Death Railway (Burma Railway)

[Braveheart]

Burma Railway

 

The Burma Railway, also known also as the Death Railway, the Thailand-Burma Railway and similar names, is a 415 km (258 mi) railway between Bangkok, Thailand and Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar), built by the Empire of Japan during World War II, to support its forces in the Burma campaign.

 

Forced labour was used in its construction. About 200,000 Asian labourers and 60,000 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) worked on the railway. Of these, around 100,000 Asian labourers and 16,000 Allied POWs died as a direct result of the project. The Allied dead were comprised of: 6,318 British, 4,377 United States, 2,815 Australians and 2,490 Dutch, as well as some Canadian personnel.

 

History

A railway route between Thailand and Burma had been surveyed at the beginning of the 20th century, by the British government of Burma, but the proposed course of the line — through hilly Jungle terrain divided by many rivers — was considered too difficult to complete.

 

In 1942, Japanese forces, supplies and equipment transported from East and North Asia to Burma by sea, through the Strait of Malacca, were vulnerable to attack by Allied submarines, and an alternative means of transport was needed. The Japanese started the project in June 1942, intending to connect Ban Pong with Thanbyuzayat, through the Three Pagoda Pass. Construction started at the Thai end on June 22, 1942 and in Burma at roughly the same time. Most railway materials, including tracks and sleepers, were carted from dismantled branches of the Federated States of Malaya Railways network.

 

On October 17, 1943, the two lines met about 18 km south of the Three Pagoda Pass at Konkuita (Kaeng Khoi Tha), Songklaburi district, Kanchanaburi). While most of the POWs were then transferred to Japan, those left to maintain the line still suffered from the appalling living conditions as well as Allied air raids.

 

The most famous portion of the railway is probably Bridge 277 over the Khwae Yai River (Thai แควใหญ่, English "big tributary"). (The river was originally known as the Mae Klong and was renamed Khwae Yai in 1960.) It was immortalized by Pierre Boulle in his book and the film based on it: The Bridge on the River Kwai. The first wooden bridge over the Khwae Noi (Thai แควน้อย, English "small tributary") was finished in February 1943, followed by a concrete and steel bridge in June 1943. The Allies made several attempts to destroy the bridges, but only succeeded only in damaging them in their first attempts. On April 2, 1945, AZON bomber crews from the U.S. 458th Heavy Bombardment Group destroyed Bridge 277. After the war, two squarish central sections were made in Japan to repair the bridge, and were donated to Thailand.

 

Along the Death Railway today, River Khwae on the leftAfter the war the railway was in too poor a state to be used for the civil Thai railway system, and needed heavy reconstruction. On June 24, 1949, the first part from Kanchanaburi to Nong Pladuk (Thai หนองปลาดุก) was finished; on April 1, 1952, the next section up to Wang Pho (Wangpo); and finally on July 1, 1958, up to Nam Tok (Thai น้ำตก, English "waterfalls".) The portion of the railway still in use measures about 130 km. Beyond Nam Tok, the line has been abandoned. Steel rails have been removed for reuse in expanding the Bangsue Railway Yard, reinforcing the BKK-Banphachi double track, rehabilitating the track from Thung Song to Trang, and constructing both the Nong Pladuk-Suphanburi and Ban Thung Pho-Khirirat Nikhom branch lines. Parts of it have been converted into a walking trail.

 

Since the 1990s there have been plans to rebuild the complete railway, but these plans have not yet come to fruition.

 

The people who built the Burma Railway

 

Conditions during construction

The living and working conditions on the railway were horrific. The estimated total number of civilian labourers and POWs who died during construction is about 160,000. About 25% of the POW workers died because of overwork, malnutrition, and diseases like cholera, malaria, and dysentery. The death rate of the Asian civilian workers was even higher; the number who died is unknown, as the Japanese did not count them.

 

POWs and Asian workers were also used to build the Kra Isthmus Railway from Chumphon to Kra Buri, and the Sumatra or Palembang Railway from Pakanbaroe to Moeara.

 

The construction of the Burma Railway is only one of many major war crimes committed by Japan in Asia during the war. It is regarded as a major event in the "Asian Holocaust", during which millions of civilians and POWs were killed by Japanese personnel.

