Exodus Burma (The British Escape Through the Jungles of Death 1942)

In 1942 the battle-hardened troops of the Japanese Army overran Burma with frightening speed, sweeping a tide of refugees before them. For five months British and Indian troops tried to stem the invasion, but with inadequate equipment and numbers they were no match for the enemy. This unexpected invasion triggered an exodus of half a million people who abandoned their homes and set off on foot for India. From all sectors of society, the mass of people was ill equipped and ill prepared for such a journey and many thousands died of disease, starvation and exhaustion, while the survivors had to live plagued by their memories. For the first time using first-person accounts, author Felicity Goodall retraces the routes taken by the refugees and provides a unique perspective on what it is to be part of such an exodus.