Japanese conquest of Burma main attack westward from Rahaeng in Thailand across the Kawkareik Pass. The 16th Indian Infantry Brigade of the 17th Indian Division guarding this approach retreated hastily westward. The Japanese division advanced to Moulmein at the mouth of the Salween River which was garrisoned by the 2nd Burma Infantry Brigade. The position was almost impossible to defend, and had the River Salween, almost wide, behind it. The 2nd Burma Brigade was squeezed into a progressively tighter perimeter, and eventually retreated over the river by ferry on 31 January after abandoning a large amount of supplies and equipment. Part of the force
Burma Railway jungle with its heat and humidity. All of that makes this railway an extraordinary accomplishment." The total freight carried during the war was 500,000 tonnes by two Japanese Army divisions. The line was closed in 1947, but the section between Nong Pla Duk and Nam Tok was reopened ten years later in 1957. On 16 January 1946, the British ordered Japanese POWs to remove the 4 km rail between Nikki and Sonkrai. The railway link between Thailand and Burma was to be separated again for protecting British interests in Singapore. After that, the Burma section of the Railway was sequentially