Burma Independence Army
Burma Independence Army | |
---|---|
ဗမာ့လွတ်လပ်ရေးတပ်မတော် | |
Active | 28 December 1941 – September 1945 |
Country | ![]() |
Allegiance | ![]() ![]() |
Role | Regular army (until 19 August 1945), partisan army |
Size | ~11,000–15,000 soldiers |
Engagements | World War II
|
Commanders | |
Head of State | Ba Maw |
Minister of Defence | Aung San |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Aung_San%2C_1943.jpg/220px-Aung_San%2C_1943.jpg)
The Burma Independence Army (BIA)
After secret contact with the British during 1944, on 27 March 1945, the BNA revolted against the Japanese. The army received recognition as an ally from Supreme Allied Commander, Lord Mountbatten, who needed their assistance against retreating Japanese forces and to ease the strain between the army's leadership and the British. As part of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League, the BNA was re-labelled the Patriotic Burmese Forces (PBF) during a joint Allied–Burmese victory parade in Rangoon on 23 June 1945.[1] Following the war, after tense negotiations, it was decided that the PBF would be integrated into a new Burma Army under British control, but many veterans would continue under old leadership in the paramilitary People's Volunteer Organisation (PVO) in the unstable situation of post-war Burma.[1][2]
Background of Burma
Future changes to Burma included the establishment of land titles, payment of taxes to the British, records of births and deaths and the introduction of census that included personal information, including information pertaining to jobs and religion.[5] The census was especially hard on Burmese identity due to the variation of names and the habit of villagers to move between various families. These traditions were very different from Western culture and not compatible with the British imposed census. British insistence upon western medicine and inoculation was particularly distasteful to native residents of Burma. These changes led to a greater distrust of the British and in turn harsher mandates as they became aware of Burmese resistance.
A major issue in the early 1900s was land alienation by Indian Chettiar moneylenders who were taking advantage of the economic situation in the villages.[4] At the same time, thousands of Indian labourers migrated to Burma and, because of their willingness to work for less money, quickly displaced Burmese farmers, who instead began to take part in crime. All this, combined with Burma's exclusion from British proposals for limited self-government in Indian provinces (of which Burma was part of at the time), led to one of the earliest political nationalist groups, the General Council of Burmese Associations, who had split off from the apolitical Young Men's Buddhist Association.[6] Foreign goods were boycotted and the association set up village courts and rejected the British courts of law claiming that a fair trial had a better chance under the control of Burmese people. Student protests, backed by the Buddhist clergy, also led to "National schools" being created in protest against the colonial education system. As a result the British to imposed restrictions on free speech and an increase of the police force.[7]
Hsaya Rebellion
The first major organised armed rebellion occurred between 1930 and 1932 and was called The
Aung San and Japan
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Thirty_Comrades.jpg/220px-Thirty_Comrades.jpg)
In 1940, the Japanese military interest in Southeast Asia had increased, the British were overtly providing military assistance to Nationalist China against which Japan was fighting in the Second Sino-Japanese War. In particular, they were sending war materials via the newly opened Burma Road. Colonel Keiji Suzuki, a staff officer at the Imperial General Headquarters in Japan, was given the task of devising a strategy for dealing with Southeast Asia and he produced a plan for clandestine operations in Burma. The Japanese knew little about Burma at the time and had few contacts within the country. The top Japanese agent in the country was Naval Reservist Kokubu Shozo, who had been resident there for several years and had contacts with most of the anti-British political groups. Suzuki visited Burma secretly, posing as a journalist for the Yomiuri Shimbun under the name Masuyo Minami, in September 1940, meeting with political leaders Thakin Kodaw Hmaing and Thakin Mya. The Japanese later made contact with Aung San in China who had reached Amoy when he was detained by Suzuki.[12]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Bo_Letya%2C_Bo_Sekkya%2C_Bo_Teza.jpg/220px-Bo_Letya%2C_Bo_Sekkya%2C_Bo_Teza.jpg)
Suzuki and Aung San flew to
Formation and action of the Burma Independence Army
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Keiji_Suzuki.jpg/170px-Keiji_Suzuki.jpg)
On 7 December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and Britain. On 28 December, at a ceremony in Bangkok, the Burma Independence Army (BIA) was officially formed. The Thirty Comrades, as well as Colonel Suzuki, had their blood drawn from their arms in syringes, then poured into a silver bowl and mixed with liquor from which each of them drank – thway thauk in time-honoured Burmese military tradition – pledging "eternal loyalty" among themselves and to the cause of Burmese independence.[17][18] The BIA initially numbered 227 Burmese and 74 Japanese. Some of the Burmese soldiers were second-generation residents in Thailand, who could not speak Burmese.[19][20]
