We’re heading deep into the jungles of Southeast Asia to unpack one of the most overlooked and misunderstood campaigns of the Second World War—the Burma campaign. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, military historian and author Jack Bowsher joins Max and Tony to break down the brutal terrain, Japanese tactics, and the challenges faced by the multinational Allied forces in Burma.

We explore the strategic importance of Burma to the Allied war effort, the jungle’s deadly environment, and why tanks—despite everything you might assume—played a critical role in the campaign’s outcome. Jack also explains how the British and Indian armies functioned as distinct yet overlapping forces, and why the Japanese military was both fanatically aggressive and operationally effective—until they weren’t.

This is a masterclass in the forgotten mechanics of jungle warfare, full of rich detail, wild stories, and some very human lessons from the world’s most unforgiving terrain.

Jack Bowsher’s Work

Forgotten Armour: Tank Warfare in Burma – https://amzn.to/4ctduyd

Thunder Run (pre-order) – https://www.chiselbury.co.uk/coming-soon/p/thunder-run-meiktila-1945-by-jack-bowsher

A War of Empires by Rob Lyman - https://amzn.to/3GgPfap

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/historybowsh/

The Forgotten War Podcast: Burma Campaign WW2 - https://shows.acast.com/the-forgotten-war-pod

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