The Evacuation of Civilians from Burma

The string of military defeats during 1942 marked the end of British hegemony in Southeast Asia, finally destroying the myth of British imperial invincibility. The Japanese attack on Burma led to a hurried and often poorly organized evacuation of Indian and European civilians from the country. The evacuation was a public humiliation for the British and marked the end of their role in Burma.
The Evacuation of Civilians from Burma investigates the social and political background to the evacuation, and the consequences of its failure. Utilizing unpublished letters, diaries, memoirs and official reports, Michael Leigh provides the first comprehensive account of the evacuation, analyzing its source in the structures of colonial society, fractured race relations and in the turbulent politics of colonial Burma.

Michael D. Leigh is Research Associate at SOAS, University of London, UK.

Abbreviations Lists of Tables and Maps, and a note on Place-names List of Illustrations Introduction: Setting the scene Part 1: Socio-political undercurrents 1. Facts, figures and guesstimates 2. Politics: unprepared for everything 3. The Indian Question Part 2: Sturm, drang and mass evacuation 4. Rangoon: the big bang 5. Taungup 6. Escape by sea, river, air, road and train 7. Mandalay, Maymyo and the Oilfields 8. Myitkyina: seven days that shook a world Part 3: Residues of pain 9. Internees and others who did not get away 10. Counting the cost 11. Conclusion: trekking towards an imperfect future Glossary Bibliography Index