Invasion and Occupation of the Andaman Islands during World War II
Encyclopedia
The Japanese occupation of the Andaman Islands occurred in 1942 during World War II
. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands (8,293 km² on 139 islands), are a group of islands situated in the Bay of Bengal
at about 780 miles from Kolkata
, 740 miles from Chennai
and 120 miles from Cape Nargis in Burma. Until 1938 the British government used them as a penal colony for India
n and African political prisoners, who were mainly put in the notorious Cellular Jail
in Port Blair
, the biggest town (port) on the islands. Today they form a Union Territory
of India
.
The only military objective on the islands was the city of Port Blair. The garrison consisted of a 300 man Sikh militia with 23 British officers, augmented in January 1942 by a Gurkha
detachment of 4/12th Frontier Force Regiment
of the 16th Indian Infantry Brigade. Following the fall of Rangoon on March 8, however, the British recognized that Port Blair had become impossible to defend, and on March 10 the Gurkhas were withdrawn to the Arakan
peninsula.
. The British militia officers were sent to Singapore as POWs, whilst Chief Commissioner Waterfall, Deputy Commissioner Major A.G. Bird and the other British administrative officers were imprisoned. The Japanese released the prisoners held in the jail (which had not been used for political prisoners since 1938), one of whom, Pushkar Bakshi, became their principal collaborator. The islands were put under the authority of Colonel Bucho, whilst a number of junior Indian officials in the administration were elevated to more responsible posts. The defence of the islands was assigned to the newly formed fighter squadron of the Kanoya Kokutai based at Tavoy in southern Burma. This fighter squadron was the former "Yamada Unit" under the control of the 22d Koku Sentai, then based at Penang
. Six flying boats from the Toko Kokutai were dispatched on March 26, with twelve more arriving shortly thereafter. Within the islands a Japanese garrison of approximately 600 men, together with the police force, now under Japanese control, were responsible for maintaining order.
'Japanese Army Personnel in Andaman and Nicobar'
The first victim of the occupation came on the fourth day after the Japanese landings. Angered by soldiers who had pursued some chickens into his house, a young man called Zulfiqar Ali fired an airgun at them. No-one was hurt, but he was forced into hiding. After twenty-four hours he was captured and marched to the maidan in front of the Browning Club. Here his arms were twisted until they broke, and he was then shot. A cement memorial now stands on the spot. In the early days of the occupation local intellectuals (mostly officials and doctors) were encouraged to join Rash Behari Bose
's Indian Independence League
, and a 'Peace Committee' was formed from its members, headed by Dr. Diwan Singh. Over the next few months they did what they could to mitigate the suffering of the population at the hands of the Japanese, but to little avail: indeed, many of them would later fall victim themselves. In any case, there was little any of them could have done to save Major A.G. Bird, who had not been sent to Rangoon or Singapore
like the other British captives, and of whom the Japanese were determined to make an example. Pushkar Bakshi persuaded a fellow convict, Sarup Ram, to bear witness at Bird's 'trial' that he had been spying (wireless parts had been planted in the house where he was imprisoned). It has been suggested that Bakshi had a grudge against Bird for having given him a six-month sentence for theft before the Japanese invasion. According to eyewitnesses Bird, a popular man known as "Chirrie" ('Bird' in Hindi
) had his arms and legs twisted and broken, and was then beheaded by Colonel Bucho with his sword.
Meanwhile, local women were being 'recruited' by Bakshi to act as "comfort women
" for the Japanese garrison, although discontent meant that subsequently Korean and Malay women were brought in instead. Forced labour was used to build a new airport, and in October 1942 mass arrests of 'spies' took place, with 300 people being confined in the Cellular Jail, where some were tortured. Of these seven were shot, including Narayan Rao, who had been Superintendent of Police under Japanese auspices, Itter Singh, the Deputy Superintendent, Subedar Sube Singh of the Military Police and Dr. Surinder Nag. Realising that the Japanese were targeting influential members of the population, the members of the Indian Independence League grew increasingly nervous, and ceased to engage in much nationalist activity. In 1943 a second reign of terror was unleashed by the new commander of the garrison, Colonel Jochi Renusakai, & Chief of Police Mitsubashi, both of whom had served at Nanking. 600 people were arrested and tortured, including Dr. Diwan Singh, who died as a result of his injuries. At this stage the Japanese decided that Bakshi was no longer useful, and he was imprisoned.
