Brigadier Lucas Phillips and Sapere Books add in a qualitative way to the sparse knowledge of the South Asia Campaign against the Imperial Japanese Empire by Great Britain and her Dominions. This work will join Defeat Into Victory by Filed Marshal Slim in helping to educate the general public as well as the World War Two focused reader about this first step in defeating the Fascist policies of Imperial Japan.

Heroism and stamina amidst the jungle in the war theatre that got erased from memory.

The places and names mentioned in the book smell of the long-forgotten past. Burma instead of Myanmar, India instead of India and Pakistan, mules as the best way of transportation, successes veiled by accounts of frightened refugees. In the new edition of the 1966 book by C.E.Lucas Phillips, 'Springboard to Victory: The Burma Campaign and the Battle of Kohima,' the very language reminds readers of the importance of commemorating the past. 'For Kohima was to Burma what Stalingrad was to Russia and Alamein to the Desert.' Yet, we don't remember Kohima, a small hilly piece of land surrounded by lush jungle, which became a nodal point in stopping the Japanese from moving into India.

If a reader's sympathies lie on the side of the Axis powers, then the book may cause accusations in prejudgement. The author recollects the British viewpoint of the events, highlighting the heroism of British and Indian privates/officers and depicting the Japanese only as savages. However, describing the confrontation in Burma (1942-1944), the author does a fine job of building the consistent story of the day-to-day, night-to-night battle. The book's primary focus is the battle of Kohima and, precisely, its first phase at the beginning of April 1944 when a motley group of defenders fought for every meter of the soil. Kohima became a strategic point on the way to bigger cities such as Imphal and Dimapur. For a fortnight, surviving on meager rations, 1,500 men, many of them untrained civilians, distracted the attention of the Japanese Sato's division until the combined British and Indian forces seized the initiative elsewhere in Burma.

I'd recommend the book to people interested in the Asian war theatre during WWII. Though the excess of names, dates, and locations can be sometimes overwhelming, the overall impression of the book is as of well-built, meticulous research.

I received an advance review copy, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A fair number of readers of this, and similar, accounts of the siege of Kohima will have some passing familiarity with the words engraved on the memorial at Kohima:

‘When you go home tell them of us and say for your tomorrow we gave our today’

A reading of this description of those few days in the mountains of eastern India (as it was then) and north west Burma (to use its then current name) in 1944 will take these few, but highly charged words, and make them real. For those of us, like me - born just a few years after the end of the Second World War, who have known a life of relative ease and tolerable prosperity with no worldwide conflict to threaten us and no fear of compulsory conscription, the actions of the few British and Empire troops in resisting the intense attacks by the Japanese army is hard to conceive. The appalling casualty rate and the fate of the wounded who had to endure the likelihood - and for many the reality - of re-wounding whilst lying in shallow trenches under continuous fire leaves us struggling to begin to comprehend the reality of their experiences. That ordinary young men could endure and resist when faced with appalling terrain and weather conditions; repeated small arms, grenade and artillery attacks; living cheek by jowl with the decaying corpses of enemy soldiers; and the renowned savagery of their Japanese foes is beyond our comprehension. And yet…..they did it. A former colleague served at Kohima during this period, but would say very little about it. He is long departed but my respect for what he and his brothers in arms did is undimmed.

A brief word of warning for readers in 2021 and later - the author of this book reflects the attitudes and standards of his time. Many readers may feel some distaste, even revulsion, over the clear chauvinism shown over the different nationalities involved and the patronising language used about some of the non-British soldiers and non-combatants. The advice of this reviewer is to regard the culture and context this narrative exposes as an important part of the history being revealed. It reflects how things were seen at the time, particularly by members of the British establishment. It does not detract from the heroism shown by the defenders of Kohima.

A truly outstanding book about a little known area of battle in WW2. Prior to this book I was completely unaware of these battles fought to protect India form the Japanese. You read many novels about Wingate and Merrill, but not this action. The conditions and hardships faced by the individuals was truly Inspirational. A must read for the history fan.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.