Burma Independence Army

Burma Independence Army
ဗမာ့လွတ်လပ်ရေးတပ်မတော်
Active	28 December 1941 – September 1945
Country	State of Burma(until 19 August 1945)
Allegiance	Empire of Japan(until 27 March 1945) British Empire(after 27 March 1945)
Role	Regular army(until 19 August 1945),partisan army
Size	~11,000–15,000 soldiers
Engagements	World War II Burma Campaign
Commanders
Head of State	Ba Maw
Minister of Defence	Aung San

Major GeneralAung Sanas Minister of Defence, 1943

TheBurma Independence Army(BIA)was apro-Japaneseand revolutionary army that fought for the end ofBritish rule in Burmaby assisting theJapaneseintheir conquest of the countryin 1942 duringWorld War II.It was the first post-colonial army in Burmese history. The BIA was formed from a group known as theThirty Comradesunder the auspices of theImperial Japanese Armyafter training the Burmese nationalists in 1941. The BIA's attempts at establishing a government during the invasion led to it being dissolved by the Japanese and the smallerBurma Defence Army(BDA) formed in its place. As Japan guided Burma towards nominal independence, the BDA was expanded into theBurma National Army(BNA) of theState of Burma,apuppet stateunderBa Maw,in 1943.

After secret contact with theBritishduring 1944, on 27 March 1945, the BNA revolted against the Japanese. The army received recognition as an ally from Supreme Allied Commander,Lord Mountbatten,who needed their assistance against retreating Japanese forces and to ease the strain between the army's leadership and the British. As part of theAnti-Fascist People's Freedom League,the BNA was re-labelled thePatriotic Burmese Forces(PBF) during a joint Allied–Burmese victory parade in Rangoon on 23 June 1945.Following the war, after tense negotiations, it was decided that the PBF would be integrated into a new Burma Army under British control, but many veterans would continue under old leadership in the paramilitaryPeople's Volunteer Organisation(PVO) in the unstable situation of post-war Burma.

Background of Burma

British rule in Burmabegan in 1824 after which theBritishsteadily tightened its grip on the country and implemented significant changes to Burmese government and economy compared toBurma under the Konbaung dynastybefore.The British removed and exiledKingThibaw Minandseparated governmentfrom theBuddhistSangha,with large consequences in the dynamics of Burmese society and was particularly devastating to Buddhist monks who were dependent on the sponsorship of the monarchy. British control increased over time, for example, in 1885 under the Colonial Village Act, all Burmese, except for Buddhist monks, were required toShikko(a greeting hitherto used only for important elders, monks and theBuddha) to British officials. These greetings would demonstrate Burmese submission and respect to British rule. In addition, the act stated that villages would provide lodging and food upon the arrival of colonial military or civil officials. Lastly, against mounting rebellions, the British adopted a “strategic hamlet” strategy, whereby villages were burned and uprooted families who had supplied villages withHeadmen,sending them tolower Burmaand replacing them with British approved appointees.

Future changes to Burma included the establishment of land titles, payment of taxes to the British, records of births and deaths and the introduction of census that included personal information, including information pertaining to jobs and religion.The census was especially hard on Burmese identity due to the variation of names and the habit of villagers to move between various families. Thesetraditionswere very different fromWestern cultureand not compatible with the British imposed census. British insistence upon western medicine andinoculationwas particularly distasteful to native residents of Burma. These changes led to a greater distrust of the British and in turn harsher mandates as they became aware of Burmese resistance.

A major issue in the early 1900s was land alienation by IndianChettiarmoneylenders who were taking advantage of the economic situation in the villages.At the same time, thousands of Indian labourers migrated to Burma and, because of their willingness to work for less money, quickly displaced Burmese farmers, who instead began to take part in crime. All this, combined with Burma's exclusion from British proposals for limited self-government in Indian provinces (of which Burma was part of at the time), led to one of the earliest political nationalist groups, theGeneral Council of Burmese Associations,who had split off from the apoliticalYoung Men's Buddhist Association.Foreign goods were boycotted and the association set up village courts and rejected the British courts of law claiming that a fair trial had a better chance under the control of Burmese people. Student protests, backed by the Buddhist clergy, also led to "National schools" being created in protest against the colonial education system. As a result the British to imposed restrictions on free speech and an increase of the police force.

