World War Two (1942-1945)

Burma was the site of some of the most important land battles of World War Two. It was also the setting for some of the most humiliating defeats the British would face during the war – it would take the combined powers of the Allied forces and the might of multiple armies to win Burma back from the Japanese. 

While the Allied forces were ultimately victorious in Burma, the country was left in ruins. The political progress of the preceding years – the attempts at constitutional reform and the path to self-governance that had been established – was in tatters and would be replaced by a militant nationalism that has dominated the country to the present day. 

The essays, stories, photographs, and battle plans included in this section explore the intersections between the global war, the military history of Burma during that time, and the local politics that emerged from the wreckage.