The Forgotten War Podcast: Burma Campaign WW2

12. Pangsha: The Story of a Naga Village

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

In this week Rob and Jack discuss the story of the very remote Naga village of Pangsha in the Second World War.

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11. The Indian Air Force

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 05:00:00 GMT

This week Jack and Rob welcome KS 'Sree' Nair to the pod to discuss the Indian Air Force - its origins and early work in the Second World War. We will of course have him back in later series to discuss the IAF up to 1945, including its change to the Royal Indian Air Force in 1945.

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10. The Assam Regiment

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 05:00:00 GMT

This week Rob and Jack are joined by Charlotte Carty, historian and granddaughter of Lt. Col. William Felix “Bruno” Brown who raised and commanded the 1st Battalion of the Assam Regiment.

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9. India & Indian Independence

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 12:47:52 GMT

This week Jack and Rob are joined by Walter Reid to discuss India and Indian Independence - a controversial topic that is thoroughly misunderstood.

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8. Forgotten Indian Prisoners of War

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 05:00:00 GMT

Joining Rob this week is Gautum Hazarika, discussing the research behind his book The Forgotten Indian Prisoners of World War II.

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7. V Force - defending India

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 05:00:00 GMT

This week Jack and Rob look at the defences of the Indo-Burmese border, in particular the stay-behind, watch and ward, guerrillas V Force.

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6. Force Viper & Shadow Boxing in the Indian Ocean

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 05:00:00 GMT

Landlubbers Jack and Rob are taking off their dusty jungle boots and removing their monsoon capes to take a look at the Royal Navy in the 1942 Burma Campaign - from the Royal Marine Force Viper raiding up the Irrawaddy, to Admiral Sir James Somerville's Eastern Fleet's shadow boxing with Admiral Nagumo's 2nd and 5th Carrier Divisions.

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5. Preparing Assam for War!

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 05:00:00 GMT

Amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics: in this episode Jack and Rob talk about preparing Assam and Manipur for war - including the incredible effort by the Assam Tea Association. Their vital work not only made it easier to defend an invasion, but would also be needed if Japan were to be pushed out of Burma in the future.

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4. An Inniskilling's Tale - John 'Tim' Finnerty

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 05:00:00 GMT

This week Jack and Rob go through the extraordinary and harrowing tale of John 'Tim' Finnerty, a subaltern in the 1st Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and one action at the Battle of Yenangyaung, April 1942. This episode was recorded at the same time as our last episode 'Last Ditchers' but Jack and Rob waffled on too long, and so the FWP team split it into two parts.

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3. Last Ditcher - Bernard Kane

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 05:00:00 GMT

In this episode, Jack and Rob explore the annotated diary of Bernard Kane, a last ditcher out of Rangoon demolishing telecoms equipment. His story is really quite extraordinary.

This was recorded with another story but Jack and Rob got so into it, that the FWP team decided to split it into a two parter - hear thedramatic story of Major John Finnerty, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, next week.

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2. Flying Tigers: The AVG, RAF, CNAC and the air war in 1942

Mon, 19 Jan 2026 05:00:00 GMT

This week Jack and Rob are going back to 1942 to cover the air war, having missed it out last series. You may detect that Jack is rather taken by the Flying Tigers ...

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1. The pre-war Indian Army

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 05:00:00 GMT

We are back! Jack and Rob get right into the detail of the pre-war Indian Army, mostly because they realised they should have done it much earlier!

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Christmas Special: FWP at IWM Podcast Live

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 05:00:00 GMT

Hear Jack and guest-host Lucy Betteridge-Dyson at IWM Podcast Live Festival doing Burma 1945 in 45 minutes!

This was recorded in less than ideal recording conditions, but Robbie has done heroic work to get it as listenable as possible.

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Remembrance Day Special: The Last Burma Star

Sun, 09 Nov 2025 06:00:00 GMT

This week Jack and Rob sit down with Levison Wood and Alex Bescoby about their brilliant new documentary: The Last Burma Star. Catch it on release day Sun 9 November at 9pm on Sky History, or on catch up afterwards.

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21. Question Time: The Retreat from Burma

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This week Jack and Rob answer your questions that have built up over the last 20 weeks! At the end Jack and Rob also give a quick run down of the future of the pod.

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20. Reflecting on the Retreat

Mon, 06 Oct 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This week Rob and Jack welcome the fascinating David Tanner - author of Burma 1942: Memories of a Retreat, the Diary of Ralph Tanner, KOYLI. David co-wrote the book with his father who was with 2 KOYLI in the retreat in 1942, but also worked in Japan in the 1970s and 80s, where his father visited. This is a fascinating chat reflecting on the retreat from Burma.

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19. Eric Lambert: Saviour of 5th Army

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 04:00:00 GMT

Rob hit gold when he was recently gifted an unpublished memoir/diary by Eric Lambert, who, among other things, played a fascinating role in helping get the Chinese 5 Army out of the Hukawng Valley - the Valley of Death. This week Rob and Jack discuss his chapter on this topic, and the retreat of Chinese 5 Army.

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18. Exodus Burma and the human cost of war

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This week Jack and Rob discuss the human cost of the retreat in 1942 with the wonderful Felicity Goodall, author of Exodus Burma! The British Escape Through the Jungles of Death.

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17. The Jungle War

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This week Rob and Jack welcome Hannah Watson, author of The Jungle War, to discuss the retreat from Burma and the challenges of presenting the subject in a book aimed at children and adults alike!

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16. Grandfather Longlegs: Hugh Seagrim GC

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This week Jack and Rob interview historian Philip Davies, author of Lost Warriors, about Major Hugh Seagrim GC and also Ras Pagani. - two of the most courageous men of the Second World War.

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15. Burma Army's Swansong - retreat into India

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This week Jack and Rob finish the narrative of the retreat from Burma, discussing the final retreat across the Chindwin, and into safety in India. The Burma Army's swansong, but fear not dear listener, for there are still some more episodes, interviews, and a Q+A to come!

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14. Elephants, and novelising the retreat

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This week Rob and Jack were joined by the brilliant journalist and novelist John Sweeney. Aside from his work all over the world and covering all sorts of topics, including Trump and Putin, John also wrote the novel Elephant Novel, set during the retreat from Burma in 1942, and partly inspired by 'Elephant Bill' Williams.

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13. Through the Jungle of Death by Stephen Brookes - Book Review

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This week Rob and Jack review the excellent Through the Jungle of Death by Stephen Brookes. A wonderful, if traumatic, book about his families escape on foot out of Burma in 1942.

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12. VJ DAY SPECIAL! With Lord Slim, Sylvia May, and Alex Bescoby

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 03:59:00 GMT

Jack and Rob have a surprise VJ Day Special for listeners - bringing together a panel to discuss what is happening to support the memory, and spread knowledge of, of the Burma Campaign through their various work. Joining the FWP team are Lord Slim representing the Burma Star Memorial Fund, Sylvia May of the Kohima Educational Trust, and Alex Bescoby of Help 4 Forgotten Allies, and his new documentary on Sky History with Levison Wood - The Last Burma Star.

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11. The Evacuation of Burma

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 04:00:00 GMT

In this week's episode Rob and Jack do something a little different. They discuss the civilian evacuation of Burma, including a number of eyewitness accounts from a variety of sources.

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10. Archie Wavell with Victoria Schofield

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This week Jack and Rob welcome Archie Wavell's biographer Victoria Schofield onto the pod.

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9. Experiencing the Retreat - James Lunt

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This week Jack and Rob take review their first book: the truly excellent A Hell a Licking: Retreat from Burma by James Lunt. A staff officer during the retreat, he recalled, the confusion, lack of preparedness, but also courage of the men of 1st Burma Division.

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8. Reporting the Retreat - War Correspondents in Burma

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This week Jack and Rob welcome historian Philip Woods, author of Reporting the Retreat: War Correspondents in Burma - hear some fascinating stories of the brave journalists in Burma in 1942 as the imperial edifice collapsed around them.

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7. The Burma Rifles & the Burma Army

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 04:00:00 GMT

Joining Jack and Rob this week is Historian Steve Rothwell to talk about the Burma Rifles, and the Burma Army in general. Steve also runs the indiaburmasoldiers.co.uk website, and fantastic resource to begin research into the Burma Campaign.

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6. The Chinese in Burma

Mon, 07 Jul 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This week Rob and Jack look into the Chinese role in the retreat from Burma, and the relationships between the US, China and Britain. They focus on the military side of things, although there will be more on Chinese troops as they evacuated the country in another episode later in the series...

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5. The Jungle Rats - 7th Armoured Brigade in Burma

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 04:00:00 GMT

Jack finally gets to nerd out on 7th Armoured Brigade in the retreat in 1942 - and Rob happily indulges him!

Listeners may notice that Jack mentions an interview with Victoria Schofield the previous week - due to unforeseen circumstances this has been pushed back to later in the series.

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4. James Holland on Harold Alexander

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This week Jack and Rob welcome author and historian James Holland onto the pod to discuss Harold Alexander.

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3. Rangoon Falls

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 04:00:00 GMT

After the Sittang Bridge disaster, Rangoon was the next. Rob and Jack now look at the decision to abandon the capital, followed by the famous roadblock action at Taukkyan, and the retreat north to Prome.

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2. Disaster at the Sittang Bridge

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This week Jack and Rob dissect the disastrous decision to destroy the Sittang Bridge - the crucial moment in the 1942 Campaign where defeat became practically inevitable.

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1. Lord Slim and the making of Bill Slim

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 04:00:00 GMT

The Forgotten War Pod is back with a bang! Rob and Jack exclusively interview Lord Mark Slim, Field Marshal Bill Slim's grandson. Talking about his childhood and early military career, and also what it was like growing up with (confusingly) 'Uncle' Bill.

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12. Question Time: Burma Campaign Edition

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 04:00:00 GMT

Join Jack and Rob this week for a question and answer episode, maps to troop diversions, deception to grand strategy, this episode has a bit of everything, including a few teasers on Series 2.

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11. Thunder Runs! Meiktila & Mandalay

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This week Jack and Rob discuss two crucial battles, Meiktila and Mandalay, from the perspective of two generals: Thomas 'Pete' Rees, and David 'Punch' Cowan. Aggressive commanders, they were the right men for the right jobs, in an epic campaign that destroyed the Japanese Burma Area Army. A tale of drama, deception, endurance, and heroism - do not miss it!

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10. Third Time Lucky: Arakan 1944-45

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This week Jack and Rob look at the third attempt to breakthrough in Arakan. Picking up from just after the Admin Box, they look at the 81st West African Division's epic campaign in the Kaladan Valley, as well as Akyab and Ramree Islands and the brutal fight over Hill 170.

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9. Flying Tigers to Dakotas: Air Power and the Burma Campaign

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 04:00:00 GMT

This week Jack and Rob discuss one of the most important aspects of the Burma Campaign: the air war. Success was built on air power, Slim's strategy from the end of 1943 to the of the war relied on aerial resupply in an air supremacy environment. The Hump, Admin Box, Kohima, Imphal, and the thunder run to Meiktila in 1945 all relied this all important supply line.

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8. Rumbles in the Jungles: Special Operations in Burma

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 05:00:00 GMT

In Episode 8 Rumbles in the Jungles: Special Operations in Burma, Rob and Jack take a look at the Chindit Operation Thursday and SOE's Force 136 Operation Character. The former is one of the most famous events in the history of the war in Burma, and the other is one of the most forgotten of all.

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7. Game of Thrones(ish) in the CBI

Mon, 17 Mar 2025 05:00:00 GMT

Rob and Jack continue their overview of the Burma Campaign by turning to the Northern Combat Area Command - the NCAC - in particular 'Vinegar Joe' Stilwell's efforts to navigate the power politics of the CBI theatre between the USA, China and Britain.

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6. The Battles of Kohima

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 05:00:00 GMT

Kohima: one of the big names in Second World War history. In this episode Rob and Jack look at the epic siege and the tooth and nail battle for Kohima that followed, part of the overview of the campaign that his Series 1. Including whether it was really a battle worth fighting for Sato and his men.

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5. Invasion! The Battle of Imphal

Mon, 03 Mar 2025 05:00:00 GMT

This week Jack and Rob continue their overview of the Burma Campaign by looking at the Battle of Imphal - a huge battle where Slim's Fourteenth Army delivered a hammer blow to the Japanese 15th Army in its invasion of India.

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4. First Victory: The Battle of the Admin Box

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 05:00:00 GMT

This week Jack and Rob finally have some good news! The first major victory by Fourteenth Army against the Japanese in Burma - the Second Arakan offensive and most famously the Battle of the Admin Box, in February 1944. The Japanese intended to distract Slim by attacking Arakan just before the invasion of India, but fell upon newly retrained troops determined to fight it out rather than retreat.

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3. Sandwich Year: 1943

Mon, 17 Feb 2025 05:00:00 GMT

In this episode Rob and Jack discuss the sandwich year of 1943 - stuck between the defeat in 1942 and victory in 1944. Nevertheless, it was an important year, seeing the disastrous first Arakan campaign, Fourteenth Army eventually created, and Operation Longcloth.

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2. A Close Run Thing: the retreat from Burma 1942

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 05:00:00 GMT

This week Jack and Rob dive into the longest retreat in the history of the British and Indian Army, from the initial Japanese invasion, the role of Chinese troops, and the reasons for defeat. But cometh the hour, cometh the man: Slim makes his entrance!

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1. Introducing The Forgotten War Pod: Burma Campaign WW2

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 05:00:00 GMT

In the first episode of The Forgotten War Pod, Jack and Rob give listeners a quick overview of the Second World War in South East Asia, the reasons for war and the Japanese invasion of Burma, and some of the key characters of the campaign.

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Teaser 5: Kohima: Touch and Go

Mon, 27 Jan 2025 05:00:00 GMT

In the final teaser before the first series of The Forgotten War Podcast, Jack describes the defence of Kohima.

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Teaser 4: unbelievable leadership problems at Imphal

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 05:00:00 GMT

In this teaser, Rob describes the downright crazy leadership situation in the Japanese 15th Army before the Battle of Imphal in 1944.

For more teasers and updates before our own invasion of the airwaves in February make sure you follow the pod @forgottenwarpod. You can also let us know if you have any questions for later in the series here, or by emailing Jack and Rob on forgottenwarpod@gmail.com.

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Teaser 3: the bombing of Rangoon

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 22:29:29 GMT

Another teaser for the Forgotten War Pod - this time Rob describes the initial Japanese invasion of Burma, and the impact it had on the city of Rangoon.

For more teasers and updates before our own invasion of the airwaves in February make sure you follow the pod. You can also let us know if you have any questions for later in the series here, or by emailing Jack and Rob on forgottenwarpod@gmail.com.

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Teaser 2: Japanese tactics in 1942

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 22:20:06 GMT

In another teaser for Series 1 of the Forgotten War Pod, Jack discusses Japanese tactics during the retreat in 1942.

For more teasers and updates before the balloon goes up in February make sure you follow the pod. You can also let us know if you have any questions for later in the series here, or by emailing Jack and Rob on forgottenwarpod@gmail.com.

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Teaser 1: The Kohima Epitaph

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 21:53:33 GMT

Jack and Rob discuss the origins of the Kohima Epitaph, its uses and misuses since, and other major contributions the Burma Campaign has had in the way Britain remembers the Second World War.

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