Burma '44: The Battle That Turned World War II in the East

by James Holland

Overview

Celebrated historian of World War II James Holland chronicles the astonishing Allied victory at the Battle of the Admin Box in Burma (now Myanmar), a turning point of the war in the Far East

In February 1944, in one of the most astonishing battles of World War II, a ragtag collection of British clerks, drivers, doctors, muleteers, and other base troops, stiffened by a few dogged Yorkshiremen and a handful of tank crews, managed to defeat a much larger and sophisticated contingent of some of the finest infantry in the Japanese army on their march towards India.

What became known as the Battle of the Admin Box, fought amongst the paddy fields and jungle of Northern Arakan over a fifteen-day period, turned the battle for Burma. Not only was it the first decisive victory for Allied troops against the Japanese, more significantly, it demonstrated how the Japanese could be defeated. Lessons learned in this otherwise insignificant corner of the Far East set up the campaign in Burma that would follow, as General William Slim’s Fourteenth Army finally turned the tide of the war in the East.

In Burma ’44, acclaimed World War II historian James Holland offers a dramatic tale of victory against incredible odds. As momentous as the Battle of the Bulge ten months later, the Admin Box was a triumph of human grit and heroism and remains one of the most significant yet underappreciated conflicts of the entire war. In Holland’s hands, it is finally given its proper place in the history of World War II.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802160591
Publisher:	Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Publication date:	06/11/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	448
Sales rank:	54,857
File size:	17 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

James Holland, one of WWII’s finest historians, is the author of The Savage Storm, Brothers in Arms, Sicily ’43, Normandy ’44, Big Week, The Rise of Germany and The Allies Strike Back in the War in the West trilogy, and Dam Busters. He has written and presented the BAFTA shortlisted documentaries Battle of Britain and Dam Busters for the BBC, and his WWII podcast, We Have Ways of Making You Talk now has millions of listeners.

Editorial Reviews

04/22/2024

Allied soldiers are sorely tested over 18 days of vicious and pivotal fighting in this kinetic account from historian Holland (The Savage Storm). In early 1944, General Bill Slim’s Fourteenth Army was tasked with pushing Japanese forces out of northwest Burma after multiple attacks originating from the remote region. Slim’s British, Indian, and West African forces, creeping forward along barely penetrable jungle passes, were ordered to “hold on at all costs.” (It was a matter of honor, Holland suggests; there could be “no running” from “an enemy that British forces had never decisively beaten.”) Soon surrounded in a boggy, bug-infested jungle, the soldiers fell victim to disease and surprise attacks. (In one incident, “the Japanese... bayoneted men in their beds”; in another, radio and typewriter operators fended off an ambush.) Eventually, the Allies’ superior firepower took its toll—entire hills were defoliated to eliminate enemy combatants, finally proving there was “a way to win” in Southeast Asia’s jungles. With a keen eye for detail, Holland highlights how the undaunted performance of routine maintenance, like that of repair crews who kept military vehicles running, set the stage for victory. It makes for a propulsive tale of resourceful protagonists triumphing over terrible odds. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Burma ’44:

Named a Best Book of the Year (So Far) by Barnes and Noble (History)

“A seminal and ground-breaking history that must be considered an essential and core addition to personal, professional, community, and college/university library World War II History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.”—Midwest Book Review

“A thrilling account of a little-known but vital battle, for readers interested in World War II history, especially the Pacific Theater of Operations.”—Library Journal (starred review)

“The author of Sicily ’44, Normandy ’44, and other acclaimed works of military history returns with a look at a significant yet overlooked World War II battle . . . [Holland] does ably capture the abundance of heroism and the satisfying outcome. A lesser-known campaign receives well-deserved attention.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Allied soldiers are sorely tested over 18 days of vicious and pivotal fighting in this kinetic account from historian Holland . . . With a keen eye for detail, Holland highlights how the undaunted performance of routine maintenance, like that of repair crews who kept military vehicles running, set the stage for victory. It makes for a propulsive tale of resourceful protagonists triumphing over terrible odds.”—Publishers Weekly

“A first-rate popular history of a fascinating and neglected battle . . . James Holland is a master of spinning narrative military history from accounts of men and women who were there and Burma ’44 is a veritable page-turner.”—BBC History

“A thrilling blow-by-blow account of the fighting, which will please military buffs. There are also crisp vignettes of the commanders . . . But it is the voices of the fighting men that lift this book above the level of a simple battle narrative.”—Times (UK)

“Up there with Rorke’s Drift . . . In rescuing the Battle of the Admin Box from oblivion, Holland has performed a signal service for all the men who fought—and died—in its defence.”—Telegraph

“In this superb account of an obscure but decisive battle fought in almost indescribably difficult jungle terrain, the always excellent James Holland tells a tale of heroism and grit to match any in the annals of war.”—Mail on Sunday

