Reporting the Retreat: War Correspondents in Burma

Japan’s invasion of Burma in 1942 set off the longest retreat in British military history. Along with the fall of Singapore, it marked the beginning of the end of British rule in Burma and south and south-east Asia. Reporting the Retreat is the first account that examines how war correspondents depicted the campaign in Western newspapers, pictorial magazines, and newsreels. Twenty-six accredited war correspondents covered the campaign, and nearly half of them wrote books about it, often while the war was ongoing. Their accounts were censored by government officials, who accused them of being misinformed and sensationalist, while historians have criticized these accounts for portraying undue optimism and giving an unrealistic view of events to boost morale. Using wartime archives, Philip Woods re-evaluates the accuracy and impact of the reports from war correspondents in Burma. This account is valuable for historians of conflict and for those interested in journalism and media.