In 1945, Wright took part in the joint British and Indian assault on Ramree Island, which the Allies hoped to capture from the Japanese and use as a strategic airfield. Nile freshwater crocodiles, like the one pictured here, have a reputation as man-eaters, similarly to the saltwater crocodiles that were rumored to ravage Japanese soldiers at Ramree Island in Myanmar in 1945. Wikimedia CommonsBritish troops make their way ashore during the Battle of Ramree Island on January 21, 1945. Every year, dozens of people are killed by saltwater crocodiles, like the unfortunate 8-year-old girl who was attacked and eaten in front of her friends in Indonesia in 2021. In 2016, he decided to tackle the, Upon completing his investigation, Willis brought his findings to. An Army of 1000 Japanese Soldiers Was Attacked by Crocodiles During the Battle of Ramree Island, WWII By Lily Rowan In 1942, during WWII, the Japanese Imperial Army captured Ramree Island off the Burma coast, 70 miles south of Akyab, now known as Sittwe. Japanese forces took no prisoners and those that were wounded were killed by their comrades in line with the bushido code. Soldiers lived in a miasma of fever amid bodies decomposing in the heat. When Crocodiles Attack: The Ramree Island Massacre. From ancient warfare to the 21st century, these experts enliven and enrich your favorite historical subjects with fascinating stories you havent heard before. The following day, the 4th Indian Infantry Brigade (Brigadier J. F. R. Forman) landed, took over the beachhead and occupied Kyaukpyu. A saltwater crocodile. It was one of the worst crocodile attacks in history when British troops fought in Burma, now Myanmar, in January 1945 and is widely regarded as one of the worst attacks ever. Possibly another 50 Japanese died in the mangrove from exposure and want of food and water. Italian Mobster On The Run For 16 Years Found Working At A Pizzeria In France, Bear-Clawed Remains Found In Alaskan Wilderness Identified As Man Who Went Missing In 1976, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. from the Indian Army and a detachment of British commandos, , the largest island off the coast of present-day Myanmar (then known as Burma). Background [ edit] An accurate count of annual crocodile attacks on humans is difficult to obtain. The navy and the 26th Indian Infantry Division then concentrated on blockading the chaungs (small streams) on the east coast, to prevent the Japanese from escaping to the mainland. More than 500 Japanese soldiers were able to escape from the mangrove swamps of Myanmar during the war. Given that fewer than 100 people are killed by saltwater crocodiles each year across all of Southeast Asia and Oceania, what are the odds that 900 Japanese soldiers could have been eaten alive by ravenous crocodiles in a matter of weeks much less during one horrific night on one small island? However, death toll estimates vary. Surrender was not an option for the defenders, so they hatched a plan to slip away from the enemy in the middle of the night. At dawn the vultures arrived to clean up what the crocodiles had left Of about one thousand Japanese soldiers that entered the swamps of Ramree, only about twenty were found alive.". Sign up for our newsletter and enter to win the second edition of our book. The Imperial Japanese. At dawn, the vultures arrived to clean up what the crocodiles had left Of about one thousand Japanese soldiers that entered the swamps of Ramree, only about twenty were found alive.. That information was found in the Japanese military archives. Its possible that some crocodiles may have eaten Japanese soldiers during World War II, but there is no concrete evidence to support this claim. [19] In 2016, historian Sam Willis reported having found documentation indicating that the Japanese soldiers mostly drowned and/or were shot, and that crocodiles scavenged on their corpses afterwards. They can be as big as 23 feet long and weigh upwards of more than a ton. Describing the incident in his 1962 book Wildlife Sketches, the Canadian naturalist Bruce Stanley Wright wrote that an estimated 1,000 Japanese soldiers fled into the marshes and that only 20 came out alive. Brought to you by the editors of HistoryNet's nine magazine titles. British naturalist Bruce Stanley Wright participated in the battle for Ramree, and gave the following account in his book, Wildlife Sketches Near and Far, published in 1962: "That night [February 19, 1945] was the most horrible that any member of the M.L. According to two investigations one by the National Geographic show "Nazi World War Weird" and another by herpetologist Steven Platt roughly 500 of the original 1,000 Japanese soldiers were able to escape the mangrove swamps alive. We went in with boats and interpreters using loudhailers asking them to come out. Such swamps are natural habitats for saltwater crocodiles, which thrive in coastal environments and use ocean currents to travel. If you read the passage closely, you see that Wright never said that he personally witnessed the massacre. It proved to be beyond even their endurance to exist for more than a few days, Power wrote. We stood in a field in two columns and the guns were driven past in a long line. We depend on ad revenue to craft and curate stories about the worlds hidden wonders. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the most people killed by a crocodile attack were killed in an attack in 1985. While this may have seemed a fine opportunity to slip into the wilderness and regroup, most of the Japanese soldiers would never be heard from again. World War 2 Jan 14, 2019 Darragh O Herlihy, Guest Author On the night of the 19th of February 1945, Allied forces in Burma were allegedly aided in their efforts by a group of reptiles which decimated over 90% of their enemy. Storyboard Is the Ramree Island Crocodile Massacre a Myth? The operation lasted from February 8 to 22. Despite the dense mangrove swamps, British troops managed to drive nearly 1,000 enemy fighters into the dense swamps. "[12] In his 1962 collection Wildlife Sketches Near and Far, Canadian naturalist and veteran of the Burma campaign Bruce Wright described the events of the battle, focusing on predation of the Japanese soldiers by the saltwater crocodiles. [9], In 1965, the British official historian, Stanley Woodburn Kirby, wrote that the Japanese defence of the island and the escape of about 500 men against "fearful odds", had been courageous and determined. According to some reports and eyewitness accounts, Japanese soldiers who fled from British troops died in the mangroves at the jaws of these saltwater crocodiles. The island lies off the Burma coast, 70 miles south of Akyab, now known as Sittwe. Despite their efforts, the Allies were unable to force the last surviving Japanese soldiers into mangrove swamps surrounding the island. It was like hide and seek. Following brisk fighting, Ramree Town fell to the British on February 8, leaving the Japanese only two alternatives: to stand and fight or to escape from the island by water, according to Power. Interestingly, it may have been Wright's clout as a naturalist that helped launch the myth of the crocodile massacre into the public imagination. On Ramree, the Japanese garrison resisted with great determination but on 1 February, the 71st Indian Infantry Brigade reached Sane and parts of the 36th Indian Infantry Brigade, from reserve, took Sagu Kuyun Island and relieved the marines on Cheduba Island. The naturalist Bruce Stanley Wright described the scene unfolding in his 1962 book,Wildlife Sketches Near and Far: That night was the most horrible that any member of the M.L. Crocodile attacks are deadly, and many go unpublicized in the media. One night the British soldiers reported hearing panicked screams and gunfire emanating from within the darkness of the swamp. Rather than massacre the defenders of the island, the commander of the British force, Gen. Cyril Lomax, sent the Japanese a surrender demand. Many of the Japanese troops succumbed to tropical diseases carried by swarms of mosquitoes, as well as the various poisonous spiders, snakes and scorpions found in the marsh. The deep mud and tangles of mangrove roots kept the force moving at a snails pace. These prehistoric holdovers can grow to over 20 feet in length and over 2,000 pounds in some cases, and although examples that size are rare, even a mid-sized crocodile of the species could easily kill a full grown adult human. The crocodiles will eat prey dead or alive, swallowing victims whole whenever possible. The crocodiles, alerted by the din of warfare and smell of blood, gathered among the mangroves, lying with their eyes above the water, watchfully alert for their next meal. [20], In 2000, herpetologist Steven Platt visited Ramree Island, where he interviewed residents who had been alive during the war and who had been forced into slave labor by the Japanese; they "unanimously discounted any suggestion that large numbers of Japanese fell prey to crocodiles". Ramree Island, part of Arakan (now Rakhine State), has an area of 520sqmi (1,350km2) and is separated from the mainland by a strait with an average width of about 490ft (150m); the island is 70mi (110km) south of Akyab (now Sittwe). After bouts of hospitalization from amoebic dysentery, ulcers and malaria, Duff survived to go to Ramree the following January. They used to call the crocodiles the allies. Osama, a saltwater crocodile named after the terrorist Usama Bin Laden, in Uganda over a period