to raise the tricolour flag of the Indian National Army. During this, his only visit to the Andamans, he was kept carefully screened from the local population by the Japanese authorities. Various attempts were made to inform him of the sufferings of the people of the Andamans, and the fact that many local Indian Nationalists were at that time being tortured in the Cellular Jail
. Bose does not seem to have been aware of this, and the judgment of some is that he "failed his people". After Bose's departure the Japanese remained in effective control of the Andamans, and the sovereignty of the Arzi Hukumat-e Hind was largely fictional. The islands themselves were renamed "Shaheed" and "Swaraj", meaning "martyr" and "self-rule" respectively. Bose appointed General Loganathan as the governor of the islands, and had limited involvement with the administration of the territory. During his interrogation after the war Loganathan admitted that he had only had full control over the islands' vestigial education department, as the Japanese had retained control over the police force, and in protest he had refused to accept responsibility for any other areas of Government. He was powerless to prevent the worst Japanese atrocity of the occupation, the Homfreyganj massacre
of the 30th January 1944, where forty-four Indian civilians were shot by the Japanese on suspicion of spying. Many of them were members of the Indian Independence League
. Notionally this government continued to administer the islands, which were almost the only territory it ever acquired, until the British retook them in 1945, but in practice little had changed.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands (8,293 km² on 139 islands), are a group of islands situated in the Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
at about 780 miles from Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, 740 miles from Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
and 120 miles from Cape Nargis in Burma. Until 1938 the British government used them as a penal colony for India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n and African political prisoners, who were mainly put in the notorious Cellular Jail
Cellular Jail
The Cellular Jail, also known as Kālā Pānī , was a colonial prison situated in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. The prison was used by the British especially to exile political prisoners to the remote archipelago...
in Port Blair
Port Blair
Port Blair is the largest town and a municipal council in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India...
, the biggest town (port) on the islands. Today they form a Union Territory
Union Territory
A Union Territory is a sub-national administrative division of India, in the federal framework of governance. Unlike the states of India, which have their own elected governments, union territories are ruled directly by the federal government; the President of India appoints an Administrator or...
of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
The only military objective on the islands was the city of Port Blair. The garrison consisted of a 300 man Sikh militia with 23 British officers, augmented in January 1942 by a Gurkha
Gurkha
Gurkha are people from Nepal who take their name from the Gorkha District. Gurkhas are best known for their history in the Indian Army's Gorkha regiments, the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas and the Nepalese Army. Gurkha units are closely associated with the kukri, a forward-curving Nepalese knife...
detachment of 4/12th Frontier Force Regiment
12th Frontier Force Regiment
The 12th Frontier Force Regiment was part of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922. It consisted of five regular battalions; numbered 1 to 5 and the 10th Battalion. During the Second World War a further ten battalions were raised. In 1945 the prenomial "12th" was dropped when the British...
of the 16th Indian Infantry Brigade. Following the fall of Rangoon on March 8, however, the British recognized that Port Blair had become impossible to defend, and on March 10 the Gurkhas were withdrawn to the Arakan
Rakhine State
Rakhine State is a Burmese state. Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State in the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region in the east, the Bay of Bengal to the west, and the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh to the northwest. It is located approximately between...
peninsula.
The Invasion Force
The Japanese, seeking to secure their seaward flank, dispatched a force to seize the islands. The force was composed of the following units and ships:- Distant Cover:
-
- Cruiser (flagship) Chokai
-
- Carrier Division 4:
-
- Carrier Ryujo (although listed, she did not conduct air operations)
-
- Cruiser Division 7:
-
- Heavy cruisers- KumanoJapanese cruiser KumanoKumano was one of four Mogami-class heavy cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was completed at the Kawasaki Shipyard in Kobe on 31 October 1937. She displaced with a length of and a beam of , and had a top speed of...
, , Mikuma, Mogami
- Heavy cruisers- Kumano
-
- Destroyer Division 11:
-
- Destroyers-FubukiJapanese destroyer Fubukiwas the lead ship of twenty-four destroyers, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy following World War I. When introduced into services, these ships were the most powerful destroyers in the world. They served as first-line destroyers through the 1930s, and remained formidable weapons systems well...
, Hatsuyuki, Shirayuki, MurakamiMurakamiMurakami is a Japanese surname, 35th by frequency in Japan. It can refer to:-People:*Emperor Murakami, 10th century emperor of Japan*Shingo Murakami , member of the popular Japanese boyband Kanjani8....
- Destroyers-Fubuki
-
- Close Cover:
- Destroyer Squadron 3
-
- Light cruiser SendaiJapanese cruiser Sendaiwas a Sendai-class light cruiser in the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was named after the Sendai River in southern Kyūshū.-Background:Sendai was the lead ship of the three vessels completed in her class of light cruisers, and like other vessels of her class, she was intended for use as the flagship...
- Light cruiser Sendai
-
- Destroyer Division 19
-
- Destroyers-IsonamiJapanese destroyer Isonamiwas the ninth of twenty-four destroyers, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy following World War I. When introduced into services, these ships were the most powerful destroyers in the world...
, Uranami, Ayanami
- Destroyers-Isonami
-
- Destroyer Division 20:
-
- Destroyers- AmagiriJapanese destroyer Amagiriwas the 15th of 24 s, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy following World War I. When introduced into service, these ships were the most powerful destroyers in the world. They served as first-line destroyers through the 1930s, and remained formidable weapons systems well into the Pacific War. She...
, AsagiriJapanese destroyer Asagiriwas the thirteenth of twenty-four destroyers, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy following World War I. When introduced into service, these ships were the most powerful destroyers in the world...
, Yugiri, Shirakumo
- Destroyers- Amagiri
-
- Invasion Force:
- Escort Unit #1
-
- Light cruiser YuraJapanese cruiser YuraThe was the third of the six vessels completed in the Nagara class of light cruisers, and like other vessels of her class, she was intended for use as the flagship of a destroyer flotilla. She was named after the Yura River near Kyoto, Japan.-Early career:...
- Light cruiser Yura
-
- Japanese Invasion force
-
- 9 Transports
- 1 Battalion from 18th Infantry Division
- 9th Base Force
- Training cruiser KashiiJapanese cruiser Kashiiwas the third and final vessel completed of the three light cruisers in Katori class, which served with the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. It is named after a noted Shinto shrine in Fukuoka, Japan.-Background:...
- Escort ship Shumushu
- Minelayer Hatsutaka
- Converted gunboat Eiko Maru
-
- Minesweeper Division 1
-
- Minesweepers W1, W3, W4
-
- Special Minesweeper Division 91
-
- Minesweepers- Choko Maru, Shonan Maru #7, Shonan Maru #5
-
- Air Unit
-
- Seaplane tender Sagara Maru (operated east of the Nicobars)
-
Japanese Occupation
Port Blair was occupied on the 23rd. The garrison offered no resistance to the landings, and were disarmed and interned; many of the Sikh militia later enlisted in the Indian National ArmyIndian National Army
The Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauj was an armed force formed by Indian nationalists in 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. The aim of the army was to overthrow the British Raj in colonial India, with Japanese assistance...
. The British militia officers were sent to Singapore as POWs, whilst Chief Commissioner Waterfall, Deputy Commissioner Major A.G. Bird and the other British administrative officers were imprisoned. The Japanese released the prisoners held in the jail (which had not been used for political prisoners since 1938), one of whom, Pushkar Bakshi, became their principal collaborator. The islands were put under the authority of Colonel Bucho, whilst a number of junior Indian officials in the administration were elevated to more responsible posts. The defence of the islands was assigned to the newly formed fighter squadron of the Kanoya Kokutai based at Tavoy in southern Burma. This fighter squadron was the former "Yamada Unit" under the control of the 22d Koku Sentai, then based at Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
. Six flying boats from the Toko Kokutai were dispatched on March 26, with twelve more arriving shortly thereafter. Within the islands a Japanese garrison of approximately 600 men, together with the police force, now under Japanese control, were responsible for maintaining order.
'Japanese Army Personnel in Andaman and Nicobar'
- Yoshisuke Inoue: Commanding Officer 35th Independent Mixed Brigade, Andaman Islands
- Toshio Itsuki: Commanding Officer 36th Independent Mixed Brigade, Nicobar Islands
- Hideo IwakuroHideo Iwakuro- Notes :...
: Japanese Liaison Officer to Indian National Army - Major-General Saburo Isoda: Japanese Liaison Officer to Indian National Army
Japanese atrocities
The events of the next three years are not easy to establish, as the Japanese destroyed all records when they left. The principal sources are an unpublished report by local resident Rama Krishna: The Andaman Islands under Japanese Occupation 1942-5, another unpublished account by a British Officer, D. McCarthy: The Andaman Interlude (he was sent on a secret mission to the islands in 1944), together with the memories of the older inhabitants interviewed by historians. All these, and the published works which draw upon them, are in agreement that the occupation saw numerous atrocities committed by the Japanese against the local population.The first victim of the occupation came on the fourth day after the Japanese landings. Angered by soldiers who had pursued some chickens into his house, a young man called Zulfiqar Ali fired an airgun at them. No-one was hurt, but he was forced into hiding. After twenty-four hours he was captured and marched to the maidan in front of the Browning Club. Here his arms were twisted until they broke, and he was then shot. A cement memorial now stands on the spot. In the early days of the occupation local intellectuals (mostly officials and doctors) were encouraged to join Rash Behari Bose
Rash Behari Bose
Rashbehari Bose was a revolutionary leader against the British Raj in India and was one of the key organisers of the Ghadar conspiracy and later, the Indian National Army.-Early life:...
's Indian Independence League
Indian Independence League
The Indian Independence League was a political organisation operated from the 1920s to the 1940s to organize those living outside of India into seeking the removal of British colonial rule over India...
, and a 'Peace Committee' was formed from its members, headed by Dr. Diwan Singh. Over the next few months they did what they could to mitigate the suffering of the population at the hands of the Japanese, but to little avail: indeed, many of them would later fall victim themselves. In any case, there was little any of them could have done to save Major A.G. Bird, who had not been sent to Rangoon or Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
like the other British captives, and of whom the Japanese were determined to make an example. Pushkar Bakshi persuaded a fellow convict, Sarup Ram, to bear witness at Bird's 'trial' that he had been spying (wireless parts had been planted in the house where he was imprisoned). It has been suggested that Bakshi had a grudge against Bird for having given him a six-month sentence for theft before the Japanese invasion. According to eyewitnesses Bird, a popular man known as "Chirrie" ('Bird' in Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
) had his arms and legs twisted and broken, and was then beheaded by Colonel Bucho with his sword.
Meanwhile, local women were being 'recruited' by Bakshi to act as "comfort women
Comfort women
The term "comfort women" was a euphemism used to describe women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II.Estimates vary as to how many women were involved, with numbers ranging from as low as 20,000 from some Japanese scholars to as high as 410,000 from some Chinese...
" for the Japanese garrison, although discontent meant that subsequently Korean and Malay women were brought in instead. Forced labour was used to build a new airport, and in October 1942 mass arrests of 'spies' took place, with 300 people being confined in the Cellular Jail, where some were tortured. Of these seven were shot, including Narayan Rao, who had been Superintendent of Police under Japanese auspices, Itter Singh, the Deputy Superintendent, Subedar Sube Singh of the Military Police and Dr. Surinder Nag. Realising that the Japanese were targeting influential members of the population, the members of the Indian Independence League grew increasingly nervous, and ceased to engage in much nationalist activity. In 1943 a second reign of terror was unleashed by the new commander of the garrison, Colonel Jochi Renusakai, & Chief of Police Mitsubashi, both of whom had served at Nanking. 600 people were arrested and tortured, including Dr. Diwan Singh, who died as a result of his injuries. At this stage the Japanese decided that Bakshi was no longer useful, and he was imprisoned.
The Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind
On December 29, 1943, political control of the islands was theoretically passed to the Azad Hind government of Subhas Chandra Bose. Bose visited Port BlairPort Blair
Port Blair is the largest town and a municipal council in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India...
to raise the tricolour flag of the Indian National Army. During this, his only visit to the Andamans, he was kept carefully screened from the local population by the Japanese authorities. Various attempts were made to inform him of the sufferings of the people of the Andamans, and the fact that many local Indian Nationalists were at that time being tortured in the Cellular Jail
Cellular Jail
The Cellular Jail, also known as Kālā Pānī , was a colonial prison situated in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. The prison was used by the British especially to exile political prisoners to the remote archipelago...
. Bose does not seem to have been aware of this, and the judgment of some is that he "failed his people". After Bose's departure the Japanese remained in effective control of the Andamans, and the sovereignty of the Arzi Hukumat-e Hind was largely fictional. The islands themselves were renamed "Shaheed" and "Swaraj", meaning "martyr" and "self-rule" respectively. Bose appointed General Loganathan as the governor of the islands, and had limited involvement with the administration of the territory. During his interrogation after the war Loganathan admitted that he had only had full control over the islands' vestigial education department, as the Japanese had retained control over the police force, and in protest he had refused to accept responsibility for any other areas of Government. He was powerless to prevent the worst Japanese atrocity of the occupation, the Homfreyganj massacre
Homfreyganj massacre
The Homfreyganj massacre was a massacre of suspected spies during World War II in the occupied Andaman Islands.On January 30, 1944, 44 Indian civilians, suspected of spying, were put to death by the Japanese. They were all shot dead at point-blank range...
of the 30th January 1944, where forty-four Indian civilians were shot by the Japanese on suspicion of spying. Many of them were members of the Indian Independence League
Indian Independence League
The Indian Independence League was a political organisation operated from the 1920s to the 1940s to organize those living outside of India into seeking the removal of British colonial rule over India...
. Notionally this government continued to administer the islands, which were almost the only territory it ever acquired, until the British retook them in 1945, but in practice little had changed.
The last year
As food became scarcer in 1945, the Japanese resorted to ever more desperate measures. Between 250 and 700 people (estimates vary) from the Aberdeen area of South Andaman were deported to an uninhabited island to grow food. According to a survivor, a released convict called Saudagar Ali, at least half drowned or were eaten by sharks as they were pushed out of boats in the dark, whilst the remainder either died of starvation or were killed by Burmese pirates. A rescue mission sent to the island after the end of the occupation found just twelve survivors, and over a hundred skeletons on the beach. In all, approximately 2,000 people in the Andamans are thought to have died as a result of the occupation, and at least 501 were tortured by the Japanese. The former figure represents 10% of the pre-war population of Port Blair. Casualties on the more sparsely-populated Nicobar islands were fewer, as the Japanese did not have a garrison there, although in 1943 they created a brief reign of terror on Car Nicobar as they rounded up forced labour amongst the Nicobarese. The occupation left a legacy of lasting bitterness towards the Japanese, and to some extent towards their collaborators in the Arzi-Hukumat-e Azad Hind, amongst the generation which experienced it.See also
- Cocos Islands MutinyCocos Islands MutinyThe Cocos Islands Mutiny was a failed mutiny by Ceylonese soldiers against British officers, on the Cocos Islands in May 1942, during the Second World War....
- India in World War IIIndia in World War IIIndia, officially the Indian Empire, declared war on Nazi Germany in September 1939. The Provinces of British India, being imperial colonies of the United Kingdom, were by default a part of the Allied nations and sent over two million troops to fight against the Axis powers...
- Battle of the Malacca Strait