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Death Railway
Examines the logic behind Japan's construction of the Thailand Railway am Railway) to see if it was as important as Japan's military leaders thought. With illustrations by G. S. Gimson, a prisoner of war.
160 pages, Paperback
First published February 9, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 4, 2024
DEATH RAILWAY was another sad tale of the horrors of war.
After their runaway victories in 1941 and early 1942, the Japanese military was defending a far flung empire won by conquest. In order to support their army that stood at the border of India they had to rely on merchant shipping sailing down around the Malayan peninsula and up to Rangoon as there was no rail line connecting Bangkok with Rangoon. As time went on and the Allied powers grew, it was becoming too dangerous for Japanese ships to make that long voyage. Bombers, and especially US submarines, were sinking ships faster than they could be replaced. Looking at a map the Japanese probably thought, "Why don't we just build a railroad from Ban Pong in Siam to Thanbyuzayat in Burma? It is only a couple hundred miles." At the same time they were thinking, "What are we going to do with all these prisoners we captured?" So they put them to work.
That is what they did, only they didn't bother to give them the proper tools or even provide food shelter and medical supplies though they were working in some of the most uninhabitable land on earth. And then there was the monsoon season which brought on further misery. These Prisoners of War (POWs) were mainly British and Australians with Dutch, Indians and Americans as well. Besides fighting the elements, and nature, these POWs were tormented by abusive guards while they toiled. Suffering every imaginable sickness and disease, the sickness and death rate climbed necessitating the call for more and more laborers. Believing the Japanese propaganda of "Asia for the Asians," many of the natives volunteer to go work on the rail line thinking they would earn good wages and be well cared for. They weren't. Besides the lies, the Japanese resorted to trickery to get laborers, such as offering free movies at the cinema and after a few nights swooping in to round up movie goers for forced labor. Without the organized care of the POWs by the POWs themselves, the Burmese and Siamese died by the hundreds of thousands. But the rail line was built.
As if the nightmare of the labor camps wasn't bad enough, the Allied bombers killed POWs by accident as they tried to destroy what the POWs had worked so hard to build. On top of that, even the prisoners knew that the Japanese were going to kill them all rather than let them be liberated.
It was only after the Atomic bombing, and more importantly the Russian declaration of war, that brought about the Japanese surrender. The atom bombs could level cities but invasion by the Russian Communists would bring an end to the Emperor and the Japanese way of life. That was what they feared the most. So orders were sent out for the guards to turn over the camps to the prisoners. As soon as possible the Allies tried to send assistance to these camps but there were over 200 of them spread across southeast Asia. Even after the liberation men were still dying from the neglect and horrors they suffered over the years.
The strange thing was, in spite of their hardships, cases of mental illness and problems were almost non-existent, even after their liberation. Among those that died were the ones who just gave up and never rose from their hospital sickbed while others went back to work until the next illness overcame them.
For foolish political reasons the rail line between the two countries was for the most part dismantled or allowed to fall into neglect after the war. Parts of it were reclaimed by the jungle after the rails were removed to be used elsewhere. One may visit the museums and cemeteries there and even ride on a portion of the original line as tourists. Reflecting on this, I figure if that is what it takes for them to be remembered, then so be it.
After their runaway victories in 1941 and early 1942, the Japanese military was defending a far flung empire won by conquest. In order to support their army that stood at the border of India they had to rely on merchant shipping sailing down around the Malayan peninsula and up to Rangoon as there was no rail line connecting Bangkok with Rangoon. As time went on and the Allied powers grew, it was becoming too dangerous for Japanese ships to make that long voyage. Bombers, and especially US submarines, were sinking ships faster than they could be replaced. Looking at a map the Japanese probably thought, "Why don't we just build a railroad from Ban Pong in Siam to Thanbyuzayat in Burma? It is only a couple hundred miles." At the same time they were thinking, "What are we going to do with all these prisoners we captured?" So they put them to work.
That is what they did, only they didn't bother to give them the proper tools or even provide food shelter and medical supplies though they were working in some of the most uninhabitable land on earth. And then there was the monsoon season which brought on further misery. These Prisoners of War (POWs) were mainly British and Australians with Dutch, Indians and Americans as well. Besides fighting the elements, and nature, these POWs were tormented by abusive guards while they toiled. Suffering every imaginable sickness and disease, the sickness and death rate climbed necessitating the call for more and more laborers. Believing the Japanese propaganda of "Asia for the Asians," many of the natives volunteer to go work on the rail line thinking they would earn good wages and be well cared for. They weren't. Besides the lies, the Japanese resorted to trickery to get laborers, such as offering free movies at the cinema and after a few nights swooping in to round up movie goers for forced labor. Without the organized care of the POWs by the POWs themselves, the Burmese and Siamese died by the hundreds of thousands. But the rail line was built.
As if the nightmare of the labor camps wasn't bad enough, the Allied bombers killed POWs by accident as they tried to destroy what the POWs had worked so hard to build. On top of that, even the prisoners knew that the Japanese were going to kill them all rather than let them be liberated.
It was only after the Atomic bombing, and more importantly the Russian declaration of war, that brought about the Japanese surrender. The atom bombs could level cities but invasion by the Russian Communists would bring an end to the Emperor and the Japanese way of life. That was what they feared the most. So orders were sent out for the guards to turn over the camps to the prisoners. As soon as possible the Allies tried to send assistance to these camps but there were over 200 of them spread across southeast Asia. Even after the liberation men were still dying from the neglect and horrors they suffered over the years.
The strange thing was, in spite of their hardships, cases of mental illness and problems were almost non-existent, even after their liberation. Among those that died were the ones who just gave up and never rose from their hospital sickbed while others went back to work until the next illness overcame them.
For foolish political reasons the rail line between the two countries was for the most part dismantled or allowed to fall into neglect after the war. Parts of it were reclaimed by the jungle after the rails were removed to be used elsewhere. One may visit the museums and cemeteries there and even ride on a portion of the original line as tourists. Reflecting on this, I figure if that is what it takes for them to be remembered, then so be it.
June 18, 2024
I did pick up some issues and facts about the plight of Allied POWS employed in the building of the Burma railroad. The photographs are not as striking as in previous Ballantine books I've read. This may be the first Ballantine title where none of the photographs amaze me. This book introduces drawings and artist depictions, something I don't recall seeing in other books. The narrative was dry at times.
July 20, 2024
I try not to let stuff like run-on sentences, full-page paragraphs, and writers bias affect my opinion on a piece of writing.... oh, who am I kidding? Yes, I do!
The abundance of facts here, combined with a plethora of hand drawn sketches from the survivors, saves the book from the trash pile... That and the fact that I need to own the entire Ballentine Colection.
Overall, not a great read. I'm sure there are countless other books on the subject more worthy of my time.
The abundance of facts here, combined with a plethora of hand drawn sketches from the survivors, saves the book from the trash pile... That and the fact that I need to own the entire Ballentine Colection.
Overall, not a great read. I'm sure there are countless other books on the subject more worthy of my time.
March 24, 2021
Overview of the building of the railroad from Thailand to Burma by the Japanese in World War 11 using prisoners of war. Hardship and death and futility.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews