THE STILLWELL ROAD

[Music] [Music] thank you [Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] thank you [Music] this is the story of a bridge it is a land bridge to China and its name is Burma the main span of this bridge the Burma Road was started by the Chinese after the Japanese invasion of Eastern China in 1937. according to one eyewitness it was scratched out of the mountains with fingernails [Music] foreign Chinese labored and many died so that blockaded China could fight on late in 1938 the road was completed following the ancient trade route used in the Middle Ages by Caravans bearing silk and Jade Amber and Ivory now that route was to be traveled by Caravans of guns and fuel ammunition and food across the land bridge of Burma to China to keep that country alive and its struggle against Japan just as Russia had been kept alive in its battle against Germany by the land bridge of Iran the Nazis tried to destroy that Lifeline but Iran was saved by the British at El alamine and by the Russians at Stalingrad China was not as fortunate one month after Pearl Harbor the Japanese struck at the land bridge of Burma this is the story of the destruction of that bridge and are the men who fought and died to rebuild it so that China could fight on a defeated China would mean India invaded and increased pressure on General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz in the Pacific The Invasion started in January 1942. both on the ground and in the air the Japs had overwhelming superiority [Music] on the Allied side General Alexander headed small forces of British Indians and Burmese and general Stillwell commanded Chinese troops sent by generalismo Chiang Kai-shek the Japanese sought to cut off China's supply line from Rangoon to Mandalay and then to the Burma Road running from last year to Kunming they Struck from the border of Thailand toward the vital Port of Rangoon is American volunteer group The Flying Tigers together with small units of the RAF helped to hold off the offense [Music] attack Rangoon in force foreign goon fell [Music] the enemy swept onto Central Burma along the road to Mandalay whereby air and ground and with the aid of Fifth columnists and looters they destroyed that City [Music] [Music] [Music] despite Chinese resistance they overran the salween river area on talashio Terminus of the Burma Road by the end of April they captured the strategically important town of michina the Burma Road was cut thousands of refugees choked the roads as Alexander and Stillwell were forced to retreat with what was left of their armies [Music] last to leave with the Demolition Squad who scorched the Earth destroyed equipment and put fire to oil supplies foreign [Music] with them in ever-growing mass of refugees Burmese whose homes and lives had been shattered the Allies did what they could for these refugees and through brilliant leadership and individual fortitude managed to keep ahead of the Jets they retreated along elephant trails through jungle across rivers and mountains to the safety of India [Music] foreign [Music] said the last word on the campaign I claim we got a hell of a beating we gotta run out of Burma and it's humiliating as hell I think we ought to find out what caused it go back and retake the place Burma covers approximately the same area as Texas on its western border lies India on its eastern China Indochina and Thailand to many Burma is a land of Legend a shrine of Buddhism with its pagodas its fabled Road demand delay its colorful cities and Villages as strange and picturesque people [Music] to the Allies however who were to fight there Burma is a land of Perpetual struggle against nature with jungle so thick that whole armies can pass within a short distance of each other without detection wide and turbulent rivers that are almost impassable mountain barriers reaching their greatest height in the Himalayas the highest range in the world it's a land of extreme climate intense cold heat and Monsoon rainfall as great as anywhere on Earth [Applause] [Music] swamps are breeding grounds for malarial mosquitoes cholera berry berry typhus dysentery tropical fevers and sores plague its inhabitants this was the land where we were to fight [Music] reopening the land bridge of Burma was a tremendous one General Stillwell's First Act after the Japanese invasion was the formation of an American command known as CBI China Burma India from China came thousands of Chinese they were carried over the Himalayas by planes of the American Air Force to ramgar in India here under CBI a huge training station had been started [Music] on the British side the commander-in-chief of India command was field Marshal sir Archer Baldwin later to become Viceroy and to be succeeded in his military leadership by General Sir Claude auchenlink on the shoulders of these men there fell the responsibility of raising and training huge armies for the defense of India foreign [Music] T long before India became a vast armed camp [Music] from the Independent Kingdom of Nepal came the gurdas from the Naga Hills Naga Headhunters joined forces with the allies from East Africa and West Africa came more troops from Burma came the Burma rifles and from the chin Hills chin and catch and tribesmen Scots Irish English Welsh Australian New Zealander Indian Gurkha Berman African Chinese American never was there such a polyglot