 

Cemeteries and memorials

The graves of the POWs who died were transferred from camp burial grounds and solitary sites along the railway to three war cemeteries after the war, except for Americans, who were repatriated. The main POW cemetery is in the city of Kanchanaburi, where 6,982 POWs are buried, mostly British, Australian , Dutch and Canadians. A smaller cemetery a bit farther outside city is Chung Kai with 1,750 graves. At Thanbyuzayat in Myanmar there are some 3,800 burials of POWs who died on the Northern part of the line, to Nieke. The three cemeteries are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

 

There are several museums dedicated to those who lost their lives constructing the railway, the largest of which is at Hellfire Pass (north of the current terminus at Nam Tok), a cutting where the greatest number of lives were lost. There is also an Australian memorial at Hellfire Pass.

 

Two other museums are in Kanchanaburi, the Thailand-Burma Railway Museum (opened in March 2003), and the JEATH War Museum.

 

At the Khwae bridge there is a memorial plaque and a historic locomotive is on display.

 

A preserved section of line is at the National Memorial Arboretum, in England.

 

Prominent people who helped build the line

• Sir Ernest Edward "Weary" Dunlop, Australian surgeon renowned for his leadership of POWs on the railway
  
• Frank Pantridge, British physician
  
• Philip Toosey, Senior Allied officer at the Bridge on the River Kwai
  
• Alec Bourne, 94 years of age and still well
  

Extracted from Wikipedia: Death Railway

[growler]

The Jeath museum in Kanchanaburi and in Hellfire Pass are well worth visiting.

[daninusa]

i second that thought. It is interesting that you can see the made in Japan logo on the new replaced portions of the bridge. Thick irony there.

[The Deported One]

It’s a extremely impressive tour one everyone should go on! It is very somber and moving tour!

[Lumbai5]

A Classic Movie that is on my All-Time top 10

 

Although not filmed on location a classic that should be watched

 

Braveheart thank you for posting this infomation...I enjoyed learning more about this topic!

 

 

[gary09]

I know its been a few years (bringing up an old post) thanks Braveheart , good info on there.

I'am planning my next trip to thailand now, & thinking last few weeks that i want to go to the Anzac Day service there, i'll be doing some searching on here about the area, about the service held, hotels, guest houses, other attractions in the area & the bars/girls ,

cheers Gary

[Al.]

It’s a extremely impressive tour one everyone should go on! It is very somber and moving tour!

 

I agree it's a must see especially if you are a Brit, Aussie or Kiwi even Americans could learn a few things

 

I had an Uncle who fought in Burma against the Japanese he hated them with a passion until the day he died wouldn't even get in a Japanese car.

 

His best friend was captured by the Japanese and worked on the railway where he died. He also witnessed first hand some of the atrocities and talked to some of the survivors after the war.

 

The film Bridge on the River Kwai was nothing like the real thing.

 

If you dont know what I am talking about Google The forgotten Army or Death Railway you will be surprised how much there is.

 

This is a part of history that should never be forgotten nor the men who died or survived it.

 

Some of the younger lads would do well to see what there grandparents generation had to endure.

 

Al.

[gary09]

I agree it's a must see especially if you are a Brit, Aussie or Kiwi even Americans could learn a few things

 

I had an Uncle who fought in Burma against the Japanese he hated them with a passion until the day he died wouldn't even get in a Japanese car.

 

His best friend was captured by the Japanese and worked on the railway where he died. He also witnessed first hand some of the atrocities and talked to some of the survivors after the war.

 

The film Bridge on the River Kwai was nothing like the real thing.

 

If you dont know what I am talking about Google The forgotten Army or Death Railway you will be surprised how much there is.

 

This is a part of history that should never be forgotten nor the men who died or survived it.

 

Some of the younger lads would do well to see what there grandparents generation had to endure.

 

Al.

 

 

Hi Al,

i know a little about the Death railway story, i,ve been there twice on day trips from bangkok, but i really want to go there for the service & spend 4/5 days mayb longer in the area & have a good look around,

thanks for info i will look at the "The forgotten Army or Death Railway " u suggested, the movie was good ,but i know it was very loosly based if at all on the real thing.

i know of a few friends grand/greatgrand parents that still hate the Japenese, due to the atrocities they saw & had to endure,

[Al.]

After the war the Japanese were despised by just about everybody. There were calls for the Emperor to be tried for war crimes for purely political reasons this never happened.

 

More Reasons why we should not forget. History is something we should learn from it's perfectly understandable why they were hated so much there were good reasons for it. My guess is that most of the younger Japanese know very little about what happened.

 

 

There is a dawn parade at Hellfire Pass on Anzac Day Sunday 25th April for anyone who is interested

 

Al.

