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Monsoon victory (1974)
Front Cover Book Details
Genre Non-Fiction
Subject World War, 1939-1945 - Campaigns - Burma; World War, 1939-1945 - Personal narratives, English
Publication Date 1974
Format Hardcover
Publisher White Lion Publishers
Extras Dust Jacket; Dust Jacket Cover
Personal Details
Store AbeBooks
Purchase Price $24.31
Acquire Date 8/24/2018
Condition Good/Good
Rating 0
Product Details
Dewey 940.54
ISBN 9780856172243
No. of Pages 189
First Edition No
Rare No
Notes/Review
For the two years leading to June of 1944, the Germans had been on the defensive in Russia, Africa, and Italy, as had the Japanese in the Pacific Ocean. On mainland Asia, however, the Imperial Japanese Army was still on the offensive, undefeated, and attacking at the frontier of India.

This book begins in July 1944, after the Battle of Imphal, and tells the story of the 11th Division East African Rifles in their advance down the Khabaw Valley to the Chindwin River. This terrain was notoriously pestilential, and during the monsoon season turned into a swamp.

The 11th Division was made up of "askaris". An askari was a local soldier serving in the armies of the European colonial powers in Africa. These particular soldiers came from all over east Africa: Tanganyika (now Tanzania), Nyasaland (Malawi), Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Uganda, and Kenya. They came from a variety of cultures and spoke a variety of languages. They were commanded by British officers and non-coms. The 11th Division was part of the 14th Army, which also included Indian and Ghurka units.

About two-thirds of the book covers action during the monsoon. This was a particularly nasty environment in which to operate. Through thick, roadless jungle the 11th pressed the retreating Japanese army, scaling steep mountains and crossing swollen rivers while the ground they covered turned to deep, thick mud. The author spent more time moving from unit to unit than he did at the front and gives us a good accounting of the logistical difficulties involved.

Published in 1946, it not surprisingly was written in the language and attitudes of the time. The Japanese are uniformly referred to as "Japs" and there is little attempt to humanize or understand them. There is quite a bit more understanding of the Africans, in spite of being written by a European. Hanley moved to East Africa at age 18 and his attitudes to the Africans was enlightened compared to the norm of the time.

The writing is solid and paints a vivid picture of the experience of the action. The combat infantryman is often called the "tip of the spear". The tip is just a small part of the spear, and combat is a relatively small part of the book. The author does a good job telling us about all the various facets of combat in trying conditions.

The book is less than 200 pages, but the print is small and it reads more like a 300 page volume. I expected no notes or bibliography (and none are present) but an index would be nice. The biggest failure I can cite is the lack of any maps.

This was Hanley's first book. He later wrote several novels mostly set in East Africa.

(For a good look at the Allied flight through this area in 1942, see Wrath in Burma by Fred Eldrige, about General Stillwell's retreat)