Luto, James The Race to Rangoon

A Commander's Account of the Battle for Burma, 1944-1945

It was a chance encounter, a conversation between holidaymakers abroad. As is inevitable in such conversations between people of a certain age, the topic of children came up. One of them said that his son was a military historian specialising in the 14th Army often referred to as the forgotten army. The other said that her late father had been a senior officer in this forgotten army. She had kept all his papers; would the other man's son be interested in them? These papers included maps, diagrams and orders compiled by Brigadier Charles Ian Jerrard. During the re-invasion of Burma in 1944, Jerrard commanded the 98th Brigade, a formation that took part in the great battles in which the 14th Army crossed the Chindwin and Irrawaddy rivers, captured Mandalay in fierce close combat and finally drove the Japanese out of Burma. On 6 October 1944, Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Commander of the Allies in Southeast Asia, arrived in Janori, India, to inspect all units of the 98th Brigade. On the eve of the 98th Brigade's departure for the theatre of operations in Burma, Mountbatten concluded his address to the troops with the following words: The Japanese have one great advantage ... their greatest joy is to die for their country. It is up to you to ensure that you give them all the joy they can have. With these words ringing in their ears, Brigadier Jerrard and the men of his 98th Brigade concentrated their efforts in the Imphal area in early November 1944. The 98th Brigade went to war and set out to pursue the Japanese. The goal was to drive them out of Burma. The most remarkable document found in Jerrard's papers was his personal account of these significant operations and battles. Told from the perspective of a front-line commander, this highly detailed and compelling narrative offers the reader a unique insight into one of the most important campaigns of the Second World War. This story is presented by James Luto in this book. These seven dramatic months of continuous combat are recounted in detail through a unique war story compiled in 1946.