Burma Road
The Burma Road wound 717 miles through rough mountain country. Its southern terminus was at Lashio in British-ruled Burma; its northern end was Kunming, the capital of China's Yunnan province. Built between 1937 and 1938, it opened precisely as Japan's military was severing China's existing supply connections. Control of that road became one of the Pacific War's central strategic problems. It drew in the United States, Japan, and Britain in ways none of them had fully anticipated.
Chih-Ping Chen coordinated the construction project, drawing on 200,000 Burmese and Chinese laborers to cut the route through difficult mountain terrain.
Crossing the Salween River at Huitong Bridge was among the road's most demanding engineering requirements. Workers also bridged the Mekong, known in China as the Lancang, at Gongguo Bridge.
Nine named stops ran between the road's two termini. Beyond the border crossing at Wanding, the route passed through the cities of Longling, Baoshan, Dali, and Chuxiong.
The road became operational on the 18th of October 1938. The Chinese section alone covered some 500 miles of rural Yunnan terrain before reaching Kunming.
San Francisco to Kunming was a journey that supplies took in stages. Shipments would dock at Rangoon, now called Yangon, then move north by rail to Lashio. From there the road climbed steep gradients before crossing into China over the Wanding bridge.
The Battle of South Guangxi ended on the 24th of November 1939, with China losing its most efficient supply route through Nanning. Japan's entry into French Indochina in September 1940 eliminated another path. Each loss pushed more burden onto the Burma Road. In July 1940, even that route would face closure.
In July 1940, Japan's diplomatic pressure produced a notable outcome: Britain agreed to close the Burma Road for three months. For a colonial power to shut a strategic road at a foreign military's demand was a significant concession.
Burma fell under Japanese occupation in 1942. Preventing supplies from flowing along the Burma Road had been among Japan's motivations for that campaign from the start. The occupation left Allied forces without land access to China. U.S. Army General Joseph Stilwell's response would reshape the remainder of the Burma campaign.
Flying "over The Hump" from India, the air route that replaced the closed road, proved dangerous and far short of what China needed. Stilwell fixated on reopening the land route through Burma. That goal shaped Allied strategy in the theater for years.
Allied forces recaptured northern Burma in late 1944. That advance made it possible to complete the Ledo Road from India and join it to the old Burma Road at Wanding in Yunnan province. The first trucks reached the Chinese frontier on the 28th of January 1945. The first convoy arrived in Kunming on the 4th of February 1945.
Burma Convoy appeared in 1941, the first Hollywood film to take the road as its subject. A Yank on the Burma Road and Bombs over Burma followed in 1942; Objective, Burma! arrived in 1945.
Frank Capra included the road's construction in The Battle of China, released in 1944 as the sixth film in his Why We Fight propaganda series. The 1941 film Kukan also documented the road.
The grand strategy video game Hearts of Iron IV, released in 2016, allows players to make decisions about closing or reopening the Burma Road. Some sections of the original road remain visible today.
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Common questions
What was the Burma Road and where did it run?
The Burma Road was a 717-mile road connecting Lashio in British-ruled Burma with Kunming, the capital of China's Yunnan province. Built in 1937-1938, it served as the primary overland supply route for China during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II.
When was the Burma Road built and who coordinated its construction?
The Burma Road was built in 1937-1938 under the coordination of Chih-Ping Chen, drawing on 200,000 Burmese and Chinese laborers. It became operational on the 18th of October 1938.
Why did Japan occupy Burma and cut off the Burma Road in 1942?
Preventing supplies from flowing along the Burma Road to China was among Japan's motivations for occupying Burma in 1942. The occupation closed the road entirely and forced the Allies to supply China by air.
How did supplies travel along the Burma Road during World War II?
Supplies would arrive by ship at Rangoon, move north by rail to Lashio where the road began, then climb steep mountain gradients before crossing into China at Wanding. The Chinese section of the road covered some 500 miles of rural Yunnan terrain before reaching Kunming.
When was the Burma Road reopened after Japan's occupation?
Allied forces recaptured northern Burma in late 1944, enabling the Ledo Road from India to connect to the old Burma Road at Wanding. The first trucks reached the Chinese frontier on the 28th of January 1945, and the first convoy arrived in Kunming on the 4th of February 1945.
Which films were made about the Burma Road during World War II?
Four films about the Burma Road appeared during the war years: Burma Convoy (1941), A Yank on the Burma Road (1942), Bombs over Burma (1942), and Objective, Burma! (1945). Frank Capra's The Battle of China (1944), the sixth installment of his Why We Fight series, also featured the road's construction.
All sources
6 references cited across the entry
- 2BookChina 1945 : Mao's revolution and America's fateful choiceRichard Bernstein — Alfred A. Knopf — 2014
- 3VideoKukan: The Battle Cry of ChinaAdventure Films — 1941
- 4Journal“Bad Luck for the Chinese”: France and the Transit of War Materiel to China During the Sino-Japanese War (1937–1939)Alexandre Barthel — 9 June 2022
- 5BookTime Runs Out in CBICharles F. Romanus et al. — Center of Military History, United States Army — 1959
- 6BookThe World War II desk referenceDouglas Brinkley et al. — HarperCollins — 2004