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Sittang river bridge

The Oxford Companion to World War II | 2001 | 700+ words | Copyright

Sittang river bridge. Outflanked by Lt-General Sakurai Shōzō's 33rd Division early in the Burma campaign, Maj-General John Smyth, commanding 17th Indian Division, ordered the destruction of this bridge on 23 February 1942. The action delayed the Japanese advance on Rangoon—perhaps by ten days—but it trapped two of Smyth's three brigades on the eastern bank, and 5,000 men, plus nearly all the division's artillery and transport, were lost. Poor radio communications, the refusal of the C-in-C Burma, Lt-General Thomas Hutton, to allow Smyth to withdraw until it was too late, and Smyth's failure to create a strong enough bridgehead in time, all contributed to the disaster. Hutton was replaced by Alexander and Smyth was removed from his command and forcibly retired. Smyth's decision, one of the most controversial made by a British general during the war, caused heated debate for years.

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I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Sittang river bridge." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Sittang river bridge." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-Sittangriverbridge.html

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Sittang river bridge." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-Sittangriverbridge.html

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