Army in the meantime in China roads packed with refugees gave evidence of the terrific struggle against the Japanese advance [Music] there were attempts to push through other Trails mule packs were driven over the Himalayas to China at freezing altitudes but the cargo they could carry was pitifully small and the time it took incredibly long foreign the first step was the construction of an air Bridge across which supplies were to be flown by Flyers of the American Transport command shuttling back and forth over what they called the hump it was a slow Process Equipment had to be taken apart so there could be loaded aboard planes [Music] it was flown across Burma over the Himalayas to Kunming in China enemy interception particularly from the important Air Base at michinoff denied them a direct line and forced them North over a much higher route they flew across jungles who missed and fogged over mountains often at Heights of over twenty thousand feet with the Menace of Japanese planes ever present they made a sky Bridge 525 miles long over the roof of the world carried across an unarmed transport planes the vital supplies needed by the American and Chinese Air Forces and the Chinese armies it wasn't enough there was still desperate need for a land bridge so at the end of 1942 a road was started the Lido Road starting at Lido in Northern India plan was to drive through jungles rivers mountains and [ __ ] opposition to a juncture with the Burma Road a Supply route would then be forged from Calcutta Toledo by rail across the Lido Burma Road deconming and thanks to Chun King in China Burma's mountains rivers Railways and highways extend from north to south to push through this new road the Allies would have to fight against the grain from west to east the Lido Road was begun by a handful of men facing a task that had been called impossible and so with inadequate machinery and pools a few American engineering units were the Detachment of Chinese engineers and what Asiatic labor could be had started one of the greatest Road building jobs in history [Music] [Music] again and again they saw their work collapse as the monsoon washed away whole stretches but the road inched along [Applause] [Music] at the docks in Calcutta second largest city of the British Empire supplies from America and Great Britain and the factories of India were piling up waiting to be hauled to the Lido Road in the hump some of the supplies were sent by water up the hugely River to the brahmaputra in primitive flat boats and barges almost as cumbersome a route was the bengalhasam railway it traveled a circuitous Road making long detours to outlying tea plantations switching three times to different gauge rails over Road deaths that had to be constantly repaired as a result of the monsoon the fastest method was by cargo plane from Calcutta but as yet there were too few planes available for this purpose during this time there was a secret Expedition that came to light when a small group of worn and Haggard men emerged from the Burmese jungle they were called the chindis their name was taken from the Burmese name for a legendary animal that symbolized protection almost as legendary was their leader Brigadier later Major General Charles ORD Wingate professional Soldier Pioneer jungle fighter in the beginning of 1943 with complete secrecy he had led British and Indian troops behind the Enemy Lines Into the Heart of Burma cross the chindwin river to the erawadi a distance of 200 miles on foot about this time the first Quebec conference took place between Roosevelt Churchill and the American and British Chiefs of Staff here new plans were evolved for the war against Japan a new command was formed southeast Asia command combining the British and American operations the appointment of Supreme Allied Commander went to Admiral Lord Louis mouth Patton former Chief of combined operations in Britain and leader of the Commandos General Stillwell was appointed Deputy Supreme Allied Commander In addition to his duties as Chief of Staff in China and head of CBI back in Southeast Asia Mount Patton set up his Allied headquarters choosing as its Emblem The Phoenix the symbolic bird that emerged From the Ashes of a destroying fire meanwhile on the Lido road construction was progressing with Colonel later to become Major General Louis a pick in command of the engineers Toledo road is going to be built said pick mud and rain and malaria be damned as the bulldozers and tractors cleared away obstructions Chinese infantry and artillery trained by the American Army in ramgar India moved ahead to clear away enemy opposition foreign along this route another great engineering project was starting a fuel pipeline fed from India across Burma to China over 2 000 miles of pipe was laid like a huge artery across the Savage terrain to carry a transfusion of gasoline diesel oil and lubricating oil each in its turn for the trucks and tanks the machines and the planes that were fighting in China foreign [Music] was being waged against another enemy in Burma the enemy of disease with its deadly spearhead the malarial mosquito which had taken a huge toll of the fighting men amen it was necessary to cut these communication lines too [Music] another problem was the treatment of casualties from enemy gunfire wounded men were sometimes carried Miles by foot by raft mule Jeep truck Ox