They decided to take their chances in the swamp rather than surrender. Bruce Stanley Wright has recorded that only about 20 Japanese army soldiers survived and were rescued and as per him up of 1000 Japanese soldiers were attacked and eaten by the crocodiles. Some British soldiers, including the naturalist Bruce Wright, who participated in the battle, claimed that the large population of saltwater crocodiles native to the mangrove swamps on Ramree Island preyed on the trapped Japanese force at night and ate many soldiers. The short version is that a large number of Japanese soldiers (between 400 to 1000 depending on the "source") were eaten by saltwater crocodiles during the night of Feb 19th 1945 during the battle of Ramree island as part of the Burma campaign. He thanks you for reading his content. Some British soldiers, including naturalist Bruce Stanley Wright, who participated in the expedition, claimed that crocodiles attacked and ate numerous Japanese soldiers. Unfortunately, these reptiles are some of the most territorial species on earth and arent afraid to show aggression toward people, especially biting. The new discoveries have been given the names Riparovenator milnerae and Ceratosuchops inferodios, translating respectively to "Milner's riverbank hunter," in honor of paleontologist Angela Milner, and the more colorful "hell-heron horned crocodile-face.". The island that holds the world-record for largest human massacre caused by animals. On January 26, 1945, British troops made their way to Ramree Island so that they could establish a new airbase. The rest were reportedly eaten alive by hordes of prehistoric-looking saltwater crocodiles. CrocBITE, Worldwide Crocodilian Attack Database: Sideleau, B., and Britton A.R.C. [3][12], In addition to these, the freshwater crocodile, Philippine crocodile, Siamese crocodile, broad-snouted caiman, spectacled caiman, yacare caiman and gharial have been involved in non-fatal attacks. Frank McLynn, a prominent British historian on the Burma campaign, effectively denounces the crocodile aggression account in his thorough analysis of the Allied effort to retake Burma from the Japanese, The Burma Campaign: Disaster into Triumph 1942-1945 (2011). The Legend of Dick Bong: World War II Ace of Aces, Medal of Honor Recipient and Crocodile Killer? The Japanese soldiers retreated, and some went into the mangrove swamps. 13. [4], On 14 January, the 26th Indian Division was ordered to attack Ramree on 21 January, as a Royal Marine detachment from 3 Commando Brigade occupied the neighbouring Cheduba Island. . These crocs are the largest reptiles in the world and are capable of bringing down water buffalo. The story goes that during World War II, 1,000 Japanese soldiers were eaten by crocodiles on the island. It is undoubtedly a gripping tale, so its not surprising that this account has motivated a swathe of articles. The Japanese soldiers on Ramree Island during the nearing end of World War II had a dilemma that resulted in the deadliest crocodile feast ever. + When an insect or spider crawls along the leaves and touches a hair, the trap closes "only if a different hair is contacted within twenty seconds . Many of the areas in which humans and large crocodiles come into contact are remote, impoverished, or in areas of political unrest. Unfortunately, the battle was at a standstill until the . Swamps are their natural habitat, and humans are no match for their speed, size, agility, and raw power. Military officials decided to press on, and the Japanese continued their journey through the mangrove swamps. Phoebe also joined the bombardment, along with Consolidated B-24 Liberators, North American B-25 Mitchells and Republic P-47 Thunderbolts of 224 Group Royal Air Force (RAF), under the command of HQ RAF Bengal and Burma, that strafed and bombed the beaches. Refresh the page, check Medium 's site. A landing party of Japanese mistook North Australian tide times and heights , landing at low tide and getting stuck waist deep wading in mudflats in the Northern Territory . This type of crocodile can grow as much as 20 feet in length and can weigh about 22,000 pounds. Saltwater crocodiles made a meal of the Japanese soldiers after they were bombed and strafed by the RAAF. [2] Contents The crocodiles, alerted by the din of warfare and the smell of blood, gathered among the mangroves, lying with their eyes above water, watchfully alert for their next meal. Unfortunately for the Japanese troops, the swamps of Ramree were infested by countless, very large saltwater crocodiles, which can grow upwards of 20 feet long and over a ton in weight. The Japanese didnt realize that these mangrove swamps were a death trap in disguise, but they wouldnt figure that out until later. The most prominent firsthand retelling of what happened comes from naturalist Bruce Stanley Wright, who participated in the Battle of Ramree Island and gave this written account: That night [of February 19, 1945] was the most horrible that any member of the M.L. The smell of blood attracted nearby crocodiles, so the bodies of Japanese soldiers were eaten by crocodiles. Of about 1,000 Japanese soldiers, it's estimated that only 20 survived. Nile freshwater crocodiles, like the one pictured here, have a reputation as man-eaters, similarly to the saltwater crocodiles that were rumored to ravage Japanese soldiers at Ramree Island in Myanmar in 1945. [5] The Japanese garrison of Ramree consisted of the II Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment (Colonel Kanichi Nagazawa), part of the 54th Division, with artillery and engineer detachments to act as an independent force. 900 soldiers entered the swamp only 20 emerged. Historydefined.net is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com, Copyright 2023 History Defined | Powered by Astra WordPress Theme. Typical male specimens reach 17 feet long and 1,000 pounds and the largest can reach 23 feet and 2,200 pounds. Salt-water crocodiles, some of them well over 20 ft (6.1 m) long frequented these waters. How did crocodiles manage to kill so many armed men? Many historians debunk the tale of the massacre, but some facts do point to some veracity of the incident. Mark Felton Productions does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.Thanks: Bernard Dupont The navy and the 26th Indian Infantry Division then concentrated on blockading the chaungs (small streams) on the east coast, to prevent the Japanese from escaping to the mainland. In January 1945, during World War II, the Allies were fighting the Japanese at the Battle of Ramree Island in Myanmar. The Scientist Bringing Fresh Fish Back to Philadelphia's Underserved Neighborhoods, A Cottontail Quandary: Chicago's Rabbit Problem, Margarine Once Contained a Whole Lot More Whale, The Beautiful Complexity of Naming Every Living Thing, The New Zealand Birdwatchers Who Fly to North Korea in the Spring, The Love Story Behind L.A.'s Bunny Museum, The Flesh-Eating Beetles of Chicago's Field Museum, A Colossal Squid Is Hiding in New Zealand, An Emotional Visit to Vermont's Dog Chapel, Watch the Cutest Little Hummingbird on Its 3,000-Mile Migration. They didnt know what exactly caused the shouts of terror they heard, but only that the Japanese troops were being ravaged by some evil menace. The island lies off the Burma coast, 70 miles south of Akyab, now known as Sittwe. How to use in-sentence of "trap": + Cilia and mucus along the inside wall of the nasal cavity trap and remove dust and germs from the air as it flows through the nasal cavity. 0 20 2 minutes read. Circa 1945 was the year when the Imperial Japan invasion of Asia was nearing its ends. Since Ramree was strategically important, the Allies launched an attack in 1945 to retake the island and establish airbases to support the mainland campaign. The worst "mass attack" by crocodiles allegedly occurred during World War II on the night of 19 February 1945, when approximately 1000 Japanese soldiers found themselves pinned down in a mangrove swamp separating Ramree Island from the mainland of Myanmar (then Burma). An army of 1000 Japanese soldiers was decimated by saltwater crocodiles during the Battle of Ramree Island of World War II. Of course, the threat posed by saltwater crocodiles was an ever-present one in the Far Eastern theatre of World War Two. The island is 70 miles south of Akyab and is known as Sittwe. Photoshopped photo courtesy of opposingfronts.com. Can an Old Coin Solve the Mystery of a Lost Roman Emperor? The design was hopelessly flawed. Crocodiles In One Night Slaughtered Over 900 Japanese Soldiers | by L. Small | THE CURIOSITY | Medium Write Sign up Sign In 500 Apologies, but something went wrong on our end. Offer subject to change without notice. Darragh O Herlihy is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE. For a start, he points out the lack of evidence for Wrights claim that he was at the scene. In January 1945, two. pp. Why Did Ancient Egyptian Men Wear Makeup? On Ramree, the Japanese garrison resisted with great determination but on 1 February, the 71st Indian Infantry Brigade reached Sane and parts of the 36th Indian Infantry Brigade, from reserve, took Sagu Kuyun Island and relieved the marines on Cheduba Island. In both species, the mean size of crocodiles involved in nonfatal attacks was about 3m (10ft) as opposed to a reported range of 2.55m (816ft) or larger for crocodiles responsible for fatal attacks. Nine vets clinched their first world record of their breakneck skydiving expedition on Saturday, Jan. 14. No Japanese survived . These specimens could also live more than 70 years, meaning they had plenty of time to practice their hunting skills. Since a majority of fatal attacks are believed to be predatory in nature, the Nile crocodile can be considered the most prolific predator of humans among wild animals. (now Myanmar). [20], In 2000, herpetologist Steven G. Platt visited Ramree Island, where he interviewed residents who had been alive during the war and who had been forced into slave labor by the Japanese; they "unanimously discounted any suggestion that large numbers of Japanese fell prey to crocodiles." All of the above crocodile attacks could have been avoided. At dawn the vultures arrived to clean up what the crocodiles had left.Of about one thousand Japanese soldiers that entered the swamps of Ramree, only about twenty were found alive." 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