By January of 1945, Japan’s once remarkable territorial gains were now unraveling before
their eyes. The Empire of the Rising Sun was being shoved back in every front, and in an
ambitious strike, British and Indian forces launched Operation Matador, an amphibious
thrust designed to capture the critical port of Kyaukpyu in Ramree Island on the Burma
front and begin their seizure of the landmass.
The Indian forces then reached a stronghold defended by 900 Japanese, but just as the
battle started, a British regiment outflanked the Japanese, who were forced to either surrender
or retreat.
The zealous Japanese servicemen, favoring anything over a dishonorable surrender, opted
to retreat through a treacherous Mangrove swamp filled with crocodiles. The unrelenting
troopers had to endure disease, hunger, and treacherous waters as they sought to survive
and outmaneuver their opponents. Still, the British were determined to take
their Southeast Asian colony back, no matter the cost…
Taking Burma Back
Often overlooked, the clash between Japan and China during World War 2 had far-reaching
consequences for the global conflict and the geopolitical structure of Asia after it was
over.
After 1938, Japan and China were at a stalemate, with Japan unable to take additional territories
from the Chinese. Then, in a shift in tactics, the Japanese decided to launch an attack on
the Indochina peninsula to isolate the Chinese and cut them off from foreign supplies coming
from the Pacific.
The move, however, angered the colonial superpowers that controlled several territories in the
peninsula, specifically France, Britain, and the United States.
As Japan invaded Burma, China and the United Kingdom signed an alliance to protect it from
Japanese control. Britain reinforced the area from India while China sent troops south to
support the British. Despite their best efforts, the Japanese had delivered significant blows
to key British military bases and airfields by 1942, giving them full air superiority
over the region.
Due to an unfortunate combination of catastrophic weather, Chinese troops’ inexperience, Britain’s
unwillingness to commit forces to the region’s defense, and Japan’s raw strength and vicious
use of chemical weapons, Burma finally fell to Japan by August.
The situation remained unchanged for several months, but by 1943, the war effort on the
Western Front had turned in favor of the Allied forces, and they now felt prepared to pay
more attention to the situation in Asia.
A much more combat-proficient Chinese army trained by American and British forces was
able to launch a new campaign, and for the first time in the Sino-Japanese conflict,
the Chinese were able to inflict more casualties than the ones they received.
By 1944, the Japanese onslaught that had seized the entire region and even threatened to pierce
the Indian border had been utterly reversed, and the Japanese empire was now fighting to
hold Burma from the Allies.
Then, as 1945 began, Northern Burma was in Chinese control. Allied supply lines into
China had been restored, and Britain and the US were determined to eradicate Japan’s
presence in the region. Consequently, Chinese and British forces pressed south in a synchronized
effort to obliterate the Japanese troops.
Operation Matador
One of the main objectives of the Allies when planning their amphibious attack from the
south was Ramree Island, a 50-mile long and 20-mile wide flat landmass that seemed like
a perfect choice to build airbases that could be used during the liberation of southern
Burma.
On January 14, 1945, the 26th Indian Division was ordered to attack Ramree, with the plan
set for a few days later just as a Royal Marine group from 3 Commando Brigade invaded the
neighboring Cheduba Island. Meanwhile, the Japanese defensive forces in Ramree consisted
of the II Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment with artillery and engineer detachments.
The first stage of the assault was codenamed Operation Matador, and the objective was to
capture Kyaukpyu at the north end of Ramree Island and the airfield near the port; taking
the port would severely weaken the enemy in the area, and it would serve as a staging
ground for the rest of the attack.
The Japanese knew a confrontation was coming, as British intelligence revealed they were
setting up artillery units in caves along the coast to destroy the landing troops.
In response, the Royal Navy assigned the battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth, the escort carrier HMS
Ameer, the light cruiser HMS Phoebe, and the destroyers Rapid, Napier, Norman, and Pathfinder
to rain fire over the Japanese defensive positions before the landing operations.
The shelling was highly successful, and by the time the 71st Indian Infantry Brigade
began landing on the island’s beaches, the Japanese capacity to respond had been severely
crippled.
Overwhelming Advance
The following day, the 4th Indian Infantry Brigade took over the beachhead and swiftly
occupied Kyaukpyu while encountering little resistance. Then, on the 23rd, the 71st Infantry
Brigade continued advancing down the west coast into the island’s south.
Japanese resistance became gradually more significant as the Indian troops moved inland.
Still, the Indian forces continued to make steady but decisive advances for the remainder
of January as they pushed the Japanese forces further south.
As the 71st Indian Infantry Brigade continued their attack, a Royal Marine force landed
on Cheduba island, about 6.2 miles southwest of Ramree Island, and found it uninhabited.
Meanwhile, the Indian brigade was stopped by a defiant Japanese garrison but resisted
with prodigious tenacity. Then, on February 1, the approximate 900 Japanese defenders
were flanked by the Royal Marine forces that arrived to support the Indian soldiers.
