Burma Independence Army

Burma Independence Army (BIA). Formed in December 1941, the BIA fought alongside the Japanese at the start of the Burma campaign, but was more important as a political symbol of Burmese independence which the Japanese claimed to support.

In February 1941 a Japanese officer, Colonel Suzuki Keiji, formed the secret Minami Kikan (Minami Organization, see also Japan, 6) to encourage armed insurrection among disaffected Burmese, mostly Thakins, with the objective of closing the Burma Road. Suzuki was a fervent and honest believer in Burmese independence and after the Thakin leader Aung San fled to Japanese-occupied China (see China incident) in August 1940 he worked with him to form an army. A nucleus of 30 Thakins, later known as the ‘Thirty Comrades’, were trained on Hainan Island and BIA columns, totalling about 300 men, led the Japanese invasion into Burma from Thailand in January 1942. Suzuki, to achieve the greatest political impact, then began recruiting as many Burmese as possible for the BIA and 1,300 BIA troops fought the retreating British around Shwedaung in southern Burma. But, ignorant of modern warfare, they suffered heavy casualties and 300 deserted. From then on the BIA followed in the wake of the invading Japanese, setting up civilian administrations to fill the vacuum left by the departing British. Mob rule, and worse, by BIA civil administrations terrorized local minority populations and irritated the Japanese Army of occupation whose Kempei had to clear many towns of BIA troops. By June 1942 the Japanese Army had had enough of Suzuki, who refused to co-operate with it, and his BIA. Suzuki returned to Tokyo, and in August 1942 the BIA was dissolved and Aung San, now a maj-general in the Japanese Army, headed a newly formed 3,000-strong Burma Defence Army using BIA personnel. Japanese trained and equipped, this became the 10,000-strong Burma National Army (BNA) on Burma's independence in August 1943. Aung San then became the BNA's political supremo as minister of defence and its command was given to Bo Ne Win, one of the ‘Thirty Comrades’, a colonel in the Japanese Army. Unlike the Indian National Army, the BNA was not allowed to fight alongside the Japanese in the Imphal offensive of March 1944 and, when the offensive failed and the Japanese were in full retreat, Aung San and the BNA, encouraged by SOE, defected to the British in April 1945. It then changed its name yet again, this time to the Patriotic Burmese Forces. This helped cover the flank of Messervy's 4th Corps as it advanced on Rangoon, but otherwise played little part in the final weeks of the campaign.