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Full Description
This is a translation of the only known detailed account of the building of the notorious 262-mile long Thai-Burma Railway by one of the Japanese professional engineers who was involved in its construction. The author, Yoshihiko Futamatsu, provides an invaluable new source of historical and technical reference that complements the existing large body of literature in English on this subject. Futamatsu's memoir also includes wide-ranging reflections on the course and conduct of 'his' war as well as his engineering and army experiences. The Thai-Burma Railway took eighteen months to build and cost the lives of some 90,000 people (mostly British, Australian, Dutch and American POWs, as well as great numbers of local labourers) out of a total of over 200,000, including some 12-15,000 Japanese who were engaged in the enterprise. The 'Three Pagodas Pass' was located at the Thai-Burma frontier. Across the Three Pagodas Pass is edited and introduced by Peter N. Davies who provides the back story to the publication of this book and the key people involved. This is followed by translator Ewart Escritt's original Introduction to his translation of Futamatsu's memoir which also includes a detailed account of his own POW experiences as well as his reflections on the war and its outcomes. Many contemporary original drawings, maps and photographs appear in the plate section.
Contents
Acknowledgements, Foreword by Peter N. Davies, Introduction by Ewart Escritt, Across the Three Pagodas Pass, Translator's Acknowledgements, Preface by Yoshihiko Futamatsu, Chapter 1 Departure for the Front, Chapter 2 In Indo-China, Chapter 3 Opening of Hostilities, Chapter 4 The River Krian, Chapter 5 The Malayan Campaign, Chapter 6 The Fall of Singapore, Chapter 7 Surrender, Chapter 8 Sh?nan: Light of the South, Chapter 9 The Thai-Burma Railway, Chapter 10 Preparing Construction, Chapter 11 Banpong, Chapter 12 Prisoners-of-War, Chapter 13 Constructing the Railway, Chapter 14 Thailand, Chapter 15 The River Kwae Noi, Chapter 16 The Mae Khlaung Bridge, Chapter 17 Kanchanaburi, Chapter 18 The Jungle, Chapter 19 From Bangkok to Singapore, Chapter 20 Rush Construction, Chapter 21 The Base at Wanyai, Chapter 22 The Labour Force, Chapter 23 Survey Unit, Chapter 24 Test Run, Chapter 25 Bridge-Building and Shifting Earth, Chapter 26 The Rainy Season: The Monsoon, Chapter 27 Kinsaiyok, Chapter 28 Diseases and Epidemics, Chapter 29 Cattle Drive, Chapter 30 Living in the Jungle, Chapter 31 Soon to the Three Pagodas Pass, Chapter 32 Towards the Setting Sun, Chapter 33 Opening to Traffic, Chapter 34 The Bombing, Chapter 35 End of the War, Chapter 36 Internment, Chapter 37 Repatriation, Footnote, Postscript, End Notes, Glossary, Bibliography, Index.