Hsaya Rebellion

The first major organised armed rebellion occurred between 1930 and 1932 and was called TheHsaya Rebellion.The former monkHsaya Sansparked a rebellion by mobilising peasants in rural Burma after protests against taxes and British disrespect towards Buddhism.The Burmese colonial army under British rule included only minorities such as theKaren,ChinandKachinand isolated the majorityBamarpopulation.As more people joined the rebellion it evolved into a nationwide revolt which only ended after Hsaya San was captured after two years of insurrection. He and many other rebel leaders were executed and imprisoned after the rebellion was put down. The Hsaya rebellion sparked a large emergence of organised anti-colonial politics in Burma during the 1930s.

Aung San and Japan

Aung Sanwas a nationaliststudent activistworking for the cause of an independent Burma. While at university, he became an influential political leader and created a new platform for educated nationalistic students who were intent upon a Burmese Independent state. In 1938 he joined the radical, anti-colonialDohbama Asiayoneparty (known as theThakins).After the outbreak of theSecond World War,the Thakins, combined with thePoor Man's Partyto create theFreedom Bloc,which opposed cooperation with the British war effort unless Burma was guaranteed independence immediately after the war and threatened to increase its anti-British and anti-war campaign. The British denied the Freedom Bloc's demands and much of its leadership was imprisoned until after the Japanese invasion in 1942. The Thakins looked elsewhere for support and planned on setting up ties with theChinese communists.Aung San flew toChinain 1940, intent to make contact with them in order to discuss investments into an independent Burmese Army.

Portrait of theThirty ComradesandKeiji Suzuki(front row in white Burmese dress)

In 1940, theJapanesemilitary interest in Southeast Asia had increased, the British were overtly providing military assistance toNationalist Chinaagainst which Japan was fighting in theSecond Sino-Japanese War.In particular, they were sending war materials via the newly openedBurma Road.ColonelKeiji Suzuki,a staff officer at theImperial General Headquartersin Japan, was given the task of devising a strategy for dealing withSoutheast Asiaand he produced a plan for clandestine operations in Burma. The Japanese knew little about Burma at the time and had few contacts within the country. The top Japanese agent in the country was Naval Reservist Kokubu Shozo, who had been resident there for several years and had contacts with most of the anti-British political groups. Suzuki visited Burma secretly, posing as a journalist for theYomiuri Shimbununder the nameMasuyo Minami,in September 1940, meeting with political leadersThakin Kodaw HmaingandThakin Mya.The Japanese later made contact with Aung San in China who had reachedAmoywhen he was detained by Suzuki.

Bo Let Ya,Set Kya andAung Sanin Japan

Suzuki and Aung San flew toTokyo.After discussions at the Imperial General Headquarters, it was decided in February 1941 to form an organisation namedMinami Kikan,which was to support Burmese resistance groups and to close the Burma Road to China. In pursuing those goals, it would recruit potential independence fighters in Burma and train them in Japans allyThailandorJapanese occupied China.Aung San and 29 others, the future officers and core of the Burma Independence Army, known as theThirty Comrades,left Burma in April 1941 and were trained onHainan Islandin leadership, espionage, guerrilla warfare and political tactics.Colonel Suzuki assumed the Burmese name "Bo Mo Gyo" (Commander Thunderbolt), for his work with Minami Kikan.

Formation and action of the Burma Independence Army

Keiji Suzukias Major General

On 7 December 1941, Japan attacked theUnited Statesand Britain. On 28 December, at a ceremony inBangkok,theBurma Independence Army(BIA) was officially formed. The Thirty Comrades, as well as Colonel Suzuki, had their blood drawn from their arms in syringes, then poured into a silver bowl and mixed with liquor from which each of them drank –thway thaukin time-honoured Burmese military tradition – pledging "eternal loyalty" among themselves and to the cause of Burmese independence.The BIA initially numbered 227 Burmese and 74 Japanese. Some of the Burmese soldiers were second-generation residents in Thailand, who could not speak Burmese.

The BIA formed was broken into six units which were assigned to participate in theinvasion of Burmain January 1942, initially as intelligence-gatherers, saboteurs and foragers. The leader of the Burma Independence Army were declared with Keiji Suzuki as Commander-in-Chief, with Aung San asSenior Staff Officer.When the army entered into Burma it was made up of 2,300 men and organised in the following way.