The BIA formed was broken into six units which were assigned to participate in the
Unit | Commanders | Task |
---|---|---|
First & Second |
Keiji Suzuki, Aung San, Set Kya and Thakin Tun Oke. | Would take the Mae Sot route into Burma as combat teams with most of the Japanese forces |
Third | Bo Ne Win and Lt. Tanaka | Would infiltrate Rangoon and move into Burma for guerilla actions |
Fourth | Bo Hpone Myint | Would go together with the Japanese 55th Division and carry out relations with the Burmese people |
Fifth | Bo Let Ya, Bo La Yaung, and Captain Kawashima | Would enter Burma from Nat Eidaung near Tavoy |
Sixth | Bo Yan Naing, Bo Lin Yone, Bo Min Gaung, and Lt. Hirayama. |
Would go through Ranong and enter at Victoria Point , the southern tip of Burma
|
As the Japanese and the BIA entered Burma, the BIA gained a lot of support from the civilian population and were bolstered by many
Throughout the invasion, the swelling numbers of the BIA were involved in attacks on minority populations (particularly the Karens) and preyed on Indian refugees fleeing from the Japanese. The worst atrocities against the Karens in the Irrawaddy Delta south of Rangoon cannot however be attributed to dacoits or unorganised recruits, but rather the actions of a subset of regular BIA and their Japanese officers. Elements of the BIA in Irrawaddy destroyed 400 Karen villages with a death toll reaching 1,800.[27] In one instance, which was also described in Kyaw Zaw's, one of the Thirty Comrades, memoirs, Colonel Suzuki personally ordered the BIA to destroy two large Karen villages and killing all within as an act of retribution after one of his officers was killed in an attack by anti-Japanese resistance.[22][28]
Battle of Shwedaung
One action in which the BIA played a major part was at Shwedaung, near
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Burma_Independence_Army.jpg/220px-Burma_Independence_Army.jpg)
Tension between the Japanese and BIA
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Flag_of_Burma_Independence_Army_%281942%29.png/220px-Flag_of_Burma_Independence_Army_%281942%29.png)
As the invasion speedily continued in Japan's favour, more and more territory fell into Japanese hands who disregarded the agreement for Burma's independence.[31] As the BIA's ranks had swelled with thousands of unorganised army and volunteers, with plenty of weapons spread throughout the country which led to widespread chaos, looting and killings were common.[32] The Japanese army command formed an administration on their own terms and the commanders of the Fifteenth Army began undermining the creation of a Burmese government.[33] Thakin Tun Oke had been selected to be the political administrator and government organiser. BIA attempted to form local governments in Burma. Attempts over the administration of Moulmein, the Japanese 55th Division had flatly refused Burmese requests and even forbade them to enter the town.[34] Many in the BIA considered the Japanese suppression of them to be based on notions of racial superiority.[32] However, the BIA's attempts at creating a government were dared by Colonel Suzuki, who said to U Nu that:[22][35]
"Independence is not the kind of thing you can get by begging for it from other people. You should proclaim it yourselves. The Japanese refuse to give it? Very well then, tell them that you will cross over to someplace like Twante and proclaim it and set up your government. What's the difficulty about that? If they start shooting, you shoot back."
Aung San tried to establish a training school in Bhamo. His efforts were too late and interrupted by the Kempeitai.[32] After the Japanese invasion of Burma the Japanese Commander of the 15th Army, Lieutenant-General Shōjirō Iida, recalled Suzuki to Japan. In its place the Japanese created civil organisations designed to guide Burma toward puppet state. the BIA was disarmed and disbanded on 24 July. Now the Burma Defence Army (BDA), placed under the command of Colonel Aung San with Bo Let Ya as Chief of Staff, led by several Japanese commanders.[36][37] An officers' training school was established in Mingaladon and the new force of 3,000 men were recruited and trained by Japanese instructors as regular army battalions instead of a guerrilla force during the second half of 1942.[1][25][38] After the change in leadership, Aung Sun tried to push for what he considered the true mission of the army, which was not just a military group composed of the Thakins, but an army of "true patriots irrespective of political creed or race and dedicated to national independence".[39][40]
Transition into the Burma National Army
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/Flag_of_Burma_1943.svg/220px-Flag_of_Burma_1943.svg.png)
After a year of
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Burmese_military_officer.jpg/220px-Burmese_military_officer.jpg)
Although Burma was nominally self-governing, the power of the State of Burma to exercise its sovereignty was largely circumscribed by wartime agreements with Japan. The
"It was not long before Aung San found that what he meant by independence had little relation to what the Japanese were prepared to give—that he had exchanged an old master for an infinitely more tyrannical new one. As one of his leading followers once said to me, "If the British sucked our blood, the Japanese ground our bones!"[41]
