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The Importance of China-Burma-India Theater

4/20/2021

1 Comment

 
by Emily Winters
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The creation of the China-Burma-India Theater was crucial to both the short-term plans and long-term goals of the American Army in South East Asia. The Allies, such as the American, British, and Chinese Armies, attempt to fight the immediate threat of Japanese invasion. Japan was already actively occupying China, but its campaign was expanding in the South East and became a more pressing concern for the Allies. Not only was the Axis of Power expanding its line of battles during World War II, but they were also invading nations that were not previously directly or actively involved in the war, such as the country of Burma.

The Allies' involvement in the South East region is complex and, to understand the power dynamics of this region, one must understand the historical context of Burma. Due to Burma's history of being colonized and imperialized by the British, the American Army had to go through the pre-existing British services to establish any Civil or Military Services for the China-Burma-India Theater at the start of the 1940s. An archive document from an American Civil Servant serving in the China-Burma-India Theater stated that the American Army Personnel were making the military and operations decisions within the overall control of British forces. The British and American defense of uninvolved countries - some specifically imperialized by the British - was the highest short-term priority.

Both the British and American forces, however, desired to maintain their authority in the South East. Specifically, British forces wanted to maintain colonial control over Burma. In contrast, the American Military wanted to defend the countries in the South East Theater during World War II and establish a post-war occupation to protect the region from Japanese forces. In the early 1940s, the Japanese Military was expanding their control in China as well as Burma, and the American Military wanted to keep forces in South East Asia to stop the expansion of Japanese control. One document from the Archive discusses that it was difficult to transport goods to Allied Powers in the China-Burma-India Theater because of Japanese submarines stationed throughout the South East. This alludes to the idea that the Allied mission in the South East was no secret to the Japanese, who were clearly monitoring the region. However, Allied shipments were not limited to wartime goods. Finance documents reveal that there was access to local vehicles, but the same documents also show that the British Military, in particular, was funding the construction of railways throughout India as well as the South East region.

The manufacturing of railways solidifies the presence of colonial power, indicating that western occupants were there to stay. The creation of the China-Burma-India Theater by the Allied Powers was two-fold: While the immediate threat of the war took precedent, there was also a desire to expand power in a more permanent way.

There are multiple documents pertaining to the development and preparations for creating the China-Burma-India Theater in the Pacific Atrocities Education Archives. ​

To learn more about China-Burma-India, check out our publications:

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1 Comment
Kent Evans
12/23/2022 10:15:30 am

I would like to know why anytime WWII is mentioned about that only the Pacific & European Theaters are mentioned but CBI theater is rarely ever mentioned in documentaries? The reason for this question is that my father was stationed in India during this war and a member of the CBI unit. I have always felt that they were left out there were three theaters not just two.

