South-East Asian Theatre Of World War II Command Structure

India Command was responsible for India, Ceylon and for some of the time Burma. The Far East Command based in Singapore, was responsible for Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore and other British Far East possessions including, for some of the time, Burma.

A month after the outbreak of war with Japan on December 7, 1941, the Allied governments appointed the British Commander-in-Chief (CinC) of the Army of India, General Sir Archibald Wavell, as supreme allied commander of all American-British-Dutch-Australian ( ABDA) forces in the South West Pacific Command which included the Land forces in South East Asia from Burma to the Dutch East IndiesThe Dutch East Indies, or Netherlands East Indies, ( Dutch: Nederlands Indi was the name of the colonies colonised by the Dutch East India Company which came under administration of the Netherlands during the ninteenth century (see Indonesia). Starting in.

Advances made by the Japanese over the next month split this command in half. After placing the forces in Burma under the command of India Command, on February 25February 25 is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 309 days remaining, 310 in leap years. Events 138 The Emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his successor. 1570 Pope Pius V excommunicates Queen Elizabeth, 1942Events January January 1 World War II: The word " United Nations" is first officially used to describe the Allied pact. January 2 World War II: Manila is captured by Japanese forces. January 5 Amy Johnson disappears in flight over River Thames estuary ass Wavell resigned as commander of the ABDA and resumed his position of CinC of the Army of India. Responsibility for the South Western Pacific passed to the American general Douglas MacArthurDouglas MacArthur GCB ( January 26, 1880— April 5, 1964) was an American military leader. He served in the U. Army his entire life, taking part in three major wars ( World War I, World War II, Korean War) and rising to the rank of General of the Army, one as Supreme Allied Commander South West Pacific, which was part of the American Pacific Theater of OperationsDefinition The Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) is the term used in the United States for all military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, in World War II. Pacific War is a more common name, around the world, for the broader c.

From February 1942 until November 1943 the India Command was responsible for the South East Asian Theatre. General Wavell was made Viceroy of India, General Claude Auchinleck became Commander-in-Chief of the India Command on the 20th June, 1943. In August 1943 the Allies formed a new South East Asian Command to take over stratigic responsibilities for the theatre.

The reorganisation of the theatre command took about two months. On October 4 Winston Churchill appointed Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten supreme Allied commander of the South East Asia Command (SEAC). The American General Joseph Stilwell was the first deputy supreme Allied commander. On 15th of Novemeber Auchinleck handed over responsibility for the conduct of operations against the Japanese in the theatre to Mountbatten.

In October 1944 CBI was split into US Forces China Theater (USFCT) and India-Burma Theater (USFIBT).

On November 12 1944 Eleventh Army Group replaced by Allied Land Forces South East Asia (ALFSEA) combining British and American forces with an HQ at Kandy. On December 1 ALFSEA HQ moved to Barrackpore, India

2 Initial Japanese successes

The Allies suffered many disastrous defeats in the first six months of the war. Two major British warships, HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales were sunk by a Japanese air attack off Malaya on December 10, 1941. Following a token resistance at the battle of Prachuab Khirikhan, the government of Thailand formally allied itself with Japan on December 21. Hong Kong fell on December 25. January saw the invasions of Burma and the Dutch East Indies and the capture of Manila and Kuala Lumpur.

2.1 Malaya and Singapore

Japanese forces met stiff resistance from III Corps of the British Indian Army and British units in northern Malaya, but Japan's superiority in air power, tanks and infantry tactics drove the Allied units back. After being driven out of Malaya, Allied forces in Singapore, under the command of Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, surrendered to the Japanese on February 15, 1942; about 130,000 Indian, Australian and British troops became prisoners of war.

For more a more detailed account see Australian 8th Division and The Fall of Singapore.

3 Burma Campaign

See The Burma Campaign for details on:

The 14th forgotten Army
Japanese advance through Burma to the Indian Frontier
The Stalemate
Allies counter offensives
- Road to Rangoon
- Brigadier Orde Wingate Chindits

4 US forces in the China Burma India Theatre

China Burma India Theater of World War II is the main article
Flying Tigers
Merrill's Marauders
The Ledo Road
The Allied logisitical airlift from India in to China over the Hump

5 Western Allies support for the Chinese

One of the major logistical efforts of the war was "flying the Hump" over the Himalayas and the building of the Ledo Road from India to China as a relpacement for the Burma Road.

6 RAF

See RAF Far East Air Force, RAF Third Tactical Air Force

6.1 Battle Honours

CEYLON 1942 Qualification: For operations against Japanese aircraft and naval units by squadrons based in Ceylon during the Japanese attacks of April 1942.

BURMA 1944-1945 Qualification: For operations during the 14th Army's advance from Imphal to Rangoon, the coastal amphibious assaults, and the Battle of Pegu Yomas, August 1944 to August 1945.

7 11th Army Group

British 11th Army Group ( November 1943 – November 12 1944) was on paper the main British Army force in South East Asia which directed

British Fourteenth Army
British Army in Ceylon (Ceylon Army)
Northern Combat Area Command under the command of Joseph Stilwell.

On November 12 1944 the 11th Army Group was redesignated Allied Land Forces South East Asia , still under SEAC, because it was felt that an inter-Allied command was better than the purely British headquarters. Command problems with General Stilwell and his interactions with the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff had precipitated the change.

8 Other

9 See Also

10 References

Defeat Into Victory by Field Marshal William Slim is the definitive account of the Burma campaign.

11 External links

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1 Command Structure