Northeast Indian Railways during World War II
Encyclopedia
The efficient running of the Northeast Indian Railways during World War II
became critical to the success of the Allied war effort in the South-East Asian Theatre
.
In the initial phase of the war the Japanese advanced North from Rangoon through Burma forcing Allied
forces to retreat into the mountains on the Indian Burma frontier. In doing so, not only did the Japanese threaten India, but they denied use of the Burma Road
to the Western Allies, who had been sending supplies to the Chinese National Revolutionary Army
(NRA) under the command of Chiang Kai-Shek
by that route.
Behind this frontier, there was a series of railways which were essential to supply the Allied armies with logistics
. They ran from the port of Calcutta to the hill station of Ledo
in Assam
. These logistics were not only needed by the British Fourteenth Army
, and the American and Chinese troops at the end of the line under the command of General Joseph Stilwell
's Northern Combat Area Command
, but also Allied forces in China.
Allied forces in China consisted of Chiang Kai-Shek's NRA, and American units based in China such as those involved in Operation Matterhorn
. Allied forces in China were supplied by an airlift, over the Hump
of the Himalayas
, from airfields built close to the north east end of the railway, towards the end of the war this was supplemented by the use of the newly built Ledo Road
which started close to the railhead
in Ledo.
From port of Calcutta a broad gauge railway ran for 235 miles (375 km) to Parbatipur
. Here goods had to be manhandled onto a metre-gauge train. This wandered 215 miles (345 km) up the Brahmaputra Valley to a ferry at Pandu which is 450 miles (720 km) from Calcutta. Once ferried across the river the train continued to Dimapur
over 600 miles (960 km) from Calcutta. This was the main supply depot for the Fourteenth Army. If the supplies were destined for the Northern Combat Area or trans-shipment on to China, they had to be sent an additional 200 miles (320 km) to Ledo which is over 800 miles (1,280 km) from Calcutta.
The line had been built to serve the tea plantations of Assam and had a peacetime capacity of 600 tonne
s a day. By the time the Fourteenth Army was formed in late 1943 this had risen to 2,800 tonns. Up to Dimapur there were two other options, roads and river which could be used to supplement the rail tonnage. But there was no road to Ledo.
In early 1944, the American Army provided six battalions of dedicated railway troops, about 4,700 men. By October 1944 they had raised the capacity to 4,400 tonns and by January 1946 to 7,300 tons a day. This was possible by the increase in staff from two British, or Indian, officers to twenty seven experienced American railroad men on the same length of line and the introduction of more powerful American and Canadian locomotives. Without the trebling of capacity, the supply of Chinese troops in China would not have been possible once the Japanese attacked India and the Fourteenth Army counter attacked.
It was possible to reach the Northern Front by river from Calcutta through the Sunderbans and then up the main stream of the Brahmaputra to Dibrugarh
a distance of 1,136 miles (1,820 km). For the Central (Assam) Front the river port at Gauhati could be used, but from there supplies had to travel over the already congested metre-gauge railway to Dimapur. The Southern Front could be reached by a combination of broad-gauge railway, river-steamers and then a metre-gauge railway which ended at Dohazari
railhead.
To move supplies from the railheads to the Army fronts three all weather roads were constructed in record time during the autumn (fall) of 1943.
Much of the labour for the two British roads and for constructing the many airfields was done by the 40,000 labourers contributed by the Indian Tea Association who organised and managed them.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
became critical to the success of the Allied war effort in the South-East Asian Theatre
South-East Asian theatre of World War II
The South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was the name given to the campaigns of the Pacific War in Burma , Ceylon, India, Thailand, Indochina, Malaya and Singapore. Conflict in the theatre began when the Empire of Japan invaded Thailand and Malaya from bases located in Indochina on December 8,...
.
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
forces to retreat into the mountains on the Indian Burma frontier. In doing so, not only did the Japanese threaten India, but they denied use of the Burma Road
Burma Road
The Burma Road is a road linking Burma with the southwest of China. Its terminals are Kunming, Yunnan, and Lashio, Burma. When it was built, Burma was a British colony.The road is long and runs through rough mountain country...
to the Western Allies, who had been sending supplies to the Chinese National Revolutionary Army
National Revolutionary Army
The National Revolutionary Army , pre-1928 sometimes shortened to 革命軍 or Revolutionary Army and between 1928-1947 as 國軍 or National Army was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule...
(NRA) under the command of Chiang Kai-Shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
by that route.
Behind this frontier, there was a series of railways which were essential to supply the Allied armies with logistics
Logistics
Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...
. They ran from the port of Calcutta to the hill station of Ledo
Ledo
Ledo may refer to:* Ledo, Assam, India* Ledo, Goa, India* Ledo Road* Ledo Degtinė* Ledo , a Croatian ice cream producer...
in Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
. These logistics were not only needed by the British Fourteenth Army
British Fourteenth Army
The British Fourteenth Army was a multinational force comprising units from Commonwealth countries during World War II. Many of its units were from the Indian Army as well as British units and there were also significant contributions from West and East African divisions within the British Army.It...
, and the American and Chinese troops at the end of the line under the command of General Joseph Stilwell
Joseph Stilwell
General Joseph Warren Stilwell was a United States Army four-star General known for service in the China Burma India Theater. His caustic personality was reflected in the nickname "Vinegar Joe"...
's Northern Combat Area Command
Northern Combat Area Command
The Northern Combat Area Command or NCAC was a mainly Sino-American formation that held the northern end of the Allied front in Burma during World War II. For much of its existence it was commanded by the acerbic General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, and controlled by his staff...
