Crocodiles of Ramri Island: a terrible night of massacre. Crocodiles against infantry: how the Japanese garrison died in the jungles of Burma Ramri crocodiles

On February 19, 1945, during the Burma Campaign of World War II, an incredible and terrible incident occurred. During the fighting on the small island of Ramri, located southwest of Burma, the Japanese unit was attacked by saltwater crocodiles that live in the local swamps. This case has gone down in history as one of the worst episodes concerning the relationship between humans and these reptiles.

The Battle of Ramri Island, known as Operation Matador, began on January 14, 1945. On that day, troops from the 29th Indian Infantry Division were landed on the island with the aim of capturing a strategically important port in the northern part of the island and an airfield not far from it.

British landing on Ramri Island

The Japanese garrison at Ramree Island consisted of the 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, part of the 54th Division, artillery and engineering units acting as an independent force. Heavy fighting began. The British, supported by naval artillery and aircraft, pushed the Japanese deeper into the island.

Japanese during the battles for Burma

On January 21, the 71st Indian Infantry Brigade was additionally landed on the island. It was then that a turning point came in the battle for the island. On February 17, hostilities ceased, the Japanese left their positions in the north of the island and began moving south in order to connect with the rest of the garrison. Their path ran through local mangrove swamps.

British units did not pursue the Japanese; the soldiers did not have uniforms for operating in swampy terrain. The command limited itself to sending small reconnaissance groups in the wake of the retreating enemy. Although there is an opinion that the British deliberately allowed the Japanese to go into the swamps.

The Japanese unit entered a swampy area. In addition to problems with water, which was undrinkable, the Japanese were plagued by snakes, scorpions and tropical mosquitoes. But the worst was yet to come. On the night of February 19, while moving, the Japanese were attacked by local saltwater crocodiles, which lived in large numbers in the swamps.

As a result, nearly a thousand Japanese soldiers who entered the mangrove swamps of Ramri Island were eaten alive by crocodiles. The 22 soldiers and 3 officers who managed to escape from the deadly trap and survived were captured by the British.

Captured surviving Japanese soldier

Naturalist Bruce Stanley Wright, who participated in the battle on the side of the English battalion, described what happened in his book “Sketches of Fauna”:

This night was the worst any fighter had ever experienced. Scattered in the black swamp slurry, bloody, screaming Japanese, crushed in the jaws of huge reptiles, and the strange alarming sounds of spinning crocodiles formed a cacophony of hell.

I think few people could observe such a spectacle on earth. At dawn, the vultures flew in to clean up what the crocodiles had left behind... of the 1,000 Japanese soldiers who entered the Ramree swamps, only about 20 were found alive.

This incident was subsequently included in the Guinness Book of Records and is recognized as "the worst crocodile disaster in the entire world" and "the largest number of people killed by a crocodile attack."

The saltwater crocodile is still considered the most dangerous and most aggressive predator on the planet. The strength of his jaws is such that in a few seconds he can crush the skull of a buffalo or the shell of a sea turtle, and bite an adult in two.

Materials used: foto-history.livejournal.com

In the winter of 1945, not wanting to surrender to the troops of the anti-Hitler coalition, a thousand-strong Japanese detachment almost completely disappeared on Ramri Island. Only a couple of dozen soldiers remained. According to the Canadian naturalist, the cause of the death of the detachment was the numerous crocodiles living in the mangrove swamps. Whether such a fact really existed in history is still debated by experts.

The story is creepy and mysterious

Despite the comprehensive study of the Second World War and the presence of a huge amount of documentary information, much about those events remains a mystery to this day. Thus, Robert Capa himself, risking his life, managed to capture the actions of the Allies during the landing in Normandy on June 6, 1944. His photographs are rich in detail. Surprisingly, when large quantities The seemingly reliable information was not without its blind spots.

One of the most mysterious and interesting historical episodes is the strange disappearance of a Japanese detachment. On February 19, 1945, a thousand soldiers during the guerrilla war for the island of Ramri (Burma) went to a tropical forest and died there. This event created a real sensation and was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the death of the largest number of people from the teeth of wild animals.

However, this fact was recorded only on the testimony of a Canadian naturalist.

One of the participants in the battle, British soldier Bruce S. Wright, who later became a Canadian naturalist, wrote the book “Essays wildlife, close and far,” where he described the disappearance of the Japanese. According to Stanley Wright, Japanese fighters hiding in the mangroves were torn to pieces by reptiles. Other scientists consider such a large-scale disaster impossible and question the reliability of the information from Stanley Wright’s book, which became the basis for the fact in the Guinness Records.

The worst disaster in British history

In the early 40s of the last century, the British gained a foothold in Singapore, south of Malaysia, creating a colony there. They did this by conquering small enclaves such as Gibraltar. Planning further military conquest in this part of Asia, the British government sent countless troops there. The Singapore colony was a very important strategic object in the region, where all the sea ​​routes South Asia, which means it personified British rule in the east. The political significance of the colony is confirmed by journalist and historian Jesús Hernández in the book “Riddles and Secrets of the Second World War”.

The British did an excellent job of capturing more and more territories until the Japanese attacked after the attack on Pearl Harbor large forces to British bases in Asia. This happened on December 8, 1941. Allied forces had to retreat all the way to Singapore. As Javier Sanz describes in Trojan Horses of History, it was a fortress defended by “more than eighty thousand soldiers, supported by air defense troops and heavy artillery to repel naval attacks from the south.” From the north, Japanese infantry and artillery could not penetrate due to tropical swampy forests covered with mangroves. Thus, the British felt quite safe in Singapore.

However, the British confidence was not justified. General Tomoyuki Yamashita surrounded the city within a few weeks in an unprecedented operation and began a siege. "Going down the west coast Malaysia, Japanese soldiers attacked Singapore from the rear. The British did not have time to create a strong line of defense here and could not hold back the onslaught of the military leader known by the nickname “Malayan Tiger” for more than a week, Hernandez writes in his book.

As a result, the British suffered a fiasco, which Churchill called “the worst disaster in British history.” Thus, British rule in the east fell, but the British exit from the region lasted another three years.

Return of territories

Japan's defeat became apparent in 1945, and the Allies set out to regain lost territory. In the winter of 1945, the British 14th Army went on the offensive with the intention of landing on the west coast of Burma to capture and clear the Japanese islands of Ramree and Cheduba. Journalist and historian Pedro Pablo G. May talks about this in “Military Mistakes.”

The facts of the attack are also described in Edwyn Gray's work Operation Pacific. Before the attack, the British made preliminary forays to the islands by canoe, feeling for the weak points of the Japanese defense. As a result, the scouts found out that the enemy did not have enough people or weapons for military operations, and the British went on the offensive. Shelling of enemy positions began from the battleship Queen Elizabeth and the light cruiser Phoebus. The artillery was followed by several Royal Air Force airstrikes.

On January 21, 1945, the British launched Operation Matador. During it, an amphibious assault landed off the coast of Ramri Island to capture the strategically important Kyaukpyu port and airport. The report “Man-Eating Crocodiles: Attack on Ramree Island” confirms the fact of the British landing. And a report on the operation by British Captain Eric Bush outlined the objectives of the attack and noted that the attack was carried out by the 26th Indian Infantry Division and units under the command of Major General Lomax. The report was published in the book “The Battle of Burma 1943-1945: From Kohima and Impala to Victory.”

Operation Matador, battle

In his report, British captain Eric Bush reported “serious resistance” from the Japanese, which, however, was suppressed by the British and allies; the Japanese were forced to withdraw deeper into the island. Soon the positions began to change. In every grove and behind every bush there were fierce battles for territory, but the partisan defense of the coast led to nothing. The advantage was either on one side or the other with a slight advantage. This military situation lasted for several weeks.

“Then the British marines managed to surround a Japanese detachment of about a thousand people, who were asked to surrender,” as described in “Military Mistakes.”

