Burma: The Longest War 1941-1945

"Wow... what a fantastic narrative. This is definitely one of the best narratives from WWII and certainly maybe the last word on the Burma Campaign. Here is where the Anglo-Indian army takes on the Japanese main force of 300,000 soldiers and over the span 4 years, including a decisive year-long campaign, destroys Japanese armed power in SE Asia.This book should be recommended to anyone with a taste for good historical narratives sheer adventure and a lesson on how to write good narratives. Allen was one of the few British authors who speaks and reads Japanese fluently and also who faught in the campaign. He has been the guest of numerous Japanese veterans organisations and over many drinks, late into the night he interviewed these soldiers as to their interpretation of crucial events of the campaign. His results are truly astounding -- Mutaguchi for example, did not know the extent or the purpose of the initial Chindit operation -- but it had the unintended effect of convincing him that Japanese forces could penetrate long distances in jungle with meagre to non-existent supply lines, thus prompting him to push the Imphal Campaign up the chain of command until he eventually got his way and ended up destroying more Japanese soldiers than in any other battle of WWII.Apparently the collapse of the Sittang River British isolating the better part of a British Division, was not known by the Japanese at the time or even after the war. This analysis from the Japanese side provides real human faces to both sides in this conflict and explains the motivations of both forces in a way rarely seen in most Far-east War and Pacific narratives. It is also an appreciation of the smartness and capability of the Japanese infantryman conveyed by a person who actually faught them. This stands in contrast to the appalling command the Japanese army put up with in this theatre. Mutaguchi was the bete noir of the piece, but the incompetence extended to staff and divisional commanders - who were either too passive in gaining their objectives, or truly fanatical to the point of gross negligence. There were of course a lot of exceptions and sympathetic commanders are named and usually sacked by Mutaguchi until he was mercifully released from command and sent back to teach in Japan.The politics of the region and the role of the Indian National Army is described. It's actions being rather tragically employed in the battle and destroyed rather easily, ironically by their Indian brothers in the Indo-British Army.Allan's Japanese translations are perfect and this book is as critical of the British as of the Japanese. It is a wonderful narrative or a very long and large campaign in horrific geographical dimensions that is now sadly... mostly "forgotten."

Louis Allen, who was there, has captured the completeness of the longest war, the three year non-stop struggle for Burma, magnificently. This largely forgotten war, which saved the Indian sub-continent from Japanese dominance, has been well described, mostly in fragments, based on their personal experiences, by several authors but none has undertaken a complete description that encompasses both the Allied and the Japanese perspectives and Allen's work does this brilliantly. Based on many interviews with both Allied and Japanese personnel this book captures the struggle from the initial defeat through the retreat into India to the final overthrow of the Japanese military in this large, often beautiful, and unfortunately, today mostly closed ,country. Fought over widely varied terrain and with a savagery akin to that of the German-Russian experience this book is a tribute to the bravery of military personnel from a wide variety of backgrounds. On the Allied side soldiers from Britain, China, America, India, Nepal ( Goorkas), East and West Africa and Burma were motivated by excellent leadership to stop and then defeat the Japanese. Interestingly it was to prove to be both the proudest moment and the swansong of the world's largest volunteer army---the British Indian Army. In the Burmese campaigns this army, with its mixture of races and religions form today's India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Burma truly came into its own only to be broken up two year later. One must not forget the part played by the logistics services. Both the Allied and the Japanese forces were low in priority for equipment and at the end of a long supply chain. Much of the Allied success was due to a superior supply capability, and in particular, the concept of aerial supply was perfected in the ejection of the Japanese army from Burma. This book is an excellent read for any student of military history if only to ensure that we never forget the Kohima Memorial inscription. "When you go home, Tell them of us and say. For your tomorrow We gave our today."

Book arrived on time and correctly described.

This is surely the ultimate book on this frequently forgotten phase of WW2. Possibly not as much fun to read as MacDonald Fraser's "Quartered Safe Out " -an account of his year or so as an NCO during the latter part of the campaign, but exceedingly well documented and comprehensive. It looks at the war from all sides with contributions from both Ally and Axis. Having recently returned from Burma I found it especially interesting.

Wow! What a read. Excellent history of a very brutal war. This goes past all the individual stories such as Wingate, the Battle at the Tennis court, the various legendary incursions into the impenetrable jungle. This was war at it's worst for both sides and it is a read not for the weak of heart. The writer holds nothing back. It's my kind of war history. Read it!

Outstanding, this along with Slim's account are the gold standard for the Burma campaign

concur. hard to see it surpassed, due to author's empathy and knowledge of both Japanese and English. A. goes into post-war period in depth and detail, with a chapter on literature (and another on sex). a difficult campaign to follow. Useful for Americans as ignores U.S. and its interests, other than anti-colonial (reversed, alas, in Truman era). Stillwell does not get a good press. fills up an important gap. Big loser: Burma. Winner: none, although good for Indian army.

the book is overloaded with irrelevant material and anecdotes and lacks solid analysis.the worst part is that he whitewashes British Indian fatal casualties in the decisive Burma battles at Kohima etc.what we see is a book which does not even tell us how many were killed in the most decisive battles in Imphal Kohima ?

Any person who wishes to understand the nature and context of the Allied campaign in Burma from its beginning in 1941 until the end of the war in August 1945 should obtain a copy of this book. It remains one of the key works on this subject. Louis ALLEN had undertaken excellent research when writing this book. This includes interviews with Japanese participants in the campaign. ALLEN was an intelligence officer and speaks Japanese, so was well placed to do so.This leads to a balanced, well written account of the campaign. It is well supported by maps and pictures.Seriously well recommended.

Item arrived in excellent condition . Thanks

This book is a very detailed account of the War in Burma, not a campaign but the entire war that lasted from December 1941 to the end of the war. Everything worthy of note is contained in the book and with a number of personal accounts that make the conflict and suffering more alive to the reader. If you want to know everything about the war in Burma then this is the book.Its presentation isn't perfect however, especially to an average reader and the book is long. Plenty of maps are provided but these are a bit complex compared to modern books.I cannot say I enjoyed the book overly much, but it is very detailed and the personal accounts bring the book to life and break up what would otherwise be a dry scholarly book.Recommended for any readers truely interested in the Burma War, but not for a casual war history reader.