Not our war, mate

Quite a few points to ponder coming away from Sabah/Borneo unrelated to cute jungle creatures, rather the nastier aspects of history. In this case WWII. It is my age, I know, and background that gives me this interest in this time of history. For both my parents, it was the defining part of their lives. Had WWII not happened, there would have had to have been some extraordinary circumstances and coincidences to have taken place for me to be sitting here typing away like this. Anyway this is my blog, so there!

When big history remembers WWII, it is the western front and D-Day, the US' staged jumps through the Pacific islands and the Soviet march to Berlin. Rarely do people remember all the rest. That is why the army that conducted the Allied Burma campaign was referred to as the 'forgotten fourteenth' and General Slim is all but forgotten/ignored despite his record of almost unblemished major victories. So who remembers Sandakan?

What? Who? Where?

This is the top right part of Borneo. In WWII there were no roads in the interior, just jungle trails. Everything that moved, moved by sea. The Death Marches of 1945 went in virtually a straight line from Sandakan to Jesselton... but none got there

It is difficult to visualize if you don't know where it is so hopefully the map helps.

The Japanese landed here very soon after the first landings in Malaya and were as successful as quickly as on the mainland. Borneo was considered a source of raw materials for Japan after sanctions were imposed by the USA and Britain over atrocities in China by the invading Japanese armies choked off the supply of oil and other raw materials. Japan has virtually zero natural resources so imports everything. On the other hand, oil, timber and a host of other raw materials are to be found in abundance in Borneo and elsewhere in the region. Hence the notion of the 'Greater South East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere' -- what a euphemism! Chairman Mao didn't have to look far for inspiration for his little red book!

As is documented elsewhere, the Japanese were awful colonial masters. Terrorising, torturing and killing virtually anyone they came across, it must have made for a shocking time for the local population of whom one in six were killed during their less than 4 year occupation. As for the POW's who were shipped in and housed at a camp at Mile 8 (outside Sandakan town and into the jungle), their job was to build a runway for the Japanese Air Force. Over 3,000 mainly Aussies plus also British had the job but did it (deliberately) so slowly and inefficiently that by early 1945, it was clear to the Japanese that even if the airport could be commissioned, it would never be used because of the dominance of Allied air power. So they stopped work, burned the town to the ground and marched all the POW's out into the jungle in a series of Death Marches and massacred them all. Only 6 survived (all Aussies) because they were able to escape and were helped by local people which is how this story is known. Who knows where else in the Co-Prosperity Sphere did this get repeated but with no witnesses?

The survivors

But seemingly this story is known only in Sandakan (and of course presumably in the families of the dead).

We only learned the story because we visited the memorial with a group of Germans as it turns out. Both Viv and I were riveted by the sad story but the Germans were in and out in less than 10 minutes. Not their war. Theirs was probably worse by a magnitude. But it did make me wonder because all of this was fully known and a number of Japanese were tried for war crimes and executed, just why is it that the world excoriates the Nazi regime (totally justifiably) but pretty much gives the Japanese a pass? Is it because 2 atom bombs were dropped and people feel guilty about that? For I certainly don't. The Japanese would have fought to the death. At the time of the surrender there were 2.5 million Japanese soldiers still under arms and given the experience throughout the Pacific campaign, there was no chance they'd simply surrender. Allied plans called for at least 1.5 million US and British troops to take part in the invasion of Japan with the transfer from Europe already taking place... Including my mother who was an army driver and had received her posting instructions to 'somewhere in the Far East'.  Bloody Hell, Mum!

Anyway, I now know and I will remember.