China-Burma-India

World War II #9

by Don Moser

Book 9 of the Time-Life World War II series.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military History, World War II, War, India, China

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Checked this out along with two other books about the China-Burma-Indian theater in WW II as background and context for my reading of Joseph Stilwell's diary, "The Stilwell Papers," edited, and very nicely, by Theodore White of the "Making of the President" series fame.

This Time-Life production was the best, or at least the most useful, of those three books. It's a typical entry in the Time-Life Books World War II series: that is, sections of exposition (six in this case), mostly by chronology, interspersed with sections of "photo-essays" that have captions as well as explanatory paragraphs. The exposition sections usually have a few photos and easy-to-follow maps. The writing is clear and includes lots of quotes from primary sources, including the Stilwell material, the memoirs of British general William Slim, and a memoir by a member of Merrill's Marauders.

I shelved the other two background books -- "The Burma Road" and "The Jungle War" -- as "abandoned," but gave them brief reviews and three stars.

[D-day · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of the Time-Life series on WW2, this volume is about the Japanese conquest of Burma and invasion of India, as well as political relations between the Western Allies and China (Nationalists as well as Communist)

Chapters:
1-The situation in the CBI at the beginning of the war, background on American General Joseph (Vinegar Joe) Stilwell, and the Japanese conquest of Burma in May 1942 and the calamitous British retreat back to India
2-Background on the AVG (The Flying Tigers), background on America General Claire Chennault and the mutual animosity between him and Stilwell and their conflicting strategies to help China
3- The formation and first operations of the Chindits in 1943, the creation of SEAC and the appointment of Lord Mountbatten as its commander
4- The Chinese offensive in Northern Burma, Merril's Marauders and the Chinese/US victory at Myitkyina in the summer of 1944
5- The battle of Imphal, the largest land defeat of the Japanese army in its history by the British/Indian forces under General Slim in the Summer of 1944
6- The arrival of B-29 Superfortresses in China to bomb Japan. The resulting Japanese offensive, the biggest in three years resulting in the capture of most of the American airbases in China, the British capture of Mandalay in Burma and eventually Rangoon.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a Time Life WWII photo essya book. It is a good introduction to CBI. Useful for the photos of the major players in the CBI theater, as most people who are otherwise very familiar with WW II are unfamiliar with these characters, since teh events and people in the CBI theater are less well known than than those of the rest of the conflict.

The text is a good overview of the major events and issues. Not too controversial or opinionated.

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good details about the ground war in CBI. Disappointed that more attention was not given to the air support provided, the authors focus mostly on the ground war and the political drama that played out in the area. They talk tangentially about air support and bombing (one inset), though there is much more to be told about the air war in this theater.

[Robert Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this Life Time series in the early 1980's on WWII, a volume came to the house every 2 or 3 months so I could take my reading. It was very informative and enjoyable read, I still use it for reference.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent account of one of the most underrated and looked-over theaters of the war.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

General Wingate and his Chindits were comparable to Laurence of Arabia and his Arabs: resilient and dogged fighters.

[John Dorcey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Memorial Day, an appropriate day to finish this overview story of an under-appreciated theatre of World war II.

[Kevin Keating · Rating 4 out of 5]

All these books of the Time-Life series are good. This part of WW2 never really interested me much, but I learned to like Stilwell. Anyway, a pretty good read.

[Valerie Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the WWII Burma campaign itself, this volume was a slog.