cart [Music] one of the great Heroes of this campaign was Colonel Gordon Seagrave formerly an American Medical missionary who was with Stillwell on his Retreat from Burma and went back to that country with a group of nurses of various native races and a series of Mobile hospital units Seagrave and his men and women performed operations under the most primitive conditions [Music] the conquest of disease made huge strides now the conquest of the Jets had to keep pace more and more Chinese were being trained at ramgar in India and at Kunming in China these were to become part of the unan force that were to strike at the enemy from the China Burma border across the salween river to Northern India the chinese-american composite Wing had been organized by Major General Claire Chenault for the general Assemble a picked group of American volunteers was instructing Chinese pilots and Crews to fly the latest types of planes [Music] at another base in India Brigadier later majored General Frank Merrill was training the Marauders force of experienced American jungle Fighters sent to CBI by General Marshall there were less than 3 000 of them at a secret Airfield in Assam planes and gliders assembled for another American unit the first air Commando Force sent by General Arnold it was commanded by Colonel Philip Cochran known to Millions as flip Cork and in Terry and the Pirates and by Colonel John Allison formerly of the Flying Tigers cargo plane shuttled back and forth over the hump to China Advanced troops in the Lido Road Drive were supplied from the air by The Troop Carrier command supplies were carefully packed according to weight size and breakableness [Music] they were loaded on planes with parachutes attached now to find the men hidden in the jungles that needed these supplies the Allied Air Force of British and Americans in the newly formed Eastern Air Command bombed and strafed Jeff strongholds [Music] China huge air bases were being built for a new and powerful weapon the B-29 super Fortress thousands of Asiatic laborers men women and children used whatever tools they could find no matter how primitive [Music] on the enemy side the Japs gathered reinforcements into their Burmese garrisons and airfields to meet the growing strength of the allies China the struggle continued the reopening of the land bridge had to be accomplished [Music] the early part of 1944 the Supreme and Deputy Supreme Allied commanders met and laid out a plan of action for this reopening the British Indian 14th Army in the arakam in order to hold the southern front more effectively was to extend its Frontier lines down the acab peninsula simultaneously stillwells Lido forces of Americans and Chinese were to speed up the Lido Road campaign with a drive on the strongholds of mogong and michina to Aid in this purpose the American Marauders led by Merrell were placed under Stilwell a third coordinating operation was a penetration from the air in which Wingate British and Indian chindits were to be flown Into the Heart of Burma to land behind and cut enemy supply lines for the fourth and last phase of the plan the Chinese Yunnan force would strike from the China Burma border across the mountains and jungles of the salween river area in order to reopen the Burma Road for a juncture with the Lido Road now the plans were laid and the stage set for the reopening of the Burma land bridge the first step was taken on the arakan front when the 14th began its March down the acab peninsula the Army moved rapidly toward the towns of mangdar and boothadone however the Japs succeeded in carrying out a flanking movement on our lines of communication and moving by Night sees the Naggy duck pass through which went the main road connecting our forward troops with the rear for some time it looked as though they had succeeded in cutting off a complete Advance division from the air RAF bombers opened an attack on the jack positions in the Nagy duck pass meanwhile the seventh Indian division using tanks for the first time in this campaign attacked the same objective in that vital pass the seventh Indian division finally succeeded in clearing the pass and relieving the beleaguered troops once again our lines of communication were reopened by the time the monsoon broke on the southern front in June the 14th Army had destroyed nearly seven thousand of the jap's finest troops and it extended Allied lines to form a powerful defense block the second blow for the reopening of the land bridge was struck by the Lido force in an offensive to push the Lido Road through mogong to michina to Aid in the drive on michinoff the American Marauders acted as a flanking Force harassing the enemy in a series of left hooks these Marauders were seasoned jungle Fighters Veterans of Guadalcanal New Britain and New Guinea men gathered together by a message which read the president of the United States has called for volunteers from experienced jungle troops for a dangerous and hazardous operation somewhere [Music] on March 5th came the third blow an aerial penetration of Burma the plan was to fly a Detachment of American engineers in gliders 200 miles into enemy occupied territory and land them on Jungle strips which they would convert into airfields once these airfields were prepared transport planes would fly in a force of shindits patrols were then fan out cut Jeff communication lines