The Burma Campaign
Burma. A country full of turmoil and years of history. Burma is known for many military
excursions, battles, and hard-hitting stories. One of those many stories is The Burma Campaign. Great Britain had multiple colonies in Burma during the war. All was going well until Japan discovered the British stronghold. Japan’s goal was to capture Rangoon, the capital of Burma, and the biggest seaport in the country, used by the British Navy. Japan took 3 nations from The Axis Powers to help them take the British colony: Burma, Thailand, and Azad Hind (Free India). The Japanese sent the Burmans in first to break down the front line and do the “dirty work”. Thailand and Azad Hind followed shortly behind, and Finally Japan. Burma was sent into a whirlwind of destruction. Political disaster, civilian deaths, and decimation of cities and and the seaport. Britain did not receive very much help from their homeland, but were assisted by brave Canadians who were sent overseas to protect other Allied Forces Countries. There were roughly 400,000 troops for the Axis Forces, and roughly 300,000 troops for the Allied Forces (over the span of 3 years). Within those numbers, there were roughly 8,000 Canadian soldiers fighting for the Allies. The Canadians became revered for their bravery, skill in battle, and selfless sacrifice. Disease and conditions also had a big role in the war, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives due to multiple diseases and terrible extreme weather. The Allies were held up during the first few skirmishes and attacks, because Allied leaders from different nations all had different defense plans. This was a big setback, because the leaders could not agree. When they finally did, there had already been a lot of damage to the British colonies, resulting in lots of deaths that otherwise would not have happened. The total death toll for this 3 year campaign were 210,000 dead for the Axis Powers, and 207,000 dead for the Allied powers. Burma was left a wasteland after World War 2. Government left in shreds, cities and towns left burned, blown up, and empty, and thousands of dead civilians. The Burma campaign was a complete slaughter, and for almost no reason. Japan didn’t really need to invade Burma, because the British were simply using it as a stronghold. It was ultimately a slaughter, an absolute disaster, and a waste of human life. To this day, there are thousands of Canadian graves in Burma, and there is an undeniable air about that place. Memories of the horrors of war, that no human should ever have to experience. The Burma Campaign is yet another example from both World Wars that Canadians are persistent, brave, skilled, and willing to give everything to help other countries and each other. The Burma Campaign ended in 1945, with an outcome of Allied victory. But, as with almost any victory, there was great sacrifice. Almost 500,000 deaths, and the destruction of a country. The Allies and Canadians never gave up, and eventually gained a triumph that would end up playing a big role in World War 2. |
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burma campaign veteran:
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Charles Ferguson Hoey was like any other kid from Vancouver Island. He
lived an average childhood, playing sports, playing with friends, going to school, just like everybody else did. He was born on March 29th 1914 in Duncan, BC, to Ferguson and Mary Hoey. He first attended Queen Margaret’s School, and later attended Duncan High School. After graduating, Charles departed for England to pursue military work at the Royal Military College. He graduated in 1936, and became a second lieutenant the Lincolnshire Regiment. A few years later he switched battalions, and was sent to India in 1937. He served there for 5 years then was transferred to Burma, right at the start of the Burma campaign. By this time, he was ranked as a major. During a raid in 1944, the British and Canadians were being badly beaten and losing many men due to the Japanese machine gun fire. Major Hoey was undaunted by the gunfire, and kept pushing his company forward, until he was almost the last one left. He was shot in the leg and the head by the machine guns, he kept pushing onward alone. As he was running out of ammunition, he picked up a Bren gun, which was a light machine gun that carried lots of ammunition. His company actually had trouble keeping up with him, despite his heavy gunshot wounds, As he stumbled forward, he came upon a Japanese hold, which he destroyed with his machine gun, as well as killing all the Japanese soldiers in and around the small fort. His company captured the target, but Major Hoey was too wounded to go on living. He died the 16th of February, 1944, at the age of 29. He was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for soldiers, for his relentless effort and disregard of personal safety. He is buried in the Tuakkyan Cemetery in Burma. A few years later, the city of Duncan named the Charles Hoey Memorial Park after him for his bravery and dedication to his country. WC
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