Burma Independence Army

The Burma National Army (also known as the Burma Independence Army) (ဗမာ့အမျိုးသားတပ်မတော်; Burmese pronunciation: [bəma̰ əmjó ðá taʔ mədɔ̀]) served as the armed forces of the puppet Burmese government created by the Japanese during World War II and fought in the Burma Campaign. It was originally organised by, and fought alongside the Imperial Japanese Army, but later changed sides and fought alongside the Allies.

In 1940, Japanese military interest in Southeast Asia increased, because the British were overtly providing military assistance to Nationalist China against which Japan was fighting in the Second Sino-Japanese War. In particular, they were sending war materials via the newly opened Burma Road. Colonel Suzuki Keiji, a staff officer at the Imperial General HQ in Japan, was given the task of devising a strategy for dealing with Southeast Asia. He produced a plan for clandestine operations in Burma, which was then a British colony.

The Japanese knew little about Burma at the time and had few contacts within the country. The top Japanese agent in the country was Naval Reservist Kokubu Shozo, who had been resident there for several years and had contacts with most of the anti-British political groups. Suzuki visited Burma secretly in September 1940, meeting with political leaders Thakin Kodaw Hmaing and Thakin Mya. The Japanese later made contact with a Burmese student activist in China named Aung San. Aung San had left Burma in 1940 and had entered China in an attempt to make contact with communists in the country. He reached Amoy, where he was detained by Suzuki.

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