The Burma Campaign
Disaster Into Triumph, 1942 – 45
-
-
4.0 • 3 Ratings
-
-
- $11.99
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
This history reveals the failures and fortunes of leadership during the WWII campaign into Japanese-occupied Burma: "a thoroughly satisfying experience" (Kirkus).
Acclaimed historian Frank McLynn tells the story of four larger-than-life Allied commanders whose lives collided in the Burma campaign, one of the most punishing and protracted military adventures of World War II. This vivid account ranges from Britain's defeat in 1942 through the crucial battles of Imphal and Kohima—known as "the Stalingrad of the East"—and on to ultimate victory in 1945.
Frank McLynn narrative focuses on the interactions and antagonisms of its principal players: William Slim, the brilliant general; Orde Wingate, the idiosyncratic commander of a British force of irregulars; Louis Mountbatten, one of Churchill's favorites, overpromoted to the position of Supreme Commander, S.E. Asia; and Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, a hard-line—and openly anlgophobic—U.S. general. With lively portraits of each of these men, McLynn shows how the plans and strategies of generals and politicians were translated into a hideous reality for soldiers on the ground.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
To honor the one million Burmese who perished in WWII, historian McLynn (Captain Cook) offers a meticulously researched account of the struggle between Japan and the Allied forces in Burma, the present-day Myanmar. Opening with a description of the geographically diverse nation and its impressive wildlife, McLynn focuses on the four Allied leaders who ultimately led the troops to victory. Providing comic relief are excerpts from the diary of U.S. General Joseph ("Vinegar Joe") Stilwell, a West Point alumnus with a facility for languages who slams the colonialist "Limeys" as well as Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. McLynn considers Stilwell a modern Musketeer along with his British colleagues General William Slim and Orde Wingate, commander of the Chindits, or the Indian Infantry Brigade. He casts the uncle of Prince Philip, Louis Mountbatten (whom Churchill appointed Supreme Commander of Southeast Asia in 1943), in the role of d'Artagnan. Although Burma earned its independence in 1948, McLynn laments the despotic regime that has ruled in the postwar years. Maps help the reader to locate remote battle sites, and a section of photos provides a break from the action.
