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The China-Burma-India Theater of Operations
Officially established March 3, 1942, the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations (CBI) is often referred to as the Forgotten Theater of World War II. Of the 12,300,000 Americans under arms at the height of World War II mobilization, only about 250,000 (two percent) were assigned to the CBI Theater. Relatively few Americans were in combat in the theater. Except for a few stories, CBI did not often make headlines in the newspapers back home. The 12,000 mile supply line, longest of the war, was often last in line for supplies from the United States. Not forgotten to Allied war planners, CBI was important to the overall war strategy. Occupation of Burma in 1942 by Japanese forces cut the last supply line of communication between China and the outside world. A military airlift was begun as it was important to keep China supplied and in the war. It was generally agreed that this would not be enough and a land supply route would be needed. A road from Ledo, Assam, India was begun in late 1942. Ledo was chosen because it was close to the northern terminus of a rail line from the ports of Calcutta and Karachi. Construction of the Ledo Road was completed in early 1945. Allied forces in CBI, mostly British, Chinese, and Indian, engaged large numbers of Japanese troops that might have otherwise been used elsewhere. America's role in CBI was to support China by providing war materials and the manpower to get it to where it was needed. The Flying Tigers fought the Japanese in the air over China and Burma. Army Air Forces flew supplies Over The Hump from India to China. Merrill's Marauders and the Mars Task Force fought through the jungles of Burma. Army Engineers built the Ledo Road to open up the land supply route. |