and Harris the enemy from the rear British general Wingate in command of the chindits arrived at lalligat to discuss final plans with American Colonel Phil Cochran of number one air Commandos D-Day rows of nylon tow ropes were carefully laid out ready for the takeoff of dozens of twin-toed gliders supplies of all kinds were loaded including bulldozers and equipment for the use of the American engineers in constructing air strips in the jungle pilots and Crews gathered to hear final instruction from Colonel Cochrane is there anything anybody doesn't know there is let's get it straight now okay now just before I came over here I had her final meeting with the British ground troops that you're going to take in there tonight and I talked to the guy that's got the red flare that you know is going to be shot off if there's too much interference with the first few gliders at land and he tells me that that Flare's in an awful deep pocket it's going to take somebody an awful lot of finding to get at it so if those guys have got that kind of heart and they got that kind of guts it's up to us to get them in there so they can do their job and get them in right now tonight your whole reason for being your whole existence is going to be jammed up into a couple minutes and it's just going to balance it there and it's going to take your character to bring it through now nothing you've ever done before in your life means a thing tonight you're going to find out you've got a soul good luck the transport stood ready for takeoff gliders were lined up Suddenly there appeared in the sky above a plane returning from a last-minute reconnaissance flight something was wrong photos revealed that the main field was hopelessly obstructed Tree Trunks and logs had been strewn over it so the glider Landings on this field were impossible the troops waited for Cochrane and Wingate to make a decision it wasn't long and coming within 15 minutes they were climbing into the gliders an alternative strip known as Broadway was now to be the main air base dusk the first planes took off each transport Towing twin gliders [Music] and within them men sat silently grimly waiting for what lay ahead when the sun rose Over Broadway it revealed a field littered with Wounded gliders there were wounded men too and some Beyond ones [Music] the first glider had bumped to a halt on a field rutted by Buffalo bogs and elephant Footprints and strewn with large teak wood logs hidden from the eyes of reconnaissance cameras by The Tall Grass a second glider came in then a third they followed one another so fast that it was impossible to clear the field of obstructions and the wrecked gliders the wounded were tended on the field trolls fanned out through the jungle to give protection to the small band of Engineers and wounded they buried their dead in the Burmese jungle their Burmese Padre read the last rites and his words mingled with the sound of bulldozers and tractors leveling the field for the arrival that night of the first flight of transports carrying the remainder of the airborne troops by that afternoon the engineers had completed their work Broadway was open for business that night and for six successive nights RAF and American Pilots of The Troop Carrier command led by Brigadier General William D old flew back and forth between lalagat and the jungle strip of Broadway which became a base from which patrols of chindet spanned out in all directions with the arrival of RAF Spitfires and American p-51s on Broadway air protection was made available to cover operations but the enemy struck back eight days after our troops had landed Broadway was attacked by zeros in a series of rays [Music] American and British planes landed and took off within close range of the Jabs succeeded in capturing the far end of the field but were held there by Allied ground and air Fighters their wings armed with bazookas foreign [Music] [Music] were silenced and its troops forced back into the jungle General Wingate had paid one of his many visits to Broadway about this time on his return flight to his base his plane crashed in the jungle in our sand [Music] Broadway an Airfield carved out of the Jungle stood as a fit Memorial to General Charles Ford Wingate early in March the Japs made an attempt to regain the initiative they moved three divisions to the chindwin river crossed it and struck at imfall in India in a powerful pincer movement aimed at cutting the Bengal Assam Railway carrying supplies to the Allied troops in Northern Burma headlines all over the world Blaze the news that [ __ ] armies were on Indian soil that India had been invaded the announcements as usual were premature but the Allied situation nevertheless was extremely great [Applause] [Music] reinforcements were desperately needed once again transports of the American Troop Carrier command were called in an entire erican division with mules and supplies were carried 230 Miles by air from one fighting front to another by the beginning of April one Japanese force was eight miles from impul while another had Advanced on kohima they cut the roads surrounding kahina including the Manipur Road the 14th Army's main supply line at kohima a small hill station a Garrison of British and Indian infantry dug in and held onto a hill position overlooking the town conserving ammunition The Garrison held on daily transports