The Japanese commander did not take advantage of the offer and, at nightfall, led his soldiers to the main forces through the mangroves. The maneuver of infiltrating and encircling the enemy from the rear by the 71st Indian Infantry Brigade forced the Japanese to abandon their cover, allowing the 4th Indian Brigade to cross Chaung Island and begin pursuit. Such information is contained in the documents.

tropical trap

The Japanese detachment had to overcome about 16 kilometers of mangroves to reach their main forces. The tropical forest is a swampy area where liquid mud reaches to the waist, and sometimes even higher, inhabited by dangerous predatory and poisonous animals. Some inhabitants, such as snakes and giant crocodiles, reach several meters in length. For example, saltwater crocodiles can weigh 1.5 tons and reach seven meters. Scorpions and spiders are no less dangerous. Captain Bush described all these details in his report. In the absence of food and water, this was the worst option for escape.

Naturalist Bruce Wright's book describes how, after dusk on February 19, the British heard the terrifying screams of hundreds of people coming from the jungle where the Japanese had retreated. Scattered shots came from the swamps, they were drowned out by the screams of people and the terrible sounds made by giant reptiles. At dawn the vultures swooped down. Of the thousand soldiers who went into the swamps, barely twenty remained alive. The prisoners who were rescued were extremely dehydrated and mentally exhausted.

As naturalist Bruce Stanley Wright notes, the attack by crocodiles played into the hands of the Allied forces and made it easier for them to destroy the enemy. A long pursuit of the Japanese was not required. Researcher Javier Sanz also claims that only one Japanese came out that night and surrendered - a doctor who studied in the USA and England. He spoke English and was asked to help convince other soldiers to voluntarily surrender. But not a single Japanese ever came out of the mangroves.

Disputes between scientists and experts

A book by Canadian naturalist Bruce Stanley Wright, an eyewitness to the events and former soldier British army, still causes heated debate. There are scientists who confirm the facts presented, but there are also those who dispute them. Swiss biologist Charles Albert Walter Guggisberg said that most of the Japanese died in the teeth of crocodiles and only a few died from gunshot wounds.

The Burma Star Association also confirms everything written by the Canadian naturalist. And the publishers of the Guinness Book of Records took information from Stanley Wright's book as the basis for stating the fact that the largest number of people died from animal attacks. However, due to ongoing controversy, in 2017, this article was added a few lines regarding doubts: “New research from the National Geographic Channel casts doubt on the veracity of this story, at least as regards the number of victims.”

Behind last years Versions are gaining weight that although crocodiles are very dangerous and can eat people, their role in numerous cases of death is sharply exaggerated.

Respected British historian Francis James McLynn, in his book The Burma Campaign: From Defeat to Triumph, 1942-45, is skeptical about the situation with crocodiles. He rightly notes that the number of crocodiles described by eyewitnesses simply will not survive in the mangrove swamps due to starvation. There are not many large animals in the swamp. What then did crocodiles eat before the Japanese arrived in the swamps? And there is logic in this.

Scientist Steven G. Platt made a major contribution to clarifying history. He managed to find real eyewitnesses to the events. They were 67-86 years old in 2000, and they were in that place and saw what happened that day with their own eyes. Most of them claim that crocodiles really attacked people, but no more than 10-15 Japanese died from their fangs. Most died from diseases (dysentery, malaria and other infections), hunger, dehydration, bites of poisonous insects, snakes, and some of the soldiers were shot.

In the process of studying documentary sources, the conclusion arises that the role of crocodiles in the death of a detachment of thousands of Japanese soldiers is greatly exaggerated. In their report, Man-Eating Crocodiles: Attack on Ramree Island, the authors note that there is not enough evidence on the topic. Experts generally doubt whether the Canadian naturalist Stanley Wright was personally at the scene of the tragedy during that period of time or whether he wrote a book based on the stories local residents. So it is still not clear whether the tragedy with crocodiles is a myth of the Second World War or is it real events. Obviously, the truth is somewhere in the middle.

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The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, located nearby, became the object of close attention of ecologists and the public around the world when it became known that the tribes who had stopped their development and lived on the islands could be completely destroyed

In the south of the Andaman Islands, an 18-year-old girl was found who managed to survive alone for 45 days after the terrible tsunami that hit Southeast Asia December 26, 2004.

Thus, the girl, who called herself Jenny, had to eat coconuts and fruits for 45 days. Luckily, she also managed to find fresh water.

The girl was rescued when one of the local residents returned to the island on a ship to assess the scale of the destruction, Interfax reports.