“Vivid . . . Military historian James Holland conjures the heroism and horror of this gallant stand by a motley force of doctors, clerks and other base troops against highly trained Japanese infantry.”—Daily Mail

“A gripping account of one of the war’s lesser-known episodes.”—Soldier

Praise for James Holland:

“Brothers in Arms tells a superb story of World War II destruction with a breadth that small-unit narratives cannot match.”—Jonathan W. Jordan, Wall Street Journal

“A superb account of the invasion that deserves immense praise . . . To convey the human drama of Normandy requires great knowledge and sensitivity. Holland has both in spades.”—Times (UK), on Normandy ’44

“Detail and scope are the twin strengths of Normandy ’44 . . . Mr. Holland effectively balances human drama with the science of war as the Allies knew it.”—Jonathan W. Jordan, Wall Street Journal

“It is a pleasure to sit back and wallow in an old-school military tale of flinty-eyed men doing battle.”—Thomas E. Ricks, New York Times Book Review, on Sicily ’43

“Holland’s great skill lies in bringing these warriors back to life with vivid prose. He’s an enormously prolific historian of the war, but each book he produces is constructed with great care and emotional commitment . . . Holland is obsessed with war, but fortunately does not seem to love it. He recognizes its beauty, but also its vileness.”—Gerard DeGroot, Times (UK) on Sicily ’43

“James Holland’s greatest strength as a military historian is that he brings humanity to his work—a rare trait in a field of research that can sometimes feel dominated by those obsessed with numbers.”—Spectator, on Brothers in Arms

“James Holland’s The War in the West is set fair to become one of the truly great multivolume histories of the Second World War.”—Andrew Roberts, New York Times-bestselling author of The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War and Napoleon: A Life

“Highly detailed . . . The interplay of personal stories with the broader strategic picture makes this book especially illuminating . . . A fascinating must-read for World War II aficionados.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Big Week

“A fascinating story of how the fortunes of war changed in obvious—and particularly not so obvious—ways.”—Col. Eric M. Walters, Military Review on The Allies Strike Back

From the Publisher

★ 04/01/2024

Historian Holland (The Savage Storm) persuasively argues that the February 1944 Battle of the Admin Box in Arakan was a turning point on World War II's Burma front. His book indicates that the Imperial Japanese forces looked to capitalize on their long string of successes in Burma by invading India. Of three possible invasion routes, the Arakan coastal strip had the necessary infrastructure to support an invading army. Over 14 days, the determined resistance of a hastily assembled Allied force of British, Gurkha, Sikh, and Burmese soldiers demonstrated that the Japanese were not invincible. The Battle of Admin Box denied the Japanese an invasion route, as well British supplies they'd planned to capture, and dealt heavy casualties to the Japanese forces. The introduction of newer, more agile Spitfire planes to squadrons nudged the state of the air war into the Allies' favor. Relying heavily on British sources, Holland does an excellent job of highlighting the contributions and bravery of the Gurkha and Sikh forces. VERDICT A thrilling account of a little-known but vital battle, for readers interested in World War II history, especially the Pacific Theater of Operations.—Chad E. Statler

Library Journal

2024-03-29
The author of Sicily ’44, Normandy ’44, and other acclaimed works of military history returns with a look at a significant yet overlooked World War II battle.

As always, Holland is adept at setting the background for his analysis of the battle. In 1941, a few days after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces sank the cream of the British Asian fleet, quickly overran the British colonies of Hong Kong, Malaya, and Singapore, and chased British forces out of Burma into India. Preoccupied with Germany, Britain gave its huge Indian army low priority in men and supplies. Recruits were trained in desert fighting and sent to North Africa until its conquest in 1943, when India received more attention. There followed a massive influx of supplies, training (morale was terrible), and better commanders (India was a dumping ground for failed officers from the European theater). Just as the British were completing preparation for their offensive in February 1944, the Japanese launched their own, broke through, and surrounded a number of units and their headquarters deep in the jungle. There followed 15 days of brutal fighting which, unlike previous encounters with the Japanese, succeeded. This Battle of the Admin Box is considered the turning point in the India-Burma campaign. Holland, a meticulous researcher, excels in describing the lead-up to the battle and the quality of the leadership—Briton William Slim was certainly the most competent Allied general facing Japan—and he includes many lively anecdotes on individual fighting men. WWII buffs will enjoy a detailed account of the climactic battle without making much sense of it, since the fighting took the form of a series of bloody, small-unit actions in a confined area. The author’s extensive maps don’t fully explain the minutiae, but he does ably capture the abundance of heroism and the satisfying outcome.

A lesser-known campaign receives well-deserved attention.

Kirkus Reviews