Unit	Commanders	Task
First & Second	Keiji Suzuki, Aung San, Set Kya and Thakin Tun Oke.	Would take theMae Sotroute into Burma as combat teams with most of the Japanese forces
Third	Bo Ne Winand Lt. Tanaka	Would infiltrate Rangoon and move into Burma for guerilla actions
Fourth	Bo Hpone Myint	Would go together with theJapanese 55th Divisionand carry out relations with the Burmese people
Fifth	Bo Let Ya,Bo La Yaung, and Captain Kawashima	Would enter Burma from Nat Eidaung nearTavoy
Sixth	Bo Yan Naing, Bo Lin Yone, Bo Min Gaung, and Lt. Hirayama.	Would go throughRanongand enter atVictoria Point,the southern tip of Burma

As the Japanese and the BIA entered Burma, the BIA gained a lot of support from the civilian population and were bolstered by manyBamarvolunteers. This caused their numbers to grow to such a level that by the time the Japanese forces reachedRangoonon 8 March, the BIA numbered 10,000–12,000, and eventually expanded to between 18,000 and 23,000.Many of the volunteers who joined the BIA were however not officially recruited, but rather officials or even criminal gangs who took to calling themselves BIA to further their own activities.The Japanese provided few weapons to the BIA, but they armed themselves from abandoned or captured British weapons. With the help of a propaganda campaign from the BIA, Suzuki was welcomed by the Burmese people since word was spread that "Bo Mo Gyo"(Suzuki) was a decedent of the Prince of Myingun, a Burmese prince in the direct line of succession to the Burmese throne who had been exiled after a failed rebellion toSaigon,where he died in 1923. Propaganda claiming that Bo Mo Gyo was to lead the resistance into restoring the throne soon spread throughout Burma, which helped to provide a format for the Burmese villagers to accept the involvement of Japanese help in overthrowing the British.

Throughout the invasion, the swelling numbers of the BIA were involved in attacks on minority populations (particularly theKarens) and preyed onIndianrefugees fleeing from the Japanese. The worst atrocities against the Karens in theIrrawaddy Deltasouth of Rangoon cannot however be attributed todacoitsor unorganised recruits, but rather the actions of a subset of regular BIA and their Japanese officers. Elements of the BIA in Irrawaddy destroyed 400 Karen villages with a death toll reaching 1,800.In one instance, which was also described inKyaw Zaw's,one of the Thirty Comrades, memoirs, Colonel Suzuki personally ordered the BIA to destroy two large Karen villages and killing all within as an act of retribution after one of his officers was killed in an attack by anti-Japanese resistance.

Battle of Shwedaung

The Burma Independence Army enterRangoonin early 1942

One action in which the BIA played a major part was at Shwedaung, nearProme,in Southern Burma. On 29 March 1942, a detachment from the British7th Armoured Brigadecommanded by BrigadierJohn Henry Ansticewas retreating from nearbyPaungde.Another detachment of twoIndianbattalions was sent to clear Shwedaung, which lay on Anstice's line of retreat and was held by the II Battalion of the Japanese 215th Regiment, commanded by Major Misao Sato, and 1,300 men belonging to the BIA under Bo Yan Naing, one of the Thirty Comrades. Two Japanese liaison officers named Hirayama and Ikeda accompanied the BIA. With Anstice's force and the Indian troops attacking Shwedaung from two sides, the roadblocks were soon cleared, but a lucky shot from a Japanese anti-tank gun knocked out a tank on a vital bridge and forced the British to retreat across open fields where Bo Yan Naing ambushed them with 400 men. Eventually the British and Indian force broke free and continued their retreat, having lost ten tanks, two field guns and 350 men killed or wounded. The BIA's casualties were heavy; 60 killed, 300 wounded, 60 captured and 350 missing, who had deserted. Hirayama and Ikeda were both killed. Most of the BIA's casualties resulted from inexperience and lack of equipment. Though Burmese political leaderBa Mawand others later eulogised the BIA's participation in the battle, the official Japanese history never mentioned them.

Burmese people and soldiers of the BIA with their flag

Tension between the Japanese and BIA

Second flag of the Burma Independence Army

As the invasion speedily continued in Japan's favour, more and more territory fell into Japanese hands who disregarded the agreement for Burma's independence.As the BIA's ranks had swelled with thousands of unorganised army and volunteers, with plenty of weapons spread throughout the country which led to widespread chaos, looting and killings were common.The Japanese army command formed an administration on their own terms and the commanders of theFifteenth Armybegan undermining the creation of a Burmese government.Thakin Tun Oke had been selected to be the political administrator and government organiser. BIA attempted to form local governments in Burma. Attempts over the administration ofMoulmein,theJapanese 55th Divisionhad flatly refused Burmese requests and even forbade them to enter the town.Many in the BIA considered the Japanese suppression of them to be based on notions ofracial superiority.However, the BIA's attempts at creating a government were dared by Colonel Suzuki, who said toU Nuthat:

"Independence is not the kind of thing you can get by begging for it from other people. You should proclaim it yourselves. The Japanese refuse to give it? Very well then, tell them that you will cross over to someplace like Twante and proclaim it and set up your government. What's the difficulty about that? If they start shooting, you shoot back."