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  • Home
    • About >
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        • Summer Research Relocation Fund
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      • Black Hearts (2021)
    • Blog
    • Podcast: Forgotten History
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  • Books
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    • Supplementary Research Guides >
      • Unit 731 - Guide >
        • Background of Biochemical Warfare Development
        • Imperial Japan's Chemical Warfare Development Program
        • Map of Unit 731
        • Personnel of Unit 731
        • Duties of Unit 731
        • Human Experimentation
        • [GRAPHIC] Germ Warfare Attacks
        • Cover Ups After the War
        • [OLD] Cover Ups After the War
      • Philippines' Resistance - Guide >
        • Philippines World War II Timeline
        • The Japanese Invasion & Conquest of the Philippines
        • Bataan Death March
        • Formation of Underground Philippines Resistance
        • Supplies of the Guerrilla Fighters
        • The Hukbalahap
        • Hunter's ROTC
        • Marking's Guerrillas
        • United States Army Forces in the Philippines of Northern Luzon (USAFIP-NL)
        • The Aetas
        • Chinese and Filipino-Chinese Nationalist Guerrilla Units
        • The Female Faces of the Philippine Guerrillas
      • Rising Sun Flag - Guide >
        • History of the Rising Sun Flag
        • Atrocities Committed Under the Flag
        • Rising Sun Flag in Pop Culture
      • Pinay Guerrilleras - Guide >
        • Japanese Occupation of the Philippine Islands: Pinays Answering the Call to Arms
        • The Fierce Heneralas and Kumanders of the Hukbalahap Guerrillas
        • Amazons of the Pacific Theater
        • Filipina American Veterans: Recovering the Extraordinary Feats of the Ordinary Pinays
        • The Legacy of the Asian Women Soldier
      • Fall of Singapore - Guide >
        • Singapore World War II Timeline
        • History of World War II in the Pacific
        • History of Singapore
        • Japan's Conquest in Asia
        • Japan's Invasion of the Malay Peninsula
        • Sook Ching Massacre
        • Double Tenth Incident
        • Social Changes and Challenges in Singapore
        • Voices from Syonan
        • Return to British Rule
      • Three Years and Eight Months - Guide >
        • Hong Kong before WW2
        • Buildup to World War 2
        • The Battle of Hong Kong
        • Life during 3 Years and 8 Months
        • East River Column Guerrilla Fighters
        • Prisoners of War Camps
        • End of Japanese Occupation
        • War Crimes Trials
      • Siamese Sovereignty - Guide >
        • The Land of Smiles
        • The Thai-Japanese Relationship
        • Phibun’s Domestic and International Policies
        • The Free Thai Resistance Movement
        • Post WW2 Aftermath of Thailand
      • The Khabarovsk War Crimes Trial - Guide >
        • Defendants of Khabarovsk War Crime
        • The Japanese Empire and USSR in WW2
        • The Employment of the Bacteriological Weapon in the War
        • Planning of Japan invasion to USSR
      • Unit 731 Cover-up : The Operation Paperclip of the East - Guide >
        • Establishing Manchukuo
        • The Development of Unit 731
        • Plan Kantokuen and Bacteriological Warfare
        • The Downfall of the Japanese WW2 Era
        • Three Stages of Interrogations
        • Lasting Impacts
      • Marutas of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • How did Ishii Shiro start unit 731?
        • A Beta Testing Site
        • Establishing Pingfan
        • Experiences at the Human Experimentation Complex
        • Vivisection at the Unit 731
        • Anta Testing Grounds
        • Overall Advance from the Laboratory Creations
        • The End of the War
      • Prince Konoe Memoir - Guide >
        • Who is Prince Konoe?
        • Preparation to Tripartite Pact
        • Emperor Hirohito and Prince Konoe
        • The End of Prince Konoe
      • Competing Empires in Burma - Guide >
        • What was the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • When did the China-Burma-India Theater Happen?
        • Who Fought in the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • The Second Sino Japanese War
        • Japan in the South
        • Operation U-Go
      • Battle of Shanghai - Guide >
        • The Battle of Shanghai. Background
        • Shanghai Before War
        • The First Battle of Shanghai 1932
        • Battle of Shanghai 1937
        • Aftermath of Battle for Shanghai
      • Ishi Shiro - Guide >
        • History of Biological Weapons and The Young Ishii Shiro
        • Establishment in Manchuria
        • Pingfang District - Harbin
        • Failures and Corruption
        • Post War
      • Taiwan The Israel of the East - Guide >
        • Background of Formosa
        • Industrialization of Japan
        • China During WWII
        • Taiwan under Kuomintang
        • New Taiwanese National Identity
      • Seeking Justice for Biological Warfare Victims of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • Introduction of Wang Xuan
        • Colonel Memorandum
        • The Beginning of Biological Warfare
        • The Bacteriological Warfare on China
        • Victims in Zhejiang’s Testimonies
        • After the War
      • Rice and Revolution - Guide >
        • The French Colonial Period
        • Anti-Colonial Resistance
        • The Rise of the Communist Movement
        • Imperial Japan’s Entry into Indochina
        • The Portents of Famine
        • The Famine (1944-45)
        • Legacy of the 1944-45 Vietnam Famine
      • Clash of Empires - Guide >
        • Japan’s Imperialist Origins
        • Japan’s Competition against the West: Nanshin-ron and Hokushin-ron
        • Japanese Imperialism Through the Lens of French Indochina
        • The U.S.-Japan Relations and the Pearl Harbor Attack
      • Hunger for Power and Self-SufficiencyI - Guide >
        • The Influence of War Rations on Post-War Culinary Transformations
        • How World War II Complicated Food Scarcity and Invention
        • American Military Innovations
        • Government-Sponsored Food Inventions in Europe during World War II
        • Feeding the Army: The Adaptation of Japanese Military Cuisine and Its Impact on the Philippines
        • Mixed Dishes: Culinary Innovations Driven by Necessity and Food Scarcity
    • Lesson Plans >
      • Reparations
      • Ethics in Science
      • Writing the Narrative of a Pinay Fighter
      • Privilege Journal
      • Environmental Injustices
      • Female Guerrillas
      • Hunter's ROTC
      • Scientific Advancements
      • Seeking Justice: A Humanities Lesson Plan
      • The Hukbalahap
      • Trading Immunity
      • Bataan Death March
      • Biochemical Warfare Development
Contribute