Reviewed by Lynley Capon
As Burma appears prominently in the global news, I fear that what has happened there merely repeats the horrific events that have unfolded in that part of the world for centuries, not decades.
When earlier reviewing The Trouser People by Andrew Marshall, I mentioned the author’s parallels between events of the 1800s and the modern day. Another book, The Burma Road by Donovan Webster (2005, Pan Books, 370 pages), covers some crucial years between those times.
During the Second World War, various Allied engineers and local people built the real-life Burma Road as a means to provide China with provisions from the West in its battle against the invading Japanese. They hacked out the route over the most treacherous terrain and through dense jungle, a task deemed impossible, yet finally completed. Ironically, by then the Burma Road already had become obsolete.
Webster focuses not on details of building the road, but on happenings in Burma at the time. He considers the feats of Joseph Sitwell, a US general whose exploits read like a rollicking Wild West tale. Sitwell achieved remarkable results in his drive to oust the Japanese from Burma, but little is known about him. When considering the Allied Forces, we think of General Marshall, General McArthur and Lord Mountbatten, but Sitwell deserves accolades.
When starting The Burma Road, I anticipated a ho-hum war story. That idea proved short-lived as I dived into a tale difficult to put down. The author chronicles the horrors of the Japanese invasion of China, plus the brave and heroic actions of those who fought back against all odds. The Japanese flowed into Burma with little opposition.
When reading, I felt appalled by the violence of the fighting across the ravaged land and enthralled by heroic feats. As the Allied Forces began to drive the Japanese back, the onslaught on the invaders turned devastating. Young Japanese soldiers fought to the death, and their casualties outweighed those of the Allies by six-to-one.
Attitudes instilled in the Japanese called for them to prefer death over becoming prisoners, so many young men died at their own hands. The Allies advanced over piles of dead and decaying Japanese troops. By then, the Japanese endured starvation, lacked ammunition and wore tattered uniforms. Their defeat had turned ignominious.
Webster tells so many exciting tales linked to the main story that there’s no time for yawns. I recommend this “surprising” war story as a valuable means to become better informed about Burma and its history.
Incidentally, the famous road still exists, although it’s rough and overgrown. Andrew Marshall mentions it in The Trouser People.
Approval rating: 80 per cent
(November 2, 2007)
ARCHIVES
|
