Forgotten Armies: Britains Asian Empire and the War with Japan

by Tim Harper and C.A. Bayly

Book Overview

In the early stages of the Second World War, the vast crescent of British-ruled territories stretching from India to Singapore appeared as a massive Allied asset. It provided scores of soldiers and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140293310
• ISBN13: 9780140293319
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Penguin UK
• Length: 592 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Well told story

This book is a facinating retelling of the fall of the British Raj. The authors do not spare the Allies because of the misbehavior of the Japanese. One can see the consequences of the colonial attitude to the native southeast Asians--the British really did reap what they sowed. Also the authors do an excellent job of describing the terrible position of the people of Malaysia, Burma, and India--who do you support a known and hated oppressor or the new conqueror?

The Agony of Retreat

"Forgotten Armies: The Fall of British Asia" The War in Vietnam was intensified in part because of the protests, including self-immolation, of Buddhist monks. In l963, a 67-year-old Buddhist Monk, Thich Quang Duc set himself on fire at a busy interchange in Saigon, then the capital of South Vietnam. Duc was protesting the repressive measures of the US-backed Thieu regime. For the next twelve years, Vietnam occupied the attention of four American Presidencies and cost the nation billions and 60,000 lives. Today, religious figures are protesting the repressive military regime in Burma. Burma, or "Myanmar" as its leaders prefer to call it (although the U.S refuses to recognize the name) has been under the control of military strongmen for years. Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of Aung San, a nationalist hero who was assassinated by a rival in 1947, one year before Burma gained its independence. In 1988, during a visit from the UK, where she lived with her husband, she emerged as a political opposition leader. The following year she was placed under house arrest, where she has remained, on and off, for 12 of the last 18 years. In 1991, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She is currently incarcerated in one of Burma's notorious political prisons. With international sanctions and the attention of the world's press focused on it, the former British colony and scene of one of the Second World War's most intense battles has once again come to the forefront of world politics. In their excellent history "Forgotten Armies: The Fall of British Asia 1941-1945," Christopher Bayly and Tim Harper focus on the shameful British flight from Singapore and the political and human losses in Burma, Malaysia, India, and the rest of British Southeast Asia. Drawing on a wealth of sources including letters, diaries and records from the Japanese as well as British, they paint a discouraging picture of an empire on the brink of extinction. They provide a detailed narrative of the flood of humanity...some say 600,000 strong...that was propelled through Asia by the advancing Japanese (or, in some cases, merely the rumor of the enemy) The Fall of Singapore was the nadir of the British Empire. Racism, elitism, ignorance, incompetence and plain stubbornness contributed to its demise. `From the moment the first bomb fell on Rangoon on 13 December 1941 there began an exodus from Burma of the Indian, Anglo-Indian and Anglo-Burmese population which was at the time the largest mass migration in history. By the autumn of 1942 in the region of 600,000 people had fled from Burma into India by land and sea. As many as 80,000 may have perished of disease, exhaustion, or malnutrition." (Forgotten Armies: P. 167) "Gin-swilling Sahibs" decided to destroy the Singapore compound's supply of booze before the enemy could get to it, and drank themselves silly in the process. How often the mistakes of history are repeated when politicians ignore the past. The same scourges... wa

Very detailed history of East Asia in World War II

The Fall of British Asia is one of the better analyses of how the British Empire came under strain during the course of World War II. This accurately assesses the effect that the Japanese had on the Crescent of British power and a look at what happened to the British islands of the pacific. Although many colonial groups thought the Japanese would be their key to freedom they quickly realized how wrong they were and this book does a great job of not only showing the colonial side but the British and Japanese sides as well. These authors are two of the best within the field and they deliver another winner here. This is a great introduction to what happened to East Asia during world war II and is a great place to start.

Neglected History

This is a well written, fast reading work of the British Crescent. The authors comprehensively cover the actors, the decisions and the politics during the period. This book is not about detailed battle/campaign analysis, but it does offer a number of unknown pearls of information regarding the war, people and politics in general. For those studying guerrilla and or asymetrical war it offers some strategic insight. This is an excellent book that I highly recommend.

A wonderful contirbution

Imagine British Asia on the eve of World War Two. Singapore, Burma, India. The Japanest struck swiftly and desicively, capturing Singapore in record time and sinking two of Englands greatest warships. The war as it developed in the jungles of Southeast Asia employed many fascinating characters and peoples. The Japanest claimed they were creating a 'co-prosperity' sphere where Asians would work together towards the common future. However the truth of the matter is more complicated. Despite the Japanese claim that imperialism was 'racist' the Japanese turned out to be as imperialistic and as condescending as Europeans had been, as they stripped countries of natural resources to feed their ambitions. The British employed many Indian troops and other native troops to stem the Japanese tied. Recovering from the loss of Singapore, the defeats of the Dutch in Indonesia and the threat to both India and Australia the English waged an unending guerilla war in Burma, made famous not only by 'Bridge on the river Kwai' but also by the Chindits and Orde Wingates irregulars. This is an excellent panorama, employing whit, history and stories of the characters and cultures bisected by the war. Most of all we are given a snapshot of Asia in a time of change. The war changed everything, it brought ambitions to colonized peoples, and created the circumstances of Vietnam. Seth J. Frantzman