Aung San tried to establish a training school inBhamo.His efforts were too late and interrupted by theKempeitai.After theJapanese invasion of Burmathe Japanese Commander of the 15th Army, Lieutenant-GeneralShōjirō Iida,recalled Suzuki to Japan. In its place the Japanese created civil organisations designed to guide Burma towardpuppet state.the BIA was disarmed and disbanded on 24 July. Now theBurma Defence Army(BDA), placed under the command of Colonel Aung San withBo Let Yaas Chief of Staff, led by several Japanese commanders.An officers' training school was established inMingaladonand the new force of 3,000 men were recruited and trained by Japanese instructors as regular army battalions instead of a guerrilla force during the second half of 1942.After the change in leadership, Aung Sun tried to push for what he considered the true mission of the army, which was not just a military group composed of the Thakins, but an army of "true patriots irrespective of political creed or race and dedicated to national independence".

Transition into the Burma National Army

Flag of theThakins,which was commonly used by the BIA and later adopted as the flag of theState of Burma(1943–1945)

After a year ofoccupation,on 1 August 1943, the newly createdState of Burmawas granted nominal independence by Japan and became a member of theGreater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.Its Head of State became Dr.Ba Maw,an outspoken anti-colonial politician imprisoned by the British before the war. Aung San becameMinister of Defencein the new regime, with the new rank ofMajor Generaland Bo Let Ya as his Deputy.Bo Ne Win(who would much later become the dictator of Burma after World War II) became Commander-in-Chief of the expandedBurma National Army(BNA).The BNA eventually consisted of seven battalions of infantry and a variety of supporting units with a strength which grew to around 11,000–15,000 men.Most were from the majorityBamarpopulation, but there was one battalion raised from theKarenminority.

Burmese officers in Japanese style uniforms in the Burma National Army

Although Burma was nominally self-governing, the power of the State of Burma to exercise its sovereignty was largely circumscribed by wartime agreements with Japan. TheImperial Japanese Armymaintained a large presence and continued to act arbitrarily, despite Japan no longer having official control over Burma. The resulting hardships and Japanese militaristic attitudes turned the majority Burman population against the Japanese. The insensitive attitude of the Japanese Army extended to the BNA. Even the officers of the BNA were obliged to salute low-ranking privates of the Imperial Japanese Army as their superiors. Aung San soon became disillusioned about Japanese promises of true independence and of Japan's ability to win the war. As the British General in theBurma CampaignWilliam Slimput it:

"It was not long before Aung San found that what he meant by independence had little relation to what the Japanese were prepared to give—that he had exchanged an old master for an infinitely more tyrannical new one. As one of his leading followers once said to me," If the British sucked our blood, the Japanese ground our bones! "

Change of sides

During 1944, the BNA made contacts with other political groups inside Burma, such as the communists who had taken to the hills in the initial invasion. In August 1944, a popular front organisation called theAnti-Fascist Organisation(AFO) was formed withThakin Soe,a founding member of theCommunist Party of Burma,as leader. Through the communists, Aung San were eventually able to make contact with the BritishForce 136inIndia.The initial contacts were always indirect. Force 136 was also able to make contacts with members of the BNA's Karen unit in Rangoon through agents dropped by parachute into theKarenni State,the Karen-populated area in the east of Burma.In December 1944, the AFO contacted the Allies indicating their readiness to launch a national uprising which would include the BNA. The situation was not immediately considered favourable by the British for a revolt by the BNA and there were internal disputes about supporting the BNA among them; the British had reservations over dealing with Aung San. In contrast to Force 136, Civil Affair officers ofLord Mountbattenin theSouth East Asia Command(SEAC) wanted him tried forwar crimes,including a 1942 murder case in which he had personally executed a civilian, the Headman of Thebyugone village, in front of a large crowd. General William Slim later wrote:

"I would accept [Aung San's] help and that of his army only on the clear understanding that it implied no recognition of any provisional government.... The British Government had announced its intention to grant self-government to Burma within the British Commonwealth, and we had better limit our discussion to the best method of throwing the Japanese out of the country as the next step toward self-government."