Change of sides
During 1944, the BNA made contacts with other political groups inside Burma, such as the communists who had taken to the hills in the initial invasion. In August 1944, a popular front organisation called the
"I would accept [Aung San's] help and that of his army only on the clear understanding that it implied no recognition of any provisional government. ... The British Government had announced its intention to grant self-government to Burma within the British Commonwealth, and we had better limit our discussion to the best method of throwing the Japanese out of the country as the next step toward self-government."[41]
In late March 1945, the BNA paraded in Rangoon and marched out ostensibly to take part in the
Region | Geography | Military commander | Political adviser |
---|---|---|---|
No. 1 | Tharrawaddy, Insein
|
Aung San | Thakin Ba Hein |
No. 2 | Pyapon, eastern Irrawaddy Delta | Ne Win[b] | Thakin Soe |
No. 3 | Western Irrawaddy Delta | Saw Kya Doe[c] | |
No. 4 | Toungoo
|
Kyaw Zaw[b] | Thakin Chit[d] |
No. 5 | Mergui
|
Tin Tun | Thakin Ba Thein Tin[e] |
No. 6 | Pyinmana–Meiktila | Bo Ye Htut[b] | Thakin Kyaw Nyein |
No. 7 | Thayet–Minbu | Bo Hmu Aung[b] | Thakin Tin Mya[e] |
No. 8 | Upper Burma
|
Bo Ba Htoo |
Aftermath
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Aung_San_with_British_officers.jpg/220px-Aung_San_with_British_officers.jpg)
The Japanese were routed from most of Burma by May 1945. Negotiations then began with the British over the disarming of the AFO, which earlier in March the same year had been transformed into a united front comprising the Patriotic Burmese Forces, the Communists and the Socialists, and renamed the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL). Had the British Governor of Burma, Reginald Dorman-Smith, still in exile in Simla, and General William Slim gotten their way, the BNA would have been declared illegal and dissolved. Aung San would have been arrested as a traitor for his cooperation with the Japanese and charged with war crimes. However, Supreme Allied Commander Louis Mountbatten was anxious to avoid a civil war and to secure the cooperation of Aung San, who had authority over thousands of highly politicised troops.[2]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Admiral_Lord_Louis_Mountbatten%2C_1943._TR1230_%28cropped%29.jpg/170px-Admiral_Lord_Louis_Mountbatten%2C_1943._TR1230_%28cropped%29.jpg)
When the British noticed with alarm that PBF troops were withholding weapons, ready to go underground, tense negotiations in a conference in Kandy, Ceylon, were held in September 1945.[2] Aung San, six PBF commanders and four political representatives of the AFPFL met with the Supreme Allied Command were Lord Mountbatten acknowledged the BNA's contribution the victory in Burma to ease tensions. The British offered for around 5,000 veterans and 200 officers of the PBF to form the core of a post-war Burma Army under British command into which colonial Karen, Kachin, and Chin battalions would be integrated. In the end, only a small number of PBF troops were selected for the army, with most being sent home with two months pay.[25][2]
Aung San was offered the rank of Deputy Inspector General of the Burma Army, but which he declined upon the return of Governor Dorman-Smith's government.
Significance of the Burma Independence Army today
The BIA was the first major step of the towards Burmese independence without colonial powers involved, even though this result never genuinely occurred under the BIA or its successors. The army’s formation helped to create strong ties between the military and the government which are still present within Burmese society today. In addition, the BIA did achieve results in its need to unite the Burmese as a single nation instead of many different smaller states.[45] Many scholars[who?] attribute the failure of the BIA due to the lack of resources, lack of strong administrative control and the failure to include both the highland and lowland regions of Burma. However, the BIA became the first truly national Burmese army and remains honoured in Burma today, with Aung San and many of the Thirty Comrades being seen as national heroes.[46]
See also
- State of Burma
- Burma Campaign
- Indian National Army
- Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League
- Thirty Comrades
Notes
- ^ Burmese: ဗမာ့အမျိုးသားတပ်မတော်, Burmese pronunciation: [bəma̰ əmjó ðá taʔ mədɔ̀]
- ^ a b c d One of the Thirty Comrades
- ^ A Karen Ethnicity
- ^ Leader of the Burma Socialist Party
- ^ a b Member of the Communist Party of Burma
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Donald M. Seekins, Historical Dictionary of Burma (Myanmar) (Scarecrow Press, 2006), 123–26 and 354.
- ^ a b c d e Prager-Nyein, Susanne (7 September 2015). "The birth of Burma's modern army". endofempire.asia. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ Callahan, Mary P. (2003). Making Enemies: War and State Building in Burma. Cornell University Press. pp. 24–30.
- ^ a b "The initial impact of colonialism". britannica.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- ^ Charney, Michael (2009). A History Of Modern Burma. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 17.
- ^ Nyunt, Khin Maung (April 1968). "Supannaka Galuna Raja". GMR. II.
- ^ Charney, Michael (2009). A History of Modern Burma. Cambridge University Press. pp. 7–15.