[yogi100]

After the war the Japanese were despised by just about everybody. There were calls for the Emperor to be tried for war crimes for purely political reasons this never happened.

 

More Reasons why we should not forget. History is something we should learn from it's perfectly understandable why they were hated so much there were good reasons for it. My guess is that most of the younger Japanese know very little about what happened.

 

 

There is a dawn parade at Hellfire Pass on Anzac Day Sunday 25th April for anyone who is interested

 

Al.

 

Al

 

Very few young British people know anything about what happened in those days to allied POWs in the hands of the Japanese. Ask a British kid what years spanned WW1 and WW2 and you will be shocked at their lack of knowledge. Such is the standard of education in our schools, the politically correct nincompoops who run our country would sooner the past was swept under the carpet.

[gary09]

After the war the Japanese were despised by just about everybody. There were calls for the Emperor to be tried for war crimes for purely political reasons this never happened.

 

More Reasons why we should not forget. History is something we should learn from it's perfectly understandable why they were hated so much there were good reasons for it. My guess is that most of the younger Japanese know very little about what happened.

 

 

There is a dawn parade at Hellfire Pass on Anzac Day Sunday 25th April for anyone who is interested

 

Al.

Hi Al,

I am very keen to get to the dawn servive this year at Hellfire Pass,thinking of staying in the area for possibly 4/5 days or even longer, should i book in advance for hotels/guesthouses as i guess it will be busy that time of year?

Do u have any recommendatiosn of guesthoses/hotels in around the bar area(if it has one) up to about 1200B ,

 

cheers Gary

[Al.]

For a  hotel <a href="http://www.r24.org/kanchanaburihotels.com/kanchanaburi/riverkwai/pictures.html" class="bbc_url" title="External link" rel="external">River Kwai Hotel</a> (not river kwai resort) it's on the main road in the centre of town has a disco (I'm getting too old for disco's) with some seriously hot girls there a karaoke and a large bar/restaurant with good food, beer by the jug live music and reasonable prices called the Cowboy Bar in front of the hotel. On the opposite side of the road there were bars with girls available to be barfined. Any taxi driver will take you to other bars if you tell them you want a bar with ladies.<br><br>Try some other booking agents as well as the above I believe Agoda were quoting 1075 Baht per night. As for booking in advance, if you can book with the hotel direct without paying then the sooner the better. The booking agents will want full payment for the entire duration.<br><br>It's also not far (walking distance) from the bus station or train station. There is a train from Bangkok (Thon Buri station) that leaves 7.45 arrives Kanchanaburi 10.25 costs around 50 Baht or plenty of buses from Bangkok.<div><br></div><div>The train also carries on to River Kwai Bridge then Nam Tok (waterfall) 12.20<br><br>There is a tour desk in the hotel that will arrange tours, excursions, minibuses taxi's etc. to take you to Hellfire Pass.<div><br></div><div>I may even be there myself this year the only problem is my girlfriend will be 6 months pregnant so I would have to leave her behind<br><br>Al.

 

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[jonnieg]

I thought the jeath musuem and the cemetary was quite emotional. When you read the names, all just young lads really. A really worthwhile trip, quite a long day, we hit the Bangkok traffic coming back which was slow. Thought the train ride was brilliant. If you get a chance, go on this tour. Quite an eye opener to what went on.

[steven baldwin]

If visiting this area i reccomend you take a 1or 2 night stay  here to view all there is to see.I took a day tour from Bangkok which i enjoyed, but they rush you around to fit everything in and you could not view in a relaxed manor. I will be returning there in the future for sure as my grandfather was a worker on the railway.

[andy666]

If visiting this area i reccomend you take a 1or 2 night stay  here to view all there is to see.I took a day tour from Bangkok which i enjoyed, but they rush you around to fit everything in and you could not view in a relaxed manor. I will be returning there in the future for sure as my grandfather was a worker on the railway.

That must be adding even more sentiment to the experience.

[jpduggan1]

   I visited the JEATH Museum this week and it's in a disgraceful condition. The main exibit is a replica of the type of shanty that the prisoners lived in.As you walk along inside there are pictures on the wall that have been damaged by rainwater and are difficult to read due to their detioration. The museum is the responsibility of the Abbot of the nearby temple and he dos'nt seem to be bothered. Out of respect to the many fine men who died here the museum should be taken out of his control and put in the care of a responsible administration.

[Daveo]

We have one or two books in the war section on this subject aslo copies of this 30 page magazine can be printed off to order.