Book Review: Stalin’s War by Sean McMeekin

Abstract

accord greatest coverage to the commanders, infantrymen, and tank crews who directed or spearheaded the advance, rather than the multitude of rear echelon personnel who enabled these moves. Such an approach has come in for criticism elsewhere, not least from Yasmin Khan and Santanu Das, and it would have been pleasing to see slightly more focus on how wartime experience transformed ‘tail’ units as much, if not more, than their combat arm peers. Nevertheless, taken as a whole, this volume comprises the preeminent existing account of British Commonwealth land forces during the final year of the Burma campaign. This status raises questions as to where the historiography of the Burma campaign might venture next. Throughout the volume, the authors allude obliquely to how their insights into Fourteenth Army might be used to develop transnational perspectives. There are numerous junctures (esp. pp. 68, 126–27) where they hint at why Imperial Japanese forces failed to adapt adequately in the face of Fourteenth Army’s successful transformation. However, a definitive answer remains latent. Moreover, the Chinese/ American Northern Combat Area Command, Aung San’s Burma National Army, and Allied naval forces in the Indian Ocean are accorded, at best, only cameo parts. Recasting a British Imperial tale of revenge and redemption into transnational context would likely not detract from Fourteenth Army’s leading role in proceedings, but rather place its accomplishments in even sharper relief.