Far East Campaign

The Far East Campaign was the theatre of the the Pacific War of World War II encompassing the fighting in the British Empire's Asian colonies when they were attacked by the Japanese. (AUDIO: The Forsaken)

History
At war with China since July 1937, (PROSE: The Shadow of Weng-Chiang) Japan sought to expand its empire over the rest of the Asian continent (PROSE: Warlords of Utopia) and establish the Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere. (PROSE: The Face of the Enemy)

In a letter dated 21 July 1941, when Britain was already at war with Nazi Germany, Prem Barsar wrote that he and a number of other Indian soldiers had joined the war and were being trained at the regimental centre in Lahore. The Sepoys hoped that, by serving Britain in the war, India would eventually be granted independence. There was talk of being deployed to Iraq to guard oilfields after their training had been completed, or to other placed Prem had never heard of. In his first month, Prem and his brother, Kunal, earned eighteen rupees in wages and sent them home to Umbreen and Manish, (PROSE: Letters from the Front)

Japan's ambitions precipitated the attack on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, (PROSE: Only Connect) the subsequent conquest of the Philippines (PROSE: Happily Ever After Is a High-Risk Strategy) and many other islands throughout the Pacific Ocean. (COMIC: Lunar Lagoon, PROSE: Endgame)

In another letter dated 11 December 1941, Prem claimed that Kunal met the news of Pearl Harbor with optimism, believing that the American entry would substantially shorten the war. In response to the rumoured build-up of Japanese troops in French Indochina, British and Indian forces were moved into Malaya in anticipation of an eventual clash. Indeed, the Japanese did turn their attention on the British Empire and its Far East colonies. On 30 January 1942, Prem wrote of fierce fighting taking place against the Japanese ever since his unit arrived in Malaya. (PROSE: Letters from the Front)

In the second week of February 1942, the Japanese had outmatched the British forces to such a degree that the Allied leaders organised a hurried evacuation of soldiers and civilians from Signapore by sea. (AUDIO: The Forsaken) Prem and Kunal were part of a section who found a boat on which to escape. Kunal was killed before he had a chance to join the others. His death was witnessed by the Thijarians. (TV: Demons of the Punjab)

Some Japanese forces were diverted from the main assault to capture the island of Kenga. Japanese scouting parties and air raids by the Imperial Army Air Fleet harassed the British during the week following the start of the invasion. Captain Clive Freeman and his men, including Corporal Gibbs and Privates Lawson and James Jackson, encountered one of the many ambushes set up by the Japanese in the jungle as they awaited the chance to evacuate. Freeman was killed but his form was taken by the Forsaken, which infiltrated the party to feed on the fear of the other British soldiers and civilians waiting to escape the island. The Forsaken was defeated by the Second Doctor who caused it to feed on its own fear. Soon afterwards, the survivors were able to escape Kenga when another boat arrived to aid in the evacuation. (AUDIO: The Forsaken)

Many Britisn and Indian soldiers became prisoners of war to the Japanese after the surrender. (AUDIO: The Forsaken) The British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called the fall of Singapore "the largest capitulation in British military history." (AUDIO: The Forsaken)

On 15 March 1942, Prem was finally able to inform his family of Kunal's death. He enclosed Kunal's final wages with the letter. (PROSE: Letters from the Front)

Fighting spread into Siam where Indian soldiers saw further engagement. (TV: Demons of the Punjab) Action also took place in the jungles of Burma (PROSE: Just War) where Major-General Scobie took part in numerous excursions. (PROSE: The Scales of Injustice)

In September 1943, India was struck by poor harvests. The campaign in Burma also persisted. Prem's platoon suffered heavily, with Hafiz and five others killed by a sniper which Prem had previously failed to spot while on scouting duty. The platoon commander, Prakash Ahluwalia, renounced his position after all the deaths which occurred under his leadership.

On 8 September, the Indians were briefed about the Indian National Army, a pro-Indian independence movement led by Subhas Chandra Bose. British intelligence confirmed that many Indian soldiers captured at the fall of Singapore had joined the movement, which was in league with Germany and Japan. On 9 September, one of Prem's letters to Umbreen lamented how the enemy was still growing in size.

By 1 July 1944, the British and Indians had won a great victory over the Japanese at Kohima. Prem (who was not involved in the action, having been transferred to the theatre in Italy) opined that the defeat would not stop the Japanese from launching further incursions but he felt the development signified that the momentum in the war was now with the Allies. The Indian National Army fought hard at Kohima and suffered heavy losses. Although Prem did not support the movement, he was distressed by the idea of Indians fighting Indians. (PROSE: Letters from the Front)

After Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945, Churchill urged his generals to commit more forces now freed from the fighting in Europe to the Far East. The Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Field Marshall Alan Brooke, urged Churchill to let the British people rest and enjoy the newly-won peace for at least a day, arguing the Americans and Australians were already winning against the Japanese in the Pacific. (AUDIO: Churchill Victorious) Churchill's stance partly contributed to his defeat in the general election. (AUDIO: Subterfuge)

By 22 May 1945, following the surrenders in Europe, Prem's unit was returned to Lahore and disbanded. Prem was instead tasked with training new soldiers, although he believed the wider war would not last much longer and that many of these soldiers would not have the join the fighting. (PROSE: Letters from the Front)

Japan surrendered on 2 September 1945 after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the Americans. (COMIC: Sky Jacks)