In February 1944, a rag-tag collection of clerks, drivers, doctors, muleteers, and other base troops, stiffened by a few dogged Yorkshiremen and a handful of tank crews managed to hold out against some of the finest infantry in the Japanese Army, and then defeat them in what was one of the most astonishing battles of the Second World War.

What became know as The Defence of the Admin Box, fought amongst the paddy fields and jungle of Northern Arakan over a fifteen-day period, turned the battle for Burma. Not only was it the first decisive victory for British troops against the Japanese, more significantly, it demonstrated how the Japanese could be defeated. The lessons learned in this tiny and otherwise insignificant corner of the Far East, set up the campaign in Burma that would follow, as General Slim’s Fourteenth Army finally turned defeat into victory.

Burma '44 is a tale of incredible drama. As gripping as the story of Rorke's drift, as momentous as the battle for the Ardennes, the Admin Box was a triumph of human grit and heroism and remains one of the most significant yet undervalued conflicts of World War Two.


About the Author:

James Holland is a historian, writer and broadcaster. The author of a number of best-selling histories including Battle of Britain and Dam Busters, and, most recently, Burma ’44, he has also written nine works of historical fiction, including the Jack Tanner novels. He is currently writing an acclaimed three-volume new history of the Second World War in the West. He has presented – and written – a large number of television programmes and series for the BBC, Channel 4, National Geographic, History and Discovery. He is also co-founder of the Chalke Valley History Festival and co-founder of WarGen.org an online Second World War resource site, and presents the Chalke Valley History Hit podcast. A fellow of the Royal Historical Society.