Betrayal, collapse and the fall of Burma 1942

When the poorly defended British colony of Burma was attacked by Japan in December 1941 it quickly collapsed. For many Burmese, it was a moment of opportunity and for the British a desperate bid for escape and survival. Racial colonial attitudes soon showed themselves as the million Indians who had served the British in Burma were abandoned by their colonial masters and at least 50,000 died as they walked across the Burmese jungle to the Indian border.