of 14 years beginning in 1991. There were horrifying tales of soldiers being attacked by dozens of crocodiles. Historian Toshiyuki Tanaka discovered evidence of cannibalism during World War II in 1992, when he was researching the history of Japan. It also came at a time when the Pacific Theater Island Hopping Campaign was putting American forces at the . Animal Weekis November 18 - 22, 2013 on Atlas Obscura. How many men fell to an unseen crocodile army remains a mystery. Around 500 Japanese soldiers are thought to have escaped those mangrove swamps, and 20 of them were eventually recaptured by the British forces who had set up a perimeter around the thick wilderness. British troops make their way ashore during the Battle of Ramree Island on January 21, 1945. As for the truth, however, that may have been lost to history. Today it remains beneath the water as a memorial to all those who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor. Did you know the Japanese planned a biological attack on the U.S. during WWII? The scattered rifle shots in the pitch-black swamp punctured by the screams of wounded men crushed in the jaws of huge reptiles, and the blurred worrying sound of spinning crocodiles made a cacophony of hell that has rarely been duplicated on earth. , however, has cast doubt on the story, or at least on the extent of deaths. Thus, the legend was put to rest. Reconnaissance carried out on 14 January 1945, found that Japanese forces were placing artillery in caves overlooking the landing beaches on Ramree and the Royal Navy assigned the battleship HMSQueen Elizabeth, the escort carrier HMSAmeer, the light cruiser HMSPhoebe, the destroyers HMSRapid, Napier, HMASNorman and Pathfinder, with the sloops Flamingo and HMISKistna. The Battle of Ramree Island might be the most interesting story of the war. However, during a battle in early 1945, Japanese troops supposedly became an overnight feast for the local crocodiles, who chomped down on hundreds of men residing in the swamps. Invisible Japanese assailants stalked from the trees and shadows. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. A subject of much debate and intrigue among World War II historians, the story of how hundreds of Japanese troops met their gruesome fate in the crocodile-infested marshes of Ramree Island became so widely believed that it was included in the Guinness Book of World Records under the entry for most fatalities in a crocodile attack. Tiger predators are also powerful, capable of destroying adult crocodiles, but they are not as effective at destroying large prey animals as lions. Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you. The navy said they didnt know how we would get off the island, so it was a case of get rid of the [Japanese] or be taken prisoner, recalled artilleryman Robert Duff, who fought on Ramree Island and witnessed the events surrounding the mass crocodile attack. Crocodile attacks in Africa kill hundreds of people each year, according to estimates. If 'thousands of crocodiles' were involved in the massacre, as in the urban (jungle) myth, how had these ravening monsters survived before and how were they to survive later? The story originated with news articles published around the time of the incident, but certain plot holes identified in the years since have raised questions about the veracity of those early reports. And was the tragedy in the swamps really a bold British plan or just a pure coincidence?. Several British soldiers said that the crocodiles preyed on the Japanese soldiers in the swamp. Of the 1,000 troops who entered the swamp on Ramree Island, only a reported 480 survived. [motor launch] crews ever experienced. We never knew where the [Japanese] were, and because we couldnt make a sound we communicated with sign language. By: Dave Roos | Jul 21, 2022 Troops of the 15th Indian corps land on Ramree Island off the coast of Burma during World War II, February 1945 Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images In early 1945, as part of the Pacific War during World War II, Allied forces pinned down 1,000 Japanese soldiers in a mangrove swamp off the coast of Burma (now Myanmar). As the Indian and British troops closed in, the Japanese soldiers were faced with two options: They could stay and fight or attempt to flee through the marshes and escape by sea. The rest were reportedly eaten alive by hordes of prehistoric-looking saltwater crocodiles. a 1945 dispatch by Vice Admiral Arthur Power, an estimated 1,200 to 1,500 Japanese soldiers, https://www.historynet.com/ramree-battle-crocodiles/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, Attacked by Both Spanish and American Invaders, This Sandstone Navajo Stronghold Was Built for Defense, Graphic Novel Tells Story of World War Is most outstanding soldier. Saltwater: The Battle for Ramree Island: Directed by Steve Lawson. According to the Australian Reptile Park in Sydney, an adult saltwater crocodile will eat almost anything that comes too close.. Typical male specimens reach 17 feet long and 1,000 pounds and the largest can reach 23 feet and 2,200 pounds. They chose the latter alternative, and in so doing met with disaster.. The truth behind the true story has been buried under sensational reporting in recent years, according to evidence discovered. The British and Indian forces matched the Japanese brutality in conquering the country. And helped launch a corporation now worth more than $40 billion. 