Why did men from Suffolk find themselves building the Burma-Siam railway?

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Sarah Smith                                                                                   History Coursework

Why did men from Suffolk find themselves building the Burma-Siam railway?

During the Second World War the Japanese bombed pearl harbour and advanced on places like Singapore aiming for India in the British Empire in Asia. Japan lacked in natural sources such as oil; this gave them their incentive to attack. At this time Britain had made the mistake of not spending a lot on defenses in Singapore in order to improve there own defense against Germany in the European war. This was not the only mistake they made: firstly they underestimated the Japanese; as being racist they believed Japanese soldiers were inferior and because they wore glasses could not shoot properly. Also they believed that the jungle north of Singapore was too difficult for them to get through. As a result British soldiers in Singapore were poorly organized and had little combat experience; their commanders underestimated the Japanese also. An example of a stupid mistake the British made at this time was to send out two battleships as a scare plan against the Japanese but not send planes to protect them: These ships, shortly after being sighted were gunned down.

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Because the British thought it impossible that the Japanese could get through the northern jungle they put all their defenses (big guns) up on the sea coast. The Japanese saw an opportunity; although they could not use trucks to get into Singapore via the jungle they could get through quickly by bicycle. After capturing Singapore and taking thousands of British men prisoner; the Japanese attacked Burma and approached the edge of India. Now they needed to supply their troops with food and weapons, so they had the idea to build a railway. Japan had never signed the Geneva Convention; this ...

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