Death Railway

The Death Railway (known also as Burma Railway or Burma Thai Railway) was a railway built from Thailand to Burma (now Myanmar) by the Japanese during World War II to complete the route from Bangkok to Rangoon and support the Japanese occupation of Burma. It was so called because of the human cost of its construction. About 200,000 conscripted Asian labourers and 60,000 Allied POW's were forced to work on the railway. Of these around 100,000 Asian labourers and 16,000 Allied prisoners of war (POW) died on the project. The Allied POW dead were made up of 6,318 British, 2,815 Australians, 2,490 Dutch and the remainder from the USA (Wigmore, p588).

Purpose

Japan was given right of passage to Thailand and occupied Burma during the Pacific War, however when the sea route through the Strait of Malacca became vulnerable an alternative way of transporting support to the troops in Burma was needed. A railway connection between Thailand and Burma was already surveyed at the beginning of the 20th century by the British, but was considered too difficult to complete. The Japanese nevertheless started the project in June 1942, connecting Kanchanaburi with Thanbyuzayat by the Three Pagoda Pass. Construction started simultaneously at the Thai and the Burmese side. Most railway materials (tracks, sleepers etc.) were carted from dismantled branches of the Federated States of Malaya Railways (FMSR - now known as Keretapi Tanah Melayu) rail network.

After 18 months the 415 kilometers of railway were finished, when on October 17, 1943 the two lines met about 18 km south of the Three Pagoda Pass at Konkuita (Kaeng Khoi Tha in Songklaburi district of Kanchanaburi). While most of the POW 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 part of the railway is the bridge over the Khwae Yai River (Thai แควใหญ่, English big tributary), "Mae Klong River (renamed Khwae Yai River in 1960)", named River Kwai in the book by Pierre Boulle and the later film 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. Both bridges were destroyed on April 2, 1945, by the AZON crews of the 458th Heavy Bombardment Group USAAF, but had been damaged and repaired several times before already. The two squarish central sections of the current bridge were made in Japan and donated to Thailand to repair the bridge as war reparations.

After the war the railway was in too poor a state to be used for the civil Thai railway system, and needed heavy reconstruction. In June 24, 1949 the first part from Kanchanaburi to Nong Pladuk (Thai หนองปลาดุก) was finished, in April 1, 1952 the next section up to Wampo (Wang Pho), and finally in July 1, 1958 up to Nam Tok (Thai น้ำตก, English waterfalls.) The portion of the railway still in use measures about 130km. Beyond Nam Tok, the line is abandoned; Steel rails have been removed to be reused for expanding Bangsue Railway Yard, Reinforcing BKK - Banphachi double track, rehabilitating the track form Thung Song to Trang, constructing of both Nong Pladuk - Suphanburi and Ban Thung Pho - Khirirat Nikhom Branch line; 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 living and working conditions on the railway were horrific. About 25% of the POW workers died because of overworking, malnutrition and diseases like cholera, malaria and dysentery. The death rate of the Asian workers was even higher; the number who died is unknown, as the Japanese did not count them. The estimated total number of those who perished durign the construction is about 100000-170000.

Several memorials were built on the Thai side after the war. Directly at the bridge is a memorial plaque, and a historic locomotive is on display as well (C-56 No. 719, P Class No. 804 or so). Another memorial built by the Australians is at the Hellfire Pass, a landcut which cost most lives of all. The main POW cemetery is in the city Kanchanaburi. 6,982 POW were buried there, mostly British, Dutch, Australian and American. A smaller cemetery a bit further outside city is Chong Kai with 1,750 graves. Both are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

The construction of the Death Railway was only one of many major war crimes committed by Japan during the course of its wars in Asia. It is regarded as a major event in the Asian Holocaust, during which over 15 million Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Indonesian, Burmese, Indochinese civilians, Pacific Islanders and Allied POWs were killed.

Memorials

There are several museums dedicated to those who lost their lives constructing the railway - the best of which is at Hellfire Pass, north of the current terminus at Nam Tok. Two other museums are in Kanchanaburi, the Thailand-Burma Railway Museum, opened in March 2003, and the JEATH War Museum. There is also a preserved section of line and memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum, England.

Trivia

The Bridge over the River Kwai was one of the levels in the role playing game 'Commandos 2'. The Allied Forces had to rescue the prisoner, eliminate the Japanese General and sabotage the bridge.

References

The Japanese Thrust - Australia in the War of 1939-1945, Lionel Wigmore, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1957.

External links

http://www.tourismthailand.org/destinationguide/list.aspx?provinceid=56&typeid=7
http://www.ean.co.uk/Bygones/History/Article/WW2/Death_Railway/body_index.htm
Prisoner of War FX Larkin NX43393 AIF — Detailed web site with documentation and photographs relating to the POW experiences of Frank Larkin in Malaya, Singapore, Thailand and Japan.
http://www.POWs-of-Japan.net - Articles on the Australian medical personnel working on the railway. Also sketches by POWs.

Kanchanaburi War Cemetery CWGC for reference only
Kanchanaburi Memorial CWGC for reference only
Chungkai War Cemetery CWGC for reference only

World War II POW camps | World War II crimes | Railway lines

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Purpose

Memorials

Trivia

See also

References

External links