Kirby, Major General S. Woodburn, et al. History of the Second World War: The War against Japan, volume IV: The Reconquest of Burma. London: HMSO, 1965.

568 pages

Introduction; photos; maps; sources; glossary; abbreviations; index.

Appendix: 27 appendices with air, ground, and naval OBs, supply and logistic statistics, and code names.

The fourth of five volumes in the British official history of the campaigns in Burma-India and Southeast Asia, this title also contains significant information on Allied operations in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, including the American reconquest of the Philippines.

For Burma, the book commences in June 1944 and continues through May 1945. Events covered include the Arakan front, crossing the Chindwin and Irrawaddy, the battles of Meiktila and Mandalay, and the capture of Rangoon. While this was primarily a land campaign, Kirby also covers the air and naval aspects of the theater and describes the significant administrative and logistical difficulties.

As always in the British official histories, and in this series in particular, the maps and appendices are excellent.

This book and this series are out-of-print, hard to find, and not inexpensive, but they remain an absolute requirement for anyone reading, researching, or collecting books about the Second World War.

Thanks to World War II Books for providing this copy.