brought over ammunition food water and vital medical accessories the hill soon became known to the Troops as parachute Hill for 13 days The Garrison held out against a force three times its strength slowly relieving forces began to arrive foreign ly the Infantry could take the initiative the [ __ ] had suffered a costly defeat foreign however before the [ __ ] attempt to cut their supply lines failed the Lido force in the Marauders had continued their Drive the Chinese were now in the mogong valley advancing on the important enemy Supply base of Mogan the Marauders in their 700 mile March were moving on the town of michinoff with its strategically valuable Air Base the attack on mogong began at dawn of the 23rd of June the Chinese forces are danced from the north force that had pushed up from Broadway Struck from the southwest [Music] by the second day the railway station was occupied then on the third day the Chinese Enchanted forces Linked UP [Music] meanwhile the Marauders reinforced by Chinese troops had marched for days in their drive toward the Airfield at michino [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] was apparently taken by surprise and withdrew to the town two miles east [Music] over the air with two words cafeteria lunch the code signal indicating that Michener Air Base was in Allied hands within one hour of its capture gliders flew over bringing Engineers to repair and improve the field they floated down to make rough and dangerous Landings Under Fire from the town [Music] the engineers went to work as Chinese troops man defense positions around the field the monsoon started in driving rain made the task of the engineers doubly difficult Stillwell arrived for a conference with Merrell [Music] now with the elimination of enemy interception from michinoff cargo planes could fly to Kunming in China on the southerly and more direct route at lower altitudes and with increased tonnage however before the air base could be operated effectively the enemy had to be routed from the town Ed from the air by Fighters and bombs The Ground American Marauders and Chinese troops pounded the town with what little artillery they had foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] Siege 78 days which finally ended in the complete destruction of the chaff forces defending the town while the Advance on Michener was taking place the fourth Allied blower struck a Thrust from the China Burma border through the salaween river area by the Yunnan Chinese expeditionary Force the object of this blow was to clear the way for the eventual linking up of the Burma and Lido roads to accomplish their task two [ __ ] strongholds long Ling and Tang Chung had to be taken on the morning of May 11th the offensive started five Chinese columns together with the U.S army operations staff crossed the salaween river and moved on to the world's highest Battleground the keoli mountains spur of the Himalayas for days they struggled up precipitous slopes [Music] until they cited one of their goals The Siege began [Music] [Music] foreign ERS driven from pillbox are streaked for cover but machine guns picked them off as they ran foreign [Music] Chinese wounded were carried back over the wrecked walls there were no [ __ ] wounded only dead except for a handful of prisoners [Music] Tang Chung fell then long Lane and the Chinese and American flags flew over these two key strongholds the b-29s that had come to China and India Were Striking at Burma Sumatra Java Manchurian flying the longest missions ever undertaken [Music] finally they struck at the heart of the Japanese Homeland and dropped their bombs on Tokyo [Music] but the Jabs struck back in a new China offensive the American air bases that had been built in that country was such a vast effort were in danger of being overrun by the enemy there was barely time to destroy supplies and installations [Music] one air base after another fell before the onslaught foreign [Music] once again roads and rails were packed with fleeing refugees [Music] thank you [Music] the offensive grew in strength until it had cut China in half now unless supplies could be rushed through as never before China faced total defeat tonnage over the hump was increased at a terrific rate thick line that was already feeding the Allies in Northern Burma pushed on so that it could feed the Allies in China and on the Lido and Burma roads with enemy opposition being cleared away the engineers raced at top speed to reach the point where the two roads would meet [Music] foreign [Music] on a historic day in January Brigadier later Major General pick commander of the Lido road construction met Lieutenant General Dan I Sultan who had succeeded General Stillwell as commanding officer of the India Burma theater roads open we have a convoy form I'd like your permission to take it through to China [Music] the first Convoy was on its way from India to China across the 1044 miles of the newly completed Lido Burma Road now called the Stillwell Road in tribute to the man who had dedicated himself to the building of this great project [Music] after a 24-day Journey the Convoy arrived safely in Kunming [Music] thank you the Allies British Indian Chinese American had bought toiled and bled and now at last China's land bridge had been rebuilt Abe had come to China [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music]