40-MM. ANTIAIRCRAFT GUN M1 with its crew in India, April 1944 (top); 81-mm. mortar M1 firing on enemy supply and communications lines (bottom). In February 1944 the Chinese troops advancing down the Hukawng Valley were joined by a specially trained American infantry combat team. In May 1944 the Allied forces had fought their way into the airfield at Myitkyina, the key to northern Burma.
BURMA
CHINESE SOLDIER ON GUARD near a bridge over the Salween River has rigged up a shady spot for himself by tying an umbrella to his rifle. The Burma Road reaches its lowest point, some 2,000 feet above sea level, at this bridge site.
BURMA
CROSSING THE SALWEEN RIVER, July 1944. The temporary suspension bridge was built to replace the permanent bridge here which was blown up in 1942 by the Chinese as a defense measure against the Japanese advance. While Allied forces advanced on Myitkyina, Chinese troops crossed the Salween River from the east. The two forces met at Teng-chung in September 1944, establishing the first thin hold in northern Burma.
BURMA