The Andaman and nearby Nicobar Islands became the object of close attention of ecologists and the public around the world when it became known that the tribes living on the islands, who had stopped in their development, could be completely destroyed by a tsunami wave. However, later these fears were not confirmed - it became known that thanks to the natural ability of dowsing, ancient people were able to sense the approach of danger in advance, move away from the shore and escape. In total, about 550 islands were affected by the tsunami.

However, Jenny's case is not the only time people miraculously survived the December 26 earthquake and tsunami. So, at the end of January, on the islands of the Andaman archipelago there were 5 men, one woman and 3 children who ate only coconuts and coconut milk for 38 days, due to which they managed to survive. Those rescued said that when the waves hit the island, they climbed to higher ground. After 4-5 days they descended into the forest to a devastated land. On the island at that time they were walking heavy rains, it disoriented them. The island's mangrove forests are infested with crocodiles, so rescuers were unable to examine the entire island for a long time.

Around the same time, 4 Indonesians miraculously escaped. They were found alive at the bottom of a boat drifting in Indian Ocean. The boat was found near the Andaman Islands. The people in it were taken to administrative center archipelago - Port Blair. The rescued Indonesians were extremely weakened. When asked what their name was, they were able to mutter one word: "Indonesia."

In addition, it was reported that twenty-year-old policeman Rizal Shahputra spent 8 days at sea clinging to a tree. It was found by a South African merchant ship 200 kilometers west of the coast of the Indonesian province of Banda Aceh and delivered to one of the ports of Malaysia.

Rizal said that he was working on the construction of a mosque when a huge wave hit the city. “I saw my parents and sister being carried away by the water, then I noticed a tree that had been uprooted and I clung to it,” he said after he came to. For eight days, Rizal lived on coconuts and instant noodle packets, which floated around the tree in large quantities. “There were also corpses all around, a lot of corpses,” he said. “At first, my tree could hardly float among them.”

On the eighth day, when the Indonesian’s strength was already leaving him, he was noticed by one of the sailors of a South African ship sailing past. “He was saved by the yellow jersey, if not for it, we might not have noticed him,” the ship’s skipper told reporters. Rizal, in turn, said that on the sixth or seventh day he saw a ship on the horizon, but was unable to attract the attention of the crew.

But most striking is the story of a 14-year-old boy named Murlidharan who survived the tsunami, described by Stern. The boy, who also lived on one of the Andaman Islands, sat on the top of a tree for 11 days without food or water. From a medical point of view, this seems impossible, but the will to live turned out to be stronger than the laws of nature.

On the morning of December 26, Murlidharan was playing cricket on the beach with his friends when the ground suddenly began to shake. Soon after this, he heard a roar from the sea and saw his parents, sister and neighbors running as fast as they could. Huge wave was approaching the village. Murlidharan ran as fast as he could. He did not know how to swim and was afraid to enter the sea, even when it was smooth as a mirror. He called his parents, fell, got up, ran on, fell again. Then the water overtook him. She carried him and after a while nailed him to a tree, which he grabbed with all his might. He grabbed a branch, pulled himself up and climbed to the top. From there, he saw how the water below him was destroying his village, carrying away people, uprooting palm trees. He heard people screaming for help, walls collapsing, boards and logs breaking. But his saving island - a strong fruit tree - survived.

Murlidharan spent a night and a day on the branch. The sea calmed, but did not retreat. The tree was still deep in the water. Murlidharan did not see or hear any people. He did not dare to get down from the tree because he did not know whether he would reach the bottom. Once he saw villagers in the distance who were trying to find at least something in their destroyed houses, but by that time he was already hoarse from screaming - they did not hear him.

He sat on the top of the tree for eleven days and nights, without food or water. He was to die of thirst, become more and more dry day after day, and finally fall from the tree dead. Attending doctors at a hospital in Port Blair suggested that due to shock, his body went into a kind of trance state in which all functions were reduced to a minimum. On the morning of the eleventh day, the boy’s strength left him; in a semi-fainting state, he fell from the branch. Having touched the water, he woke up and realized that it was only up to his chest. He got out to a dry place, where the villagers soon found him and carried him to military base Next door. He was sent to Port Blair on the next Indian Air Force flight. Outwardly, the boy turned into a skeleton: his arms were no thicker in girth than the thumb of a man’s hand. With a height of 1 m 50 cm, he weighed 21 kg, but his eyes shone with joy as he was informed that his family had managed to escape.