With little options but to surrender or flee through the nearby Mangrove swamp, the Japanese
opted to escape, and would deeply regret it…
A Fatal Decision
Blinded by a fanatical doctrine of never surrendering, the Japanese commander made the atrocious
decision of retreating through the marsh in an ambitious effort to join a more significant
Japanese force located further south on the island.
The Japanese men were already severely depleted and exhausted from weeks of relentless fighting,
and many were injured or starved.
Furthermore, they were no strangers to the ruthlessness of the Burma terrain; after years
of fighting in the region, they knew the area was infested with disease-carrying mosquitoes,
leeches, and enormous saltwater crocodiles.
Still, they found it preferable to test their luck in the dangerous swamp rather than humiliate
themselves by surrendering to the British. What’s more, it would not be the first time
they traversed crocodile-infested territory, and they considered the likelihood of an attack
substantially low.
Little did they know that the number of injured men and their utter state of exhaustion would
make for a very different outcome than on other occasions.
The swamp was home to thousands of South Asian saltwater crocodiles, the largest reptile
in the world and one of the most aggressive predators in the animal kingdom. Reaching
lengths of over 23 feet, the gargantuan beasts display the most powerful bite of any animal
in the world, with as much as 3,690 pounds-force.
Once the predator clenches its jaw around a prey, it is highly unlikely that the victim
will survive the encounter. They are known for hunting big creatures regularly, including
sambar deer, wild boar, Malayan tapirs, kangaroos, feral pigs, humans, orangutans, dingoes, and
tigers.
The Japanese soldiers were now walking into a terrifying nightmare…
A Unique Battle
Reports of what happened next are varied and contradictory; however, the Allied actions
after the Japanese withdrew are well documented. The British forces immediately moved to surround
the entire swamp to prevent the Japanese from escaping even if they made it through.
For the following days and nights, the Allies reported continued screams coming from the
swamp accompanied by the constant ring of rifle fire. With no Allied forces pursuing
the Japanese into the swamp, the British assumed the enemy was fighting against the local saltwater
crocodiles.
Naturalist Bruce Wright, who participated in the battle, described the hellish nights
they witnessed from afar: (QUOTE) “That night [of February 19 1945] was the most horrible
that any member of the M. L. crews ever experienced. The scattered rifle shots in the pitch-black
swamp punctured by the screams of wounded men [...] made a cacophony of hell that has
rarely been duplicated on earth. [...] Of about one thousand Japanese soldiers that
entered the swamps of Ramree, only about twenty were found alive.”
The British made frantic efforts to help the Japanese, taking interpreters into the fringes
of the swamp to plead for them to come out… but none of them did.
Some reports from supposed survivors depict a scary scenario. As the troops advanced through
the swamp, their health and morale quickly plummeted. The murky waters reached all the
way to the soldier’s chests, and the mosquito swarms and lack of food soon resulted in countless
soldiers plodding behind in a delusional, exhausted state.
At first, the crocodile attacks were few and far between, with the troopers able to respond
and put down the attackers. Still, as starvation, injuries and confusion began to take their
toll, the situation grew out of control and chaos spread among the ranks as the forces
became disorganized and frightened.
As the days passed, the soldiers who still had some energy opted to get out of the swamp
as quickly as possible.
Controversy
The exact nature of what really happened in that swamp remains a mystery. The British
managed to capture 20 Japanese survivors who later described the horrors they witnessed.
Later reports claim that up to 480 Japanese soldiers survived the ordeal, meaning that
anywhere between 420 to 880 soldiers perished inside the swamp.
The accounts of the British and the Japanese survivors led the Guinness Book of Records
to consider the event as the highest number of fatalities in a crocodile attack in human
history.
But although there is no doubt that several attacks took place, historians have recently
questioned the scale of the reptile involvement, arguing that the reptilians often feed once
every few months as they require time to digest the large prey they swallow. It is thus improbable
that so many crocodiles were hungry at the very moment the Japanese entered the swamp.
They also point out that if the saltwater crocodile population was as large as to hunt
down 420 Japanese soldiers, the mammal population in the area would have been eradicated long
ago, and the reptiles would have starved.
Scholars now attribute most casualties to drownings, starvation, and disease, considering
the crocodile attacks a minor portion of the losses.
Tactical Results
The seizure of Ramree Island was vital to the Allied efforts on the Burma front. The
Japanese detachment could not offer the resistance needed to halt the overwhelming attack. Still,
their determination left a deep impression on the Allied soldiers that faced them.
After the victory, the island was quickly outfitted to serve as an Allied base for Operation
Dracula -an ambitious attack by land and sea on the city of Rangoon by the British and
Anglo-Indian forces- and other assaults on the southern region of Burma.
The synchronized coordination between Indian and British forces was also a significant
learning experience for all parties involved and allowed both factions to work together
much more effectively in future regional campaigns.
As for the fate of the Japanese forces stationed on the island, British official historian
Stanley Woodburn Kirby would put it best when he wrote in his book ‘The War Against Japan:
The reconquest of Burma’ that the Japanese defense of the island and their valiant attempt
to escape without surrendering: (QUOTE) “In spite of the fearful odds against them”
was carried out with courage and determination.
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