, but also Allied forces in China.
Allied forces in China consisted of Chiang Kai-Shek's NRA, and American units based in China such as those involved in Operation Matterhorn
Operation Matterhorn
Operation Matterhorn was a military operations plan of the United States Army Air Forces in World War II for the strategic bombing of Japanese forces by B-29 Superfortresses based in India and China. Targets included Japan itself, and Japanese bases in China and South East Asia...
. Allied forces in China were supplied by an airlift, over the Hump
The Hump
The Hump was the name given by Allied pilots in the Second World War to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains over which they flew military transport aircraft from India to China to resupply the Chinese war effort of Chiang Kai-shek and the units of the United States Army Air Forces based in...
of the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
, from airfields built close to the north east end of the railway, towards the end of the war this was supplemented by the use of the newly built Ledo Road
Ledo Road
The Ledo Road was built during World War II so that the Western Allies could supply the Chinese as an alternative to the Burma Road which had been cut by the Japanese in 1942. It was renamed the Stilwell Road in early 1945 at the suggestion of Chiang Kai-shek...
which started close to the railhead
Railhead
The word railhead is a railway term with two distinct meanings, depending upon its context.Sometimes, particularly in the context of modern freight terminals, the word is used to denote a terminus of a railway line, especially if the line is not yet finished, or if the terminus interfaces with...
in Ledo.
From port of Calcutta a broad gauge railway ran for 235 miles (375 km) to Parbatipur
Parbatipur
Parbatipur may refer to:*Parbatipur Upazila, Bangladesh*Parbatipur, Nepal*Parbatipur may refer to:*[[Parbatipur Upazila]], Bangladesh*[[Parbatipur, Nepal]]*Parbatipur may refer to:*[[Parbatipur Upazila]], Bangladesh*[[Parbatipur, Nepal]]...
. Here goods had to be manhandled onto a metre-gauge train. This wandered 215 miles (345 km) up the Brahmaputra Valley to a ferry at Pandu which is 450 miles (720 km) from Calcutta. Once ferried across the river the train continued to Dimapur
Dimapur
Dimapur in Nagaland is bounded by Kohima district on the south and east, Karbi Anglong district of Assam on the West, the Karbi Anglong and stretch of Golaghat District of Assam, in the west and the north...
over 600 miles (960 km) from Calcutta. This was the main supply depot for the Fourteenth Army. If the supplies were destined for the Northern Combat Area or trans-shipment on to China, they had to be sent an additional 200 miles (320 km) to Ledo which is over 800 miles (1,280 km) from Calcutta.
The line had been built to serve the tea plantations of Assam and had a peacetime capacity of 600 tonne
Tonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
s a day. By the time the Fourteenth Army was formed in late 1943 this had risen to 2,800 tonns. Up to Dimapur there were two other options, roads and river which could be used to supplement the rail tonnage. But there was no road to Ledo.
In early 1944, the American Army provided six battalions of dedicated railway troops, about 4,700 men. By October 1944 they had raised the capacity to 4,400 tonns and by January 1946 to 7,300 tons a day. This was possible by the increase in staff from two British, or Indian, officers to twenty seven experienced American railroad men on the same length of line and the introduction of more powerful American and Canadian locomotives. Without the trebling of capacity, the supply of Chinese troops in China would not have been possible once the Japanese attacked India and the Fourteenth Army counter attacked.
It was possible to reach the Northern Front by river from Calcutta through the Sunderbans and then up the main stream of the Brahmaputra to Dibrugarh
Dibrugarh
Dibrugarh is the headquarters of Dibrugarh district, Assam, India, and is the second largest city in Assam after Guwahati. It is situated on the banks of the Brahmaputra River, about north-east of Guwahati. It is the gateway to the three tea-producing districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, and Sibsagar...
a distance of 1,136 miles (1,820 km). For the Central (Assam) Front the river port at Gauhati could be used, but from there supplies had to travel over the already congested metre-gauge railway to Dimapur. The Southern Front could be reached by a combination of broad-gauge railway, river-steamers and then a metre-gauge railway which ended at Dohazari
Dohazari
- Transport :In 2011, it is the railhead for Bangladesh Railway in the direction of Cox's Bazar. In 2011 it is proposed to extend the railways by 100 km to Cox's Bazar.- External links :*...
railhead.
To move supplies from the railheads to the Army fronts three all weather roads were constructed in record time during the autumn (fall) of 1943.
- The Ledo road in the north which went on to connect to the Burma road and supply China.
- The campaign winning Central Front road from Dimapur to ImphalImphalImphal is the capital of the Indian state of Manipur.In the heart of the town and surrounded by a moat, are ruins of the old Palace of Kangla. Kangla Fort used to be the home of the Assam Rifles, a paramilitary force and on November 2004 it was handed over to state of Manipur by Prime minister Dr....
. - The southern road from Dohazari south of ChittagongChittagongChittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...
for the advance to ArakanRakhine StateRakhine State is a Burmese state. Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State in the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region in the east, the Bay of Bengal to the west, and the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh to the northwest. It is located approximately between...
.
Much of the labour for the two British roads and for constructing the many airfields was done by the 40,000 labourers contributed by the Indian Tea Association who organised and managed them.
Further reading
- Chapters 8 and 13: Burma: The Forgotten War, by Jon Latimer, London: John Murray, 2004 ISBN 0-7195-6576-6