Until now, the situation in the Andaman Islands archipelago, located in the Bay of Bengal and numbering 572 islands, remains unclear. Even the Indian authorities do not know exactly how many people lived there before the tsunami, or how many died or became homeless. Large areas of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are inaccessible, stretching over 700 km and some less than 50 nautical miles from the earthquake's epicenter. More than a third of the estimated 400,000 inhabitants lived in and around the city of Port Blair, while the rest were scattered across 35 other islands. Some villages from the capital require several days to travel by sea and then a few more hours to walk. Because the tsunami destroyed many piers and the dense jungle prevented military helicopters from landing, rescue teams have still not reached many areas at all.

Only in recent years have the Andaman Islands become exotic place recreation. The tsunami destroyed this paradise, often leaving only a narrow strip of beaches. The Nicobar Islands to the south were a restricted area for foreigners; even Indians needed special permission to visit them. Thus, the military could expand its base on the island of Car Nicobar in strict secrecy. On the other hand, this made it possible to protect local residents living in primitive tribes from extinction. An attempt by the Indian Air Force to establish contact with one of the tribes failed. The savages fired arrows at the low-flying helicopter, and on the beach the warriors threatened the military with long spears.

If it were not for the terrible bloody event that occurred during the Second World War, Ramree Island would hardly have gained worldwide fame. Japanese soldiers, retreating under the onslaught of the British, were attacked by an entire army of crocodiles. Several hundred soldiers became victims of that attack.

The position of the gunners is classified

There is an article in the Guinness Book of Records “The largest number of human deaths caused by animals.” It mentions a massive alligator attack on Japanese troops who were forced to retreat through the swamps during the Battle of Rumry Island. In mangrove swamps 10 miles from the coast, Japanese soldiers had to repel an attack by paratroopers navy Great Britain.

Out of a thousand Japanese, only 20 were captured. The vast majority fell prey to crocodiles. From January 14 to February 22, 1945, there was a difficult battle for Ramri Island. In all important strategic directions, the Japanese launched a counteroffensive and did not even think about defeat.

The Japanese had perfectly camouflaged long-range artillery on Yuhan Hill, which is located on Ramri Island. Japanese guns constantly inflicted significant damage on British ships and hampered their actions.

The British landing squadron was to destroy this extremely important strategic facility. Country Soldiers rising sun Naturally, they were not going to leave their well-equipped and advantageous position. A special unit was selected to protect it, consisting of 1,215 well-trained and fairly experienced military personnel. This first sabotage regiment was supposed to become the most reliable defense for the artillery base.

In swamp hell

IN direct collision The English airborne battalion had no intention of engaging the Japanese. The British found an unusual tactical move. A British reconnaissance group made its way to the central part of the island. Impenetrable mangrove swamps with incredible numbers of giant crocodiles were discovered there. It was necessary to lure the Japanese into these swamps at all costs.

During positional battles, the British pushed the enemy deep into the swamps. The Japanese command did not attach much importance to this circumstance. The uniform of their soldiers was much better suited for such conditions than the uniform of the British. But the enemy did not climb into the swamp overflowing with crocodiles, but began to gradually retreat, while adjusting the fire of his artillery.

After some time, the British officers on the hill began to observe a very strange picture through binoculars. Even without being fired upon, the Japanese soldiers sank into the swamp one after another.

Teeth instead of bullets

About any resistance to British troops already there was no question. The Japanese were engrossed when faced with these terrifying wildlife. The commander of the English airborne battalion, Andrew Wyert, ordered his subordinates to retreat. The duel between a selected regiment of the Japanese army and an army of crocodiles lasted for about two hours.

Three officers and two dozen soldiers managed to escape from the swamp and were immediately captured by the British. Naturalist Bruce Wright fought in the ranks of the English battalion. He later wrote that he had never seen such a terrible night in his life, and it is unlikely that any of the people living on earth could have observed anything like it.

Japanese soldiers were attacked by saltwater crocodiles, the largest reptiles on earth. Often there are individuals that exceed 6 meters in length and weigh over 1000 kg.