- ^ Maitrii V. Aung-Thwin (2001). British Counter-Insurgency Narratives and The Construction of a Twentieth Century Rebel (PhD Dissertation). University of Michigan.
- ^ Fredholm, Michael (1993). Burma: Ethnicity and Insurgency. Westport: Praeger Publishers. p. 24.
- ^ Fredholm, Michael (1993). Burma: Ethnicity and Insurgency. Westport: Praeger Publishers. p. 28.
- ^ Beeikman, Sarpay (1972). "Dobama Asi-ayong Thamaing". I and II.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ a b Suu Kyi, Aung San (1984). Aung San. Queensland Press. pp. 11–13.
- ^ Suu Kyi, Aung San (1984). Aung San. Queensland Press. pp. 7–9.
- ^ Callahan, Mary P. (2003). Making Enemies. Cornell University Press. p. 48.
- ^ Fredholm, Michael (1993). Burma: Ethnicity and Insurgency. Westport: Praeger Publishers. p. 34.
- ^ Callahan, Mary (2009). Making Enemies. Cornell University Press. pp. 47–51.
- ^ Paddock, Richard C. (27 January 2018). "For Myanmar's Army, Ethnic Bloodletting Is Key to Power and Riches". The New York Times.
Its founders, known as the Thirty Comrades, established the army in 1941 with a ghoulish ceremony in Bangkok, where they drew each other's blood with a single syringe, mixed it in a silver bowl and drank it to seal their vow of loyalty.
- ^ Gaung, Bo Min. Bogyoke Aun Sun. pp. 195–200.
- ^ a b Bayly and Harper, p.170
- ^ Naw 2001 p77
- ^ Naw, Angelene (2001). Aung Sun and The Struggle for Burmese Independence. Thailand: Silkworm Books. p. 78.
- ^ a b c "The Man Behind the Burma Independence Army". irrawaddy.com. 25 August 2017. Archived from the original on 3 May 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- ^ Maw, Ba (1968). Breakthrough in Burma. Yale University Press. pp. 140–141.
- ^ Naw 2001 p81
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Martin Smith (1991). Burma – Insurgency and the Politics of Ethnicity. London and New Jersey: Zed Books.
- ^ Naw 2001 p76
- ISBN 978-0862328696.
- ISBN 978-87-91114-98-4.
- ^ Allen, pp.62–63
- ISBN 9781472836960.
- ^ Than, Ba. The Roots of Revolution. pp. 29–30.
- ^ a b c Maw, Ba (1968). Breakthrough in Burma. Yale University Press.
- ^ Bayly and Harper, p.172
- ^ Yoon. Japan's Scheme. pp. 40–41.
- ISBN 978-1602392663.
- ISBN 978-1-78093-971-1.
- ^ Trager and Yoon. Burma: Japanese Military Administration. pp. 11, 16.
- ^ Naw 2001 p84–92
- ^ Than, Ba. The Roots Of Revolution. p. 33.
- ^ Naw 2001 p81–89
- ^ a b Field Marshal Sir William Slim, Defeat into Victory, Cassell & Company, 2nd edition, 1956
- ISBN 978-94-015-1855-0.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of March 2024 (link - ^ Lintner 1990, p. 8.
- ^ "Aung San". britannica.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- ^ Fredholm, Michael (1993). Burma: Ethnicity and Insurgency. Westport: Praeger Publishers. p. 35.
- ^ Carey, Peter (1997). Burma : the challenge of change in a divided society. New York: Macmillan Press. p. 5.
Bibliography
- Allen, Louis (1984). Burma: The Longest War 1941–45. J.M. Dent and Sons. ISBN 0-460-02474-4.
- Bayly, Christopher; Tim Harper (2005). Forgotten Armies. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-029331-0.
- Callahan, Mary P. (2003). Making Enemies. Cornell University Press.
- Carey, Peter (1997). Burma : the challenge of change in a divided society. New York: Macmillan Press. p. 5.
- Charney, Michael (2009). A History Of Modern Burma. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
- Fredholm, Michael (1993). Burma: Ethnicity and Insurgency. Westport: Praeger Publishers.
- ISBN 978-0-7195-6576-2.
- Lintner, Bertil (1990). The Rise and Fall of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB). Cornell Southeast Asia Program. ISBN 0-87727-123-2.
- Naw, Angelene (2001). Aung Sun and The Struggle for Burmese Independence. Thailand: Silkworm Books.
- Silverstein, Josef (1977). Burma: Military Rule and the Politics of Stagnation. Cornell University Press.
- Smith, Martin (1991). Burma: Insurgency and the Politics of Ethnicity. London and New Jersey: Zed Books Ltd.
- Suu Kyi, Aung San (1984). Aung San. Queensland Press.
- Tucker, Shelby (2000). Among Insurgents. Penguin Books.