14 prisoners were taken.". This was most likely the real Ramree Island massacre, one perpetrated by human soldiers in an awful war, and not by bloodthirsty predators. The Battle of Ramree Island might be the most, Burma Campaign is an often overlooked front of WWII, British effort in Burma was a masterstroke for Gen. William Slim, killed by their comrades in line with the bushido code, the most important factor they hadnt considered: saltwater crocodiles, The ins and outs of military intelligence and espionage, Military war crimes: When war breaks the rules, The invincible spirit of William Francis Buckley, These are Americas top military intelligence gathering operations, That time crocodiles decided the outcome of a World War II battle, A cut-off Japanese garrison wiped out this endangered bird. The uncultivated island had no harbor; British soldiers were dropped on the beaches by landing craft. "That night was the most horrible that any member of the M. L. [motor launch] crews ever experienced," wrote Wright using the third person. Crocodiles were an environmental hazard in many battlegrounds across Southeast Asia and the Pacific. [3] A plan was ready by 2 January, when it was clear that the advance of the Fourteenth Army (Lieutenant-General William Slim) into Central Burma would soon pass beyond the range of its airbases at Imphal and Agartala; replacements at Chittagong, Akyab and Ramree would be needed. Wikimedia CommonsBritish troops sit near a temple on Ramree Island. During World War II, The Japanese Imperial Army captured Ramree Island in 1942. These areas are home to a number of large bodies of water that thousands of people use on a daily basis. Another additional problem for the Japanese troops was the lack of drinking water and constant threat of starvation. That still leaves 500 Japanese soldiers dead on Ramree, but very few of them, if any, were victims of crocodiles. Like Atlas Obscura and get our latest and greatest stories in your Facebook feed. (Note that the battle took place over a month and was not an overnight event.). Some people were offended by the idea that the Japanese military had acted brutally and excessively during the war, and many were haunted by their wartime sins. [21] He established that Bruce Wright had not been on Ramree Island at the time of the battle and noted that although the other chapters in Wright's book were told in the first person, the account of the battle was in the third person; possibly, Platt speculated, Wright was repeating stories he had been told by friends. He thanks you for reading his content. Phoebe also joined the bombardment, along with Consolidated B-24 Liberators, North American B-25 Mitchells and Republic P-47 Thunderbolts of 224 Group Royal Air Force (RAF), under the command of HQ RAF Bengal and Burma, that strafed and bombed the beaches. The survivors are reported to have told horrific tales of dozens of crocodiles attacking the soldiers en masse, and appearing out of seemingly nowhere to drag off some poor soul. Around 500 Japanese soldiers are thought to have escaped those mangrove swamps, and 20 of them were eventually recaptured by the British forces who had set up a perimeter around the thick. In the years since their wartime actions were acknowledged, the Japanese have come to terms with them, but the painful memories of those crimes linger. Only a few days after entering the mangrove swamp, the surviving Japanese surrendered. The Japanese government realized it could no longer deny the reports after the evidence was undeniable. British soldiers in India and Burma took measures to protect themselves from ambushes by freshwater crocodiles during maneuvers across inland canals and waterways. May have been lost to history and use ocean currents to travel fascinating stories you havent heard.. Bold British plan or just a pure coincidence? lies off the Burma coast, 70 miles south Akyab. Campaign was putting American forces at the 500 Japanese soldiers dead on Ramree Island, only a 480... 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