Airborne Operations in the Pacific War

[fredleander]

What I had read once was they intended to seize the refineries and were not successful

That would depend on how you define "succesful". They did seize the refineries. Actually, the Japanese seized everything.... ...

Fred

[steverodgers801]

Im just saying that what I had read and what the website said are different

[fredleander]

Im just saying that what I had read and what the website said are different

No problem.... ...

Fred

[aghart]

There were airborne operations in the China-Burma-India theatre as well. A battalion group from the Indian Army's 50th Independent Parachute Brigade made a combat drop at Elephant Point on May 1, 1945, during the liberation of Rangoon. They cleared a small Japanese force from the mouth of the Rangoon river and allowed landing craft to bring the Indian 26th Division to the city itself (Operation 'Dracula'). It was the only such jump the Indian paras made during the war.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sangshak
50 Para Bde had their moment of glory in a defensive traditional infantry role at sangshak. After this battle the brigade was out of action for some time while it was rebuilt, this is why it did not feature again until the drop at Rangoon.

[fredleander]

Just to add on to the discussion about the death march, there has been a lot of discussion about the reasons why the POW's were forced marched from Sandakan to Ranau over the past 50 years or so. Nobody has been able to pin point the actual reasons but there is some suspicion this was done because of the American PT boat attack on Sandakan harbour in early 1945 and the danger to the Japanese suicide boat squadron at Berhala island nearby.

There was a feeling within the Japanese leadership that Sandakan was indeed in danger of invasion and that it was in their best interest to use the POW's to move equipment and food inland to their next major air strip at Ranau.

It's one of those debates that has gone on for so long, nobody seems to know....the right answer.

What has this got to do with airborne operations in the Pacific War?

Fred