# Burma Command

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{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=Burma Command
|image=
|caption=
|country={{UK}}
|branch={{army|United Kingdom}}
|type=[Command](/source/Formation_(military))
|dates=1937 to 1942<br>1945 to 1948
|specialization=
|command_structure=
|size=
|commanders=
|garrison=[Rangoon](/source/Rangoon)
|battles=
|notable_commanders= 
}}
'''Burma Command''' was a [British Army](/source/British_Army) command formed for the coordination of the defences of [Burma](/source/Burma). It functioned from 1937 to 1942, when the country fell to Japanese Forces during the [Second World War](/source/World_War_II), and functioned again from 1945 to 1948, when the country secured independence from the UK.

==History==
Before the formation of the command, Burma had functioned as independent district within the [British Indian Army](/source/British_Indian_Army).<ref name=bmh>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk/docs-burma-1930-1947-burma-command-1930-42/|title=Burma Command 1930 - 42|publisher=British Military History|access-date=28 May 2020}}</ref> The last General Officer Commanding Burma Independent District was Major-General [William Twiss](/source/William_Twiss_(Indian_Army_officer)) who commanded from 1936 to 1937.<ref>Supplement to the Indian Army List January 1939</ref> In April 1937, when Burma became a semi-autonomous country, it was decided to separate the command from the British Indian Army.<ref name=bmh/> Initially Burma Command came under the direct command of the [Governor of British Burma](/source/Archibald_Cochrane_(politician)) as commander-in-chief.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2433/53713/1/KJ00000434093.pdf|title=State Formation in the Shadow of the Raj: Violence, Warfare and Politics in Colonial Burma|page=531|first=Mary|last=Callahan|publisher=Kyoto University|date=4 March 2002|access-date=28 May 2020}}</ref> However with the [Second World War](/source/World_War_II) imminent, responsibility was delegated to Lieutenant-General [Kenneth McLeod](/source/Donald_Kenneth_McLeod) as the first General Officer Commanding in January 1939.<ref name=bmh/>

Once [Rangoon](/source/Yangon) had fallen to Japanese troops on the 5/6 March 1942<ref>Borth, Christy. ''Masters of Mass Production,'' pp.218–9, Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis, IN, 1945.</ref> and [Mandalay](/source/Mandalay) had fallen shortly thereafter, the command was disbanded.<ref name=bmh/>

After the war it was reformed from the core of the [Twelfth Army](/source/Twelfth_Army_(United_Kingdom)) on 1 October 1945 consisting not just British and Indian Army units but also of the Patriot Burmese Forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30075860|title=Badge, formation, 12th Army|publisher=Imperial War Museum|access-date=28 May 2020}}</ref> It was disbanded again when Burma became an independent country under the [Burma Independence Act 1947](/source/Burma_Independence_Act_1947) in January 1948.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.burmalibrary.org/reg.burma/archives/199507/msg00015.html |title=Burma independence documents|publisher=Burma Library|access-date=28 May 2020}}</ref>

==Commanders==
Commanders included:
* Lieutenant-General [Kenneth McLeod](/source/Donald_Kenneth_McLeod): 1939 – 1941<ref>{{cite web|url=http://generals.dk/general/McLeod/Donald_Kenneth/Great_Britain.html|title=McLeod, Donald Kenneth|publisher=Generals.dk|access-date=27 May 2020}}</ref>
* Lieutenant-General [Thomas Hutton](/source/Thomas_Jacomb_Hutton): 1941 – 1942<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kingscollections.org/catalogues/lhcma/collection/h/hu90-001/|title=King's Collections : Archive Catalogues : HUTTON, Lt Gen Sir Thomas Jacomb (1890-1981)|website=www.kingscollections.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161209143956/http://www.kingscollections.org/catalogues/lhcma/collection/h/hu90-001/|language=en|access-date=2017-12-29|archive-date=2016-12-09}}</ref>
* General [Sir Harold Alexander](/source/Harold_Alexander%2C_1st_Earl_Alexander_of_Tunis): March 1942 – May 1942<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=35503| date=27 March 1942|page=1399}}</ref>
:''Under Japanese rule from 1942 to 1945''
* Lieutenant-General [Harold Briggs](/source/Harold_Rawdon_Briggs): 1945 – 1948<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=38161 |date=30 December 1947 |page=8 |supp=y}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.rothwell.force9.co.uk/burmaweb/BurmaArmy.htm Burma Army]

{{British armies, commands, and corps during the Second World War}}
Category:Commands of the British Army
Category:Military units and formations established in 1930
Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1942
Category:Burma campaign

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Burma Command](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burma_Command) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burma_Command?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.