subject: Bridges of war [print this page] Bridges of war Bridges of war
BRIDGES OF WAR
Bridges have played an important role in Wars from the early days of the Roman Empire to World War 11, from Horatius Cocles defending the bridge over the Tiber in around 506 BC, to the Us 1st Army preventing the demolition of the Ludendorff Bridge across the Rhine at Remagan in March 1945.
Probably the most contentious decision to blow up a bridge, which even today causes heated debate, was the Sittang Railway Bridge in Burma.
I n 1942, The Japanese Army invaded Burma across the Thai border. Facing the Japanese was 17th Indian Division, many of its men untrained in jungle warfare, but, as events were to prove, not lacking in courage. The Japanese swept into Burma , seized Moulmein, and crossing the Salween River headed for Rangoon, the capital of Burma.
Major General Jackie Smyth VC, commanding 17th division, knew he was in a tough position facing troops trained on the battlefields of China. As he saw it, the only chance to save Rangoon was to cross the Sittang River, blow up the bridge, and defend stoutly on the west bank, until such time as reinforcements might arrive from India. The Japanese could have bombed the bridge at any time, but it was much more important to them intact as the shortest route to Rangoon.
Unfortunately, General Wavell, the Cin C , considered the Japanese to be second class soldiers, and could not understand why they were not beatable, although the great Singapore fortress had fallen. And he would not give permission for Smyth to fall back on the river.
But when the situation became grave, there was no alternative but to allow Smyth to move back to the river. With little time left, 17th Div retreated along a broken road, bombed by both the Japanese and , by mistake, British and American aircraft.
General Sakurai, commanding the Japanese 33 Division, on learning of the British retreat to the river, at once brought into play the Scorpion Trap, a Japanese manoeuvre established in ancient time. The scorpion with claws outstretched reaches to seize its prey from behind so that it can be stung to death. Acting on the general 's order, around 5,000 ruthless and experienced soldiers advanced at top speed towards the bridge.
The iron Sittang Railway Bridge , decked over for road transport, was 500 yards long of eleven spans, each 150 feet, The river widened below the bridge to 1000 yards, a formidable obstacle, even to strong swimmers, because of the treacherous current. A considerable number, probably the majority in the Division, were non swimmers and as for boats only the day before some 300 sampans had been bought by the Royal Engineers from Burmese villages on both sides of the river, and then destroyed to deny their use to the enemy.
The crossing of the bridge had hardly begun, when the Japanese attacked. In a fierce action, the Japanese were held, but three quarters of 17th Division were unable to cross the bridge, their way blocked by the enemy.
Smyth was faced with a horrible decision to make. If he blew the bridge, most of his division would be stuck on the wrong side of the river, to fail to do so would allow the Japanese to race into Rangoon.
At 5.30 on the morning of 23rd February 1942, the order was given to destroy the bridge. In the dark hour before dawn, Lieutenant Basher Ahmad pressed the exploder for the electric circuit. And as the bridge sagged drunkenly into the river there was a strange, brief hush. A moment of complete silence, like an armistice for the dead.
Now, several thousand British, Gurkha, Indian and Burmese troops were trapped on the east back of the river, packed tightly on the beach like day trippers on a hot summer's day. Only there was no happy laughter, no frolicking in the water. Out on that beach were many vulnerable men, because they were leaderless, hungry, exhausted, wounded and very frightened. But there were many others who showed courage and leadership, organizing groups to cross the river in or on just about everything that could float: planks, logs, water bottles, petrol tines, bamboo, chagals blown up like Mae Wests, all made into some sort of raft or lifebelt. Most of the soldiers had abandoned their weaponslike litter after a football matchand rifles, tommy guns, Bren guns, mortars , revolvers and hand grenades were strewn along the river's edge. Many of the men had discarded most of their clothes to improve their chances when attempting to swim the treacherous river which stretched a sickly green colour for almost a mile to the distant bank. There were obviously no boats.
The river was soon full of bobbing heads In some units officers were maintaining good discipline, keeping their men close together, taking as many weapons as possible on improvised rafts, the swimmers helping the non-swimmers. Any who could swim a few lengths of a swimming pool found the width of the river too much for their strength and were swept away by the current or just vanished below the surface, It was also a time for heroes, supporting friends who could not swim, the strong swimmers crossing the river two or three times to take the wounded over on makeshift rafts, men giving their places on rafts to their wounded comrades.
The Japanese, apart from a few units and snipers, left the area. Making as quickly as possible further up river to find a suitable place to build a bridge to enable them to cross over and continue their attack on Rangoon.
The heavy losses of men and equipment had almost rent 17th Division asunder. Some 2,000 officers and men had managed to escape to the west bank, bringing with them 500 rifles or so, a handful of Bren guns and tommy guns. Many of the battalions had been reduced in number to a mere 100. In Rangoon the scene was frenetic, as plans were made to try and check the Japanese when they approached the city.
For many years, criticism was hurled at General Smyth, as the scapegoat for the premature blowing up of the bridge. It was only after the war that he was able to clear his name. But the debate continues among the veterans who are still with us today.
(A full account of the Sittang Bridge disaster, and the 1000 mile retreat of the British Burma Army across Burma into India, can be read in The Scorpion Trap, a novel by Harold James, published by Janus}