In late March 1945, the BNA paraded in Rangoon and marched out ostensibly to take part in thebattles then raging in Central Burma.Instead, on 27 March, they openly declared war on the Japanese and rose up in a country-wide rebellion. BNA units were deployed all over the country under ten different regional commands (see table below).Those near the British front-lines around theIrrawaddy Riverrequested arms and supplies from Allied units operating in this area. They also seized control of the civil institutions in most of the main towns.27 March is now marked asArmed Forces Day,a national holiday in Myanmar. Aung San and others subsequently began negotiations with Mountbatten and officially joined theAlliesas thePatriotic Burmese Forces(PBF) in 23 June 1945. At the first meeting, the AFO represented itself to the British as the provisional government of Burma with Thakin Soe as Chairman and Aung San as a member of its ruling committee.

Region	Geography	Military commander	Political adviser
No. 1	Prome,Henzada,Tharrawaddy,Insein	Aung San	Thakin Ba Hein
No. 2	Pyapon,easternIrrawaddy Delta	Ne Win	Thakin Soe
No. 3	WesternIrrawaddy Delta	Saw Kya Doe
No. 4	Hanthawaddy,south ofToungoo	Kyaw Zaw	Thakin Chit
No. 5	Tavoy–Mergui	Tin Tun	Thakin Ba Thein Tin
No. 6	Pyinmana–Meiktila	Bo Ye Htut	Thakin Kyaw Nyein
No. 7	Thayet–Minbu	Bo Hmu Aung	Thakin Tin Mya
No. 8	Upper Burma	Bo Ba Htoo

Aftermath

Aung San (in bright khaki) with British officers

The Japanese were routed from most of Burma by May 1945. Negotiations then began with the British over the disarming of the AFO, which earlier in March the same year had been transformed into a united front comprising the Patriotic Burmese Forces,the Communistsandthe Socialists,and renamed theAnti-Fascist People's Freedom League(AFPFL). Had theBritish Governor of Burma,Reginald Dorman-Smith,still in exile inSimla,and GeneralWilliam Slimgotten their way, the BNA would have been declared illegal and dissolved. Aung San would have been arrested as a traitor for his cooperation with the Japanese and charged with war crimes. However, Supreme Allied CommanderLouis Mountbattenwas anxious to avoid a civil war and to secure the cooperation of Aung San, who had authority over thousands of highly politicised troops.

Louis Mountbatten,Supreme Allied Commander in Southeast Asia

When the British noticed with alarm that PBF troops were withholding weapons, ready to go underground, tense negotiations in a conference inKandy,Ceylon,were held in September 1945.Aung San, six PBF commanders and four political representatives of the AFPFL met with theSupreme Allied Commandwere Lord Mountbatten acknowledged the BNA's contribution the victory in Burma to ease tensions. The British offered for around 5,000 veterans and 200 officers of the PBF to form the core of a post-war Burma Army under British command into which colonialKaren,Kachin,andChinbattalions would be integrated. In the end, only a small number of PBF troops were selected for the army, with most being sent home with two months pay.

Aung San was offered the rank of Deputy Inspector General of the Burma Army, but which he declined upon the return of Governor Dorman-Smith's government.Bo Let Yainstead got the position while Aung San became a civilian political leader in the AFPFL and the leader of thePeople's Volunteer Organisation(PVO), ostensibly a veterans organisation for ex-BNA, but in reality, a paramilitary force who were openly drilling in uniform with numbers eventually reaching 50,000. It was to replace the BNA as a major deterrence against both the British and his communist rivals in the AFPFL.Aung San became head of the AFPFL in 1946 and continued the more peaceful struggle forBurmese independenceuntil hisassassinationafter the overwhelming victory of the AFPFL in the April 1947 constituent assembly elections.Burmafinally becameindependenton 4 January 1948.

Significance of the Burma Independence Army today

The BIA was the first major step of the towards Burmese independence without colonial powers involved, even though this result never genuinely occurred under the BIA or its successors. The army’s formation helped to create strong ties between the military and the government which are still present within Burmese society today. In addition, the BIA did achieve results in its need to unite the Burmese as a single nation instead ofmany different smaller states.Many scholarsattribute the failure of the BIA due to the lack of resources, lack of strong administrative control and the failure to include both the highland and lowland regions of Burma. However, the BIA became the first truly national Burmese army and remains honoured inBurma today,with Aung San and many of the Thirty Comrades being seen as national heroes.

See also

• State of Burma
• Burma Campaign
• Indian National Army
• Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League
• Thirty Comrades

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