WW II: Inside Look at Invasion of Burma

ww2dbaseBurma, isolated from the rest of the world with mountainous ranges on her western, northern, and eastern borders, was a British colony with a degree of autonomy. With the pressure from Japan, British armed Burma with some British and Indian troops and obsolete aircraft so that there would be a small buffer between Japan and India, crown jewel of Britain's Asiatic empire. United States also aimed to help Burma as a direct result of Japanese pressure, but the reason was much different than that of the British; the United States looked to maintain Burmese outside Japanese control so that supply lines into China would remain open. The supplies traveled into China via the Burma Road, a treacherous gravel road that connected Kunming, China with Lashio, Burma that opened in 1938. Britain and United States' worries about Burma were not unfounded, as Japan did look to incorporate Burma into her borders. Beyond the wish to cut off China's supply lines, a Japanese-occupied Burma would also provide Japan added security from any potential flanking strikes from the west against the southward expansion that was about to take place.