad threw out of the trench to frighten the prisoners? It was the only one that was empty, but only my dad knew that!!

Thanks for bearing with me, perhaps your diorama could be based on consolidating airfields. That would be nice.

Ron

[Guest]

Does anyone know where i can get information on the war in Burma? I'm looking for info about the fighting out there, and pictures and info on the subject so when i get some experience under my belt i can build a dio around it. Cheers.

Hi sniper try looking up the battle of the admin box in google that should give you a lot of history about that particular bloody battle, hope this helps

scott:strong:

[Guest]

Thanks for the help guys.

The reason i asked about Burma is that is where my Grandfather fought and he would never speak about it.

Thanks for the story Ron, as you said if that doesn't show the futility of wars i don't know what does!

Is there ant way i can find out what regiment he was in and where he fought over there? Sorry this is going off topic and nothing to do with the forum, but it seems like a place where some of you guys may know which way to point me

Cheers

Wayne

[spanner570]

Wayne,we are a bit off thread, but if we are quick no one will notice...

I have just typed in 'British soldiers in Burma' and quite a few sites came up dedicated to the subject.

Might make a good starting point.

Ron

[Guest]

Wayne,we are a bit off thread, but if we are quick no one will notice...I have just typed in 'British soldiers in Burma' and quite a few sites came up dedicated to the subject.

Might make a good starting point.

Ron

I tried that but couldn't seem to find much on what i needed, but i'll have another and better nose about. Thanks for the help.

Wayne

[Guest]

I put a lot of research into the Burma theater for one of my artworks (see it, down there). It's a very large area with a large variety of different landscapes - of course - but the lowlands where many of the airfield were located tended to be wet and replete with the kind of rice farming typical of the region.

I still have several photographs that I used as references for the Ki-61 "Tony" piece if you're interested. Palm trees, rice patties, lots of water. That's lower Burma.

- Ron Cole

http://www.ColesAircraft.com

[Guest]

Thanks for the info coles, if you've got some photos you can post i'd appreciate it.

Nice art aswell

Cheers

Wayne