With one of the two army pincers attacking Burma, the Japanese
reached Mulmein in January, a city almost impossible to defend.
The town fell within two days of desperate fighting, and the
disorganised and dispirited survivors pressed northwards. They left
Martaban behind and were ordered to take a stand at Bilin, to the
east of the river, in the face of an approaching enemy division.
The battle, which should never have been fought, only lasted for
a week, then the defenders retreated and raced to the Sittoung
river and the only bridge spanning it. Every unit hoped for
relative safety on the other side. But the Japanese also wanted the
bridge to reach the far bank and the open country.
And so began the battle for Sittoung bridge on 21 February with
fearful losses on both sides. Eventually the bridge was blown up
and part of the British troops were left on the wrong side of the
river, but not many made it to the other bank because they could
not swim or died by shooting. Whoever remained was borne away in
the slow agony of the Burma train.
Dickie and his group left Rangoon on 23 February and marched on
to Prome, but there was no respite for them. When the Japanese
attacked Taungoo, Prome became vulnerable, and the column had to
leave for Allanmyo on a "Dry Belt" march. They suffered excruciating
pains from lack of water, but went on to the oil town of
Yenanyaung to rest. Denying the Japanese this longed-for prize,
the British blew up all installations and when Pin Chaung was
attacked in April, Dickie's column was ordered to head to the
town of Wanting on the Burmese border. They managed to reach the
railway station of Pyawbe and then on to Hebo and Loilem, all the
way sniped at by the Japanese, shot at and bombed by fighter aircraft.
The increasing shortage of ammunition was only relieved
by a lucky find at Hebo. Then on the way to Loilem the ice cold
rains of the Monsoon struck fiercely.
Walking on in the mud became almost impossible, exhausting everyone,
and the ill, starved and exhausted fell by the wayside to
die, as nothing could be done for them.
The nightmare was interrupted at Loilem where the group found
enough to eat and drink to regain some strength, and on they went
to Hsipaw, to be told on arrival that they had to march to Katha
on the east bank of the Irrawaddy.
The monsoon was still with them when they arrived, but with the
help of some experts they built rafts from flattened bamboo walls
and canvas roofing to ferry the people across. This was achieved,
luckily, without any interference by the Japanese. In Katha they
took shelter, and eventually marched the last 15 miles to Naba
which was occupied by British troops. Altogether they had been
on the march for 8 exhausting weeks and 445 miles.
Here Dickie left the party, was flown to Sigchar, where he was
made presentable and faced a number of gruelling interrogations
about conditions in Burma. Granted four weeks leave, he proceeded
to Kalimpong and a good rest in the Himalayas.
The large audience was captivated by our speaker's absorbing
presentation and was visibly moved by the vividness of his remembrances,
even after almost 60 years.
Jochen (John) Mahncke (Vice-Chairman/Scribe) (021) 797 5167
Cdr Gerry de Vries (rtd) is the former Commander of SAS Wingfield,
Cape Town, and Jonathan Hall is a Computer Systems
Specialist and ex-submariner.
From the arrival of the first European settlers at the Cape,
cannons have played a significant role in their existence, be
it for defence against local inhabitants, against danger from
the ocean, or for sending signals for communication in times
of peace or when threatened from outside.
The authors have recently produced a superb guide- and history
book on the muzzle loading cannon of South Africa, not only
for the military historian or artillery expert, but also for
the lover of Cape- and South African History.
It took them five years of hard, painstaking work, travelling
thousands of kilometers across South Africa to record well
over 700 cannons along the coastline and inland, and the old
history as well as the astonishing details of the finds make
fascinating reading indeed. One wonders how and where they
unearthed the numerous particulars, the old photographs, the
background to cannon manufacturing and ordnance, but with the
generous support of their sponsors, Durr Estates, the book was
eventually completed.
There is a complete list of the gun batteries, forts and
emplacements of the Western Cape, descriptions of cannon design
and markings. And the story of the warning signals from Lions
Head, the alarm signal system and call-up gun signal system.
One chapter is devoted to the Dutch guns and the battle of
Muizenberg, followed by a discourse on time guns, gun salutes
and the noon gun. Experts will find chapters on gun equipment
and the various projectiles, moving and placing of guns, loading
and firing procedures complete with drawings and much
more. There is even advice on how to spike a gun.
Pre-Boer war and Boer war guns are also mentioned, and then
follows a list of cannons and their detailed descriptions and
history in alphabetical order.
Finally there is the "Standard for the Measurement of and
Reporting on historic Cannon" for anyone finding a cannon
somewhere which he believes has not yet been recorded.
The book has been dedicated to the late Major Darell Hall, who
did much to advance our knowledge of artillery.
The reviewer, not a cannon man himself, found the book a most
fascinating read and an important manual for any historian. It
is hoped that Gerry's and Jon's Cannon Research Project, will
continue to search for and uncover more cannons in the future.
The book, P/B. A4, 148 pages, with c/cover, can be purchased from Gerry de Vries, 13 Kingfisher Road, Table View 7441, fax/phone (021) 557 1299, or e-mail noongun@mweb.co.za. for R 160.- incl.Vat, plus P&P.
Reviewer: Jochen (John) Mahncke (Vice-Chairman